A disturbing case of Dancing Mania that struck Germany in 1518

it was a fine summer day in July 1518 in the beautiful city of strawberg in elans part of modern day France Our Mysterious story began with a woman named trophia as the tale goes at one point out of the blue she went out into the street and began to dance the problem was it didn`t seem like she enjoyed dancing she didn't even have any music playing in the background it looked more like a series of uncontrolled twists and turns so what made this woman behave in such a strange way more so why did so many people follow in her Footsteps in the following days and weeks that small group of people that initially gathered around trophia kept on Dancing Outdoors despite the scorching heat they moved their arms wildly and swayed their bodies even as their clothes began to get drenched with sweat they danced through the night and into the next day despite their exhaustion hunger thirst and pain in their feet they continued to dance for days without stopping As Time passed more and more people joined in the dance at one point it was estimated that hundreds of people were participating all moving in the same frenzied manner now just so we're clear this was not a typical Club Rave we're used to these days people looked like they were moving without their consent the dancing continued even as some of the people started collapsing in front of the horrified onlookers author ities had to step in at one point surely but they couldn't explain why this bizarre dancing phenomenon occurred in the first place to this day we've yet to discover the nature of this mysterious event which lasted about 3 months in total we can't look at the facts though for starters even the local Physicians back then didn't really have any idea what was going on most of them were stumped and could only explain it as the result of a thing they called hot blood they thought it was somewhat similar to a fever ooh could this have been the ancestor of disco fever hardly these days with all the available technology and information it doesn't make any sense at all fever alone doesn't make people dance Physicians and local authorities thought that the best and only way to cure this Behavior was for the individuals to dance until this fever this urge simply disappeared locals even set up a stage and brought professional dancers along Ong with a band to provide music The Strange episode finally ended in September when the dancers were taken to a Mountaintop in hopes they could request help from some sort of higher spirits that could end their misery weirdly enough similar events took place in Switzerland Germany and the Netherlands even before this event but none were as large or as serious as the one in 158 years after the incident parilus a physician wrote a series of books on this dancing condition after the incident in strawberg he was pretty famous for his work on using chemistry in medicine he believed that this Behavior was not caused by bad luck or unnatural forces but instead by something in people's bodies that gave them a ticklish feeling this is what affected their judgment and caused the movements he basically said that the people had an extreme case of tickles some scientists have claimed over the years that the dancing frenzy was caused by some sort of food people may have eaten which could have made them sick some of them have even suggested that the culprit might have been a fungus called urg this fungus grows on grains used for baking bread and has a chemical that can seriously affect people's judgment others don't believe this to be possible because people can't dance for days just because of their exposure to the fungus also not everyone would have reacted the same way the outbreaks of uncontrollable dancing happened in areas with different climates and crops too it's highly unlikely that this fungus would have been present in all these locations another theory was suggested by John Waller an American Medical historian who thought the dancing phenomenon of 1518 was caused by something much simpler people being very stressed out he pointed out that these types of behavior could happen when people were under a lot of pressure as a result they start to believe in scary things and behave an unusual way if we look at the information we have from back in the day in all fairness people in strawber had a lot to worry about if the weather was bad their crops were affected so food was often scarce Waller also suggested that people were pretty superstitious too the locals in strawberg believe that if they didn't make a certain higher Spirit happy they would be forced to dance to pay for their Disobedience perhaps we'll never know the true reason why people s ly started dancing that day under the hot summer sun it doesn't mean the story hasn't influenced literature uncontrollable dancing had a captivating effect on those who saw it this idea is also shown in the famous fairy tale called The Red Shoes written by Danish author Hans Christian Anderson the story mentions a special pair of red shoes that Force the wearer to dance until they simply couldn't handle it anymore sure this story had another meaning altogether to warn against vanity but it also suggests that dancing may become problematic if done excessively should you ever find yourself on a dance floor filled with energetic people it might be hard to stand still you'll feel inclined to at least Bounce from one foot to another from peer pressure if not because of the music now let's not forget though dancing can mean so much more music and dances are important parts of everyday life in many cultures around the world and there there is no other place on Earth where dancing is more valued than in Africa in these cultures dances tell stories and are not just for fun they talk about history show emotions and help bring people together a lot of African tribes are famous for their dances like the Messi tribe of Tanzania and Kenya and the Zulu tribe of South Africa in most African villages everyone dances to the beat of drums and the whole Community joins in by singing and playing along what's special about African culture is its polycentric dance that means that different parts of a dancer's body move to different beats in the music this makes it unique but complicated to learn and can take a long time to master even though different groups of people in Africa do this type of dance there are still many differences between them another special type of dance takes us to a different continent altoe it's called the Haka and it is a traditional Maui dance from New Zealand it's performed by men women and children as a form of expression challenge or celebration it can be accompanied by chanting and shouting and it can be performed standing still or moving forward locals often perform it at significant events such as weddings it's known as a way to show strength bravery and unity and can be used to intimidate opponents it's so important to locals that it's become a pregame ritual for the New Zealand national rugby team the all blackass not to mention it's even protected by law Asian Traditions have special types of movements too Kabuki for instance is a type of Japanese theater that includes both dancing and acting it started in Kyoto in the 1600s and these days it features only male actors they play various characters in funny shows with naughty jokes over time Kabuki became a five-part performance that could be about Japanese history family drama or dance the actors use special movements and faces painted with white powder and bright colors to show their emotions the theater also has special effects like hidden doors and a spinning stage to make the show more exciting and keep the audience entertained for a whole day that's it for today so hey if you pacified your curiosity then give the video a like and share it with your friends or if you want more just click on these videos and stay on the bright side