The 1518 dancing plague

Scene timeline

1. #1 · 3.4s

   In 1518, people danced themselves to death.

   shadowy medieval crowd dancing in a foggy town square, low-key teal light, 9:16

2. #2 · 3.4s

   It began with one woman in the streets of Strasbourg.

   lone woman dancing in an empty foggy cobbled street, lantern light, 9:16

3. #3 · 3.5s

   Within a week, dozens had joined her, unable to stop.

   crowd of dancers filling a misty medieval square, eerie, 9:16

4. #4 · 3.5s

   They danced for days, feet bleeding, eyes empty.

   gaunt dancer with hollow eyes, candlelit, deep shadows, 9:16

5. #5 · 3.4s

   Some collapsed from strokes and heart attacks.

   figure crumpled on wet cobblestones, onlookers in fog, 9:16

6. #6 · 3.5s

   The authorities, baffled, ordered them to dance more.

   robed officials watching from a dim doorway, torchlight, 9:16

7. #7 · 3.4s

   Then, as suddenly as it began, it stopped.

   empty foggy square at dawn, abandoned shoes, silence, 9:16

8. #8 · 4.0s

   Five centuries later, no one knows why.

   old parchment and a single candle in darkness, mysterious, 9:16

Config JSON

Copy this into the playground to recreate the short.

{
  "script": "In 1518, people danced themselves to death. It began with one woman, Frau Troffea, who stepped into a street in Strasbourg and started to dance. There was no music. She did not stop. Within days, dozens had joined her, their bodies jerking as if possessed. Within a month, hundreds were caught in the frenzy. They danced through bleeding feet and broken bones. Some collapsed from strokes, heart attacks, and sheer exhaustion. The terrified authorities consulted physicians, who declared it a disease of hot blood, and prescribed more dancing. They built a stage. They hired musicians. It only made things worse. And then, as mysteriously as it had begun, the dancing stopped. Mass hysteria? Poisoning? A curse? Five centuries later, the dancing plague of 1518 remains one of history's strangest unsolved mysteries.",
  "voiceId": "el_will",
  "style": "mystery",
  "language": "en"
}