The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1914-11-12
From Cottrell's magazine.

This present epidemic Of dancing
which began with the turkey trot, then
changed 10 the bunny hug, Texas
tommy, fshworn wriggle, Frisco glide
z duali" the tango-is the first Vio-
lent appearance Of social ueurasthenla
or hysteria since the Fifteenth century.
The dancing mania Of the Aliodle
Ages did not assume the proportions
Of Z social disease until July, 1874,
when q frenzy swept through the town
Of Aix-la-Chapelle and whole mODs OF
men and women danced In the streets
screaming and foaming at the mouth.
This was kept up until they fen from
exhaustion, and a great many OF the
dancers finished by beating their heads
against walls until they heard the
overture in the clouds.
Tn dancing mania had its greatest
run in the German cities, but mIldsT
o~ff-shoots reached out like caravans
and extended into all parts Of Europe,
Italy was hardest struck with this
plague in the town Of laramie. 1t be-
came known as tarantism, and was
diagnosed by the physicians Of that
time as q contagious mal&dy started
by the bite of the ~tarantula spider.
The italian doctors tried many ways
Of curing patients who q the dancing
mania. They invented d very fast
dance known as the tarantella, to the
accompaniment of c~astanets and tam
bourines. The idea probably was TO
let the disease feed on itself, on the
same principle that a certain dose of
arsenic will kill, but an overdose will
not.
II took 200 years for tarantism to run
It's course in the hot italian blood. and
historians recorded tina the most eff
fective plan discovered for curing dan
cling mania was TO bury the patients
in the ground ND to their necks.
Dancing 5000 Years Ago.
Dancing is the most ancient OF the
arts.
Confucius mentioned it and 1t was
recorded IN that part of the Hindu
Yedas written nearly 5000 years ago.
Il is found in three forms: warlike,
religious and social.
The first dancing probably came as
natural as breathing; in springtime,
youth became intoxicated with the Joy
Of life and danced much as we see
colts frisking about in pastures.
Wsrlike dancing began when the
victors in battle leaped and shouted
10 express their satisfaction.
There is no primitive tribe where we
do not find dancing Of some sort to
the rhythmic pounding on hollow logs
or Eround-drums, or the beating to-
gether OF sticks. When they haven't
musical instruments, they clap their
hands ike darkeys at a breakdown.
Dancing Is a pretty expression of
the people OF a nation-warlike, SEN
suous poetic or religious.
The Greek priests were shrewd
enough to make it a part Of the ma
donai religion.
Waltz Is Oldest.
The waltz is the Oldest of modern
dances. II has been in vogue con-
tfauously since 1855 when, known as
LIZ Volta, 1t cropped out al Fontaine-
bleau where Henry II was holding
court
Il 1910 there came a great revival
Of dancing in England. Raikes in his
Journal recorded that the sports of that
day ceased lounging of mornings and
practiced new dances, prancing about
with a chair when a partner was not
at hand.
Twenty-six years later, a dance
known as the lancers swept into popu-
larity. Four society girls picked it up
in Turkey and inoculated London.
Queen Victoria was a lancers fiend and
ordered it included in the dance pro-
ran at buckingham palace-where it
still is retained.