1518. 

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​​The Dancing Plague is a historical enigma from 1518, when the residents of Strasbourg began dancing uncontrollably for reasons unknown. The delirium lasted for weeks, until the exhausted dancers collapsed to the ground. While the exact cause of this phenomenon remains undetermined, one hypothesis suggests that mass hysteria triggered by stress was to blame.

 

In the dance performance 1518. members of the Zadar Dance Ensemble, in collaboration with choreographer Matea Bilosnić, create their own stage interpretation of this event, placing it within a contemporary context. By focusing on the body's continuous pulse - which serves as the rhythmic foundation of the dance language - the performers embody the essence of agony and liberation, order and disorder, organization and chaos. Physicality manifests a raw, individual need for movement.

 

Through electronic music, the element of collectivity draws a parallel between modern rave culture and the early Renaissance dance epidemic described. Transforming fatigue into ecstasy and vice versa, the dancers create an unstoppable organism on stage. Through the synthesis and gradation of movement, they balance between these states, thereby highlighting the duality of human existence itself.

 

The audience is invited to immerse themselves in a hypnotic experience where both the performance space and time become distorted; this shifts the viewer's perception, allowing the sense of collectivity to transcend the stage and transform into a form of contagion.

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​​Choreography: Matea Bilosnić

Performance: Nataša Kustura, Marija Pehar, Gendis Putri Katrini, Korina Oltran, Patricia Gospić, Bernarda Klarin

​Sound Design: Stefan Košević

Light Design: Saša Fistrić

Production: Zadar dance ensemble & The Zadar Summer Theatre Festival

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​The project was supported by Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, the City Office for Culture of the City of Zadar and the Kultura nova Foundation.

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