Presented at QL2’S MEET UP FESTIVAL IN 2022, AS PART OF THE ‘GATHER’ PERFORMANCE EVENINg

THE DANCING FEVER OF 1518

About

In July 1518, a woman whose name was given as Frau Troffea (or Mrs. Trauffea) stepped into the street and began dancing. She seemed unable to stop, and she kept dancing until she collapsed from exhaustion. After resting, she resumed the compulsive frenzied activity. She continued this way for days, and within a week more than 30 other people were similarly afflicted. The civic and religious leaders theorized that more dancing was the solution, and so they arranged guildhalls for the dancers to gather in, musicians to accompany the dancing, and professional dancers to help the afflicted to continue dancing. This only exacerbated the contagion, and as many as 400 people were eventually consumed by the dancing compulsion. A number of them died from their exertions.

505 years later, The Dancing Fever of 1518 was presented in July of 2023 at the Canberra Theatre Centre, as part of QL2’s ‘Meet Up’ festival. Seventeen Yellow Wheel Dancers traveled to Canberra to undertake workshops and performances alongside other pre-professional companies from around Australia. Yellow Wheel performed as the final company in a line up of 6 pre-professional youth dance companies from around Australia.

The Dancing Fever of 1518 was also presented as part of the 2023 Major Season, alongside ‘Hive Mind’.

Photos by Lorna Sim