{"id":1344,"date":"2025-10-15T10:13:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T10:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/1344\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T10:13:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T10:13:12","slug":"mutter-museum-to-host-choreomania-dance-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/1344\/","title":{"rendered":"M\u00fctter Museum to host ‘Choreomania’ dance party"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note: Welcome to the world of \u201cParanormal PA,\u201d a PennLive series that delves into Pennsylvania-grown stories of spirits; cryptids; oddities and legends; and the unexplained. Sign up here <\/a>to get our Paranormal PA newsletter delivered to your inbox.<\/p>\n

Dance fads are often a sign of the times: the Waltz, the Charleston, flossing.<\/p>\n

The same could be said \u2014 in a sense \u2014 of choreomania.<\/p>\n

The M\u00fctter Museum in Philadelphia wants you to come boogie like you can\u2019t stop on Mischief Night (or Oct. 30 to normies). The occasion? \u201cChoreomania,\u201d an after-hours dance party with a nod to one of history\u2019s weirder moments.<\/p>\n

According to a press release <\/a>sent out by the museum, choreomania was something that actually happened; a \u201c\u2018dancing mania\u2019 that periodically struck medieval European towns.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most well-known case was the so-called Dancing Plague of 1518 in Strasbourg, France, where hundreds of citizens were impacted by a widespread but inexplicable need to dance,\u201d the release explains. \u201cOver several months, citizens experienced symptoms like uncontrollable movement, dehydration, sweating, extreme fatigue, and sometimes even collapse.\u201d<\/p>\n

The BBC adds<\/a> that this \u201cdancing plague\u201d was purportedly preceded by strange omens: Stars, floods, extreme weather. Then, before anyone knew it, a woman named Frau Troffea started doing a jig and couldn\u2019t stop. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhile uncertain about its cause, medieval physicians treated choreomania by bringing in musicians, creating dance halls for the afflicted, and managing other symptoms with food and drink,\u201d the release adds. \u201cEpisodes of \u2018dancing mania\u2019 occurred throughout mainland Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries, resisting easy medical explanation, past or present.\u201d <\/p>\n

Attendees to the museum\u2019s \u201cChoreomania\u201d will, thankfully, have the choice of whether to dance or not to a live DJ. There will also be an immersive, sensory light installation courtesy of artist collective Glimmer Labs<\/a>, along with light bites and specialty cocktails (for purchase), as well as costumed actors and pop-up activations. <\/p>\n

\u201cChoreomania is an opportunity for us to welcome visitors to the M\u00fctter Museum to engage and learn about medical history through the lens of entertainment,\u201d said Sara Ray, Ph.D and Senior Director of Interpretation and Engagement at the museum, via the release. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve long been fascinated by this series of historic events because they beautifully demonstrate medieval understandings about how the body\u2019s physiology and medicine were connected to a spiritual ecology involving nature, humans, demons, and the divine.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cChoreomania\u201d will be hosted on the aforementioned Mischief Night from 7 to 11 p.m. For more information, please click here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s just hope 1518 doesn\u2019t end up repeating itself. <\/p>\n

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