Dance Epidemics and The Last Days of Disco
These appeared in my newsfeeds on the same day.
St John’s Dancers in Molenbeeck, by a follower of Pieter Bruegel the Elder
500 years ago this month, a strange mania seized the city of Strasbourg. Citizens by the hundreds became compelled to dance, seemingly for no reason — jigging trance-like for days, until unconsciousness or, in some cases, death.
Read The Dancing Plague of 1518 in The Public Domain Review.
And twenty years ago, one of my favorite movies opened in theatres.
When I was living in New York and working on a newspaper, I’d get off work at 2am and we’d go to clubbing at Studio 54. There weren’t a lot of other places in the neighbourhood to go to. I had a tailor-made blue suit that was my sole legacy from my father. It was my magic charm for getting into the club. I was scared of Studio 54 at first – but it wasn’t in the least bit scary once you got in. My first date with my future wife was there.
Read Whit Stillman and Kate Beckinsale: How we made The Last Days of Disco.
Chloe!
Make another movie soon, Whit.
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