Macabre Danse
@macabredanse.bsky.social
A research project looking at ways in which dance and the Gothic intersect, beginning with ballet.
Run by Kaja Franck, Karen Graham and Kate Harvey
Website: https://gothicballet.wordpress.com/about-danse-macabre/
Run by Kaja Franck, Karen Graham and Kate Harvey
Website: https://gothicballet.wordpress.com/about-danse-macabre/
Its the grand finale. Our Dancing Dead Girl for Day 31 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse is of course Lady Gaga youtu.be/xGaZBfJOyAc?...
Lady Gaga - The Dead Dance (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by LadyGagaVEVO
youtu.be
October 31, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Its the grand finale. Our Dancing Dead Girl for Day 31 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse is of course Lady Gaga youtu.be/xGaZBfJOyAc?...
Day 30 of #31DaysofDanseMacabre and today's dancing dead girl is the sacrifical maiden from Igor Stravinsky's 'The Rites of Spring' (1913).
Pic: Pina Bausch's choreography, 1984. Performance view, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York, 2017.
Pic: Pina Bausch's choreography, 1984. Performance view, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York, 2017.
October 30, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Day 30 of #31DaysofDanseMacabre and today's dancing dead girl is the sacrifical maiden from Igor Stravinsky's 'The Rites of Spring' (1913).
Pic: Pina Bausch's choreography, 1984. Performance view, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York, 2017.
Pic: Pina Bausch's choreography, 1984. Performance view, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York, 2017.
Day 29 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse and our Dancing Dead Girl takes the form of a swan. Not, as you might expectation, Odette from Swan Lake but the Dying Swan.
October 30, 2025 at 7:22 AM
Day 29 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse and our Dancing Dead Girl takes the form of a swan. Not, as you might expectation, Odette from Swan Lake but the Dying Swan.
Welcome, foolish mortals to day 28 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse where we invite you to watch the Waltzing Dead, also knows as the dancing ghosts from the ballroom in the Haunted Mansion.
October 29, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Welcome, foolish mortals to day 28 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse where we invite you to watch the Waltzing Dead, also knows as the dancing ghosts from the ballroom in the Haunted Mansion.
Day 27 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse and children can be such monsters. Abigail (2024) is a reimagining of Universal's Dracula's Daughter and sees a group of criminals recruiting to kidnap the daughter of a wealthy businessman. However, said child is no ordinary ballerina...
October 28, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Day 27 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse and children can be such monsters. Abigail (2024) is a reimagining of Universal's Dracula's Daughter and sees a group of criminals recruiting to kidnap the daughter of a wealthy businessman. However, said child is no ordinary ballerina...
Day 26 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse presents the Dancing Dead (Girls) of Christopher Bruce’s 1981 Ghost Dances. It tells stories of love and compassion, as death – in the form of the ‘ghost dancers’ – interrupts the daily lives of a series of ordinary people.
October 27, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Day 26 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse presents the Dancing Dead (Girls) of Christopher Bruce’s 1981 Ghost Dances. It tells stories of love and compassion, as death – in the form of the ‘ghost dancers’ – interrupts the daily lives of a series of ordinary people.
A semi-dead, semi-dancing girl for Day 25 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse as we visit one (of many) options from Matthew Bourne's reimagined contemporary ballets in the form of Aurora from Sleeping Beauty: A Gothic Romance.
October 27, 2025 at 4:26 PM
A semi-dead, semi-dancing girl for Day 25 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse as we visit one (of many) options from Matthew Bourne's reimagined contemporary ballets in the form of Aurora from Sleeping Beauty: A Gothic Romance.
For Day 24 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse we present to you Lily Frankenstein, our Dancing Dead Girl played by Billie Piper.
October 27, 2025 at 2:51 PM
For Day 24 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse we present to you Lily Frankenstein, our Dancing Dead Girl played by Billie Piper.
We're playing catch up at Danse Macabre HQ after a hectic pre-Halloweek weekend. Bear with us as we bring you up to speed in all things #31DaysOfMacabreDanse
October 27, 2025 at 2:26 PM
We're playing catch up at Danse Macabre HQ after a hectic pre-Halloweek weekend. Bear with us as we bring you up to speed in all things #31DaysOfMacabreDanse
For Day 23 of #31DaysofMacabreDanse, we return to the theme of dancing dead girls in white with 'Dr Semmelweiz' (2023) starring Mark Rylance, about Dr Ignaz Semmelweis' work to prevent postpartum infection. His work was dismissed, leading to a nervous breakdown, and he died in an asylum.
October 24, 2025 at 8:55 AM
For Day 23 of #31DaysofMacabreDanse, we return to the theme of dancing dead girls in white with 'Dr Semmelweiz' (2023) starring Mark Rylance, about Dr Ignaz Semmelweis' work to prevent postpartum infection. His work was dismissed, leading to a nervous breakdown, and he died in an asylum.
Day 22 #31DaysOfMacabreDanse presents the vampire bat ballet sequence from Louis Feuillade's silent film serial Les Vampires (1913-15). In Episode Two - The Ring That Kills ballerina Marfa Koutiloff (Stacia Napierkowska) performs as a vampire bat en pointe but dies on stage.
October 22, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Day 22 #31DaysOfMacabreDanse presents the vampire bat ballet sequence from Louis Feuillade's silent film serial Les Vampires (1913-15). In Episode Two - The Ring That Kills ballerina Marfa Koutiloff (Stacia Napierkowska) performs as a vampire bat en pointe but dies on stage.
For Day 22 of #31DaysofMacbreDanse, we have the Danse Macabre crew on Romancing the Gothic (www.youtube.com/@RomancingTh...). The image is from our screening of Guy Maddin's 'Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary' (see Day 15) for Dracula in Derby conference.
October 21, 2025 at 8:43 PM
For Day 22 of #31DaysofMacbreDanse, we have the Danse Macabre crew on Romancing the Gothic (www.youtube.com/@RomancingTh...). The image is from our screening of Guy Maddin's 'Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary' (see Day 15) for Dracula in Derby conference.
A belated day 20 of #31DaysofMacabreDanse with the classic novel of death, a young woman and dance: 'Bruges-la-Morte' (1892) by Georges Rodenbach. The narrative follows a widower haunted by his dead wife, and still living amongst her relics.
Image: Fernand Khnopff's cover design, 1892.
Image: Fernand Khnopff's cover design, 1892.
October 21, 2025 at 8:19 PM
A belated day 20 of #31DaysofMacabreDanse with the classic novel of death, a young woman and dance: 'Bruges-la-Morte' (1892) by Georges Rodenbach. The narrative follows a widower haunted by his dead wife, and still living amongst her relics.
Image: Fernand Khnopff's cover design, 1892.
Image: Fernand Khnopff's cover design, 1892.
For Day 19 of #31DaysofMacabreDanse, our dancing dead girl is the Prima Ballerina (Summer Glau) in 'Waiting in the Wings', Angel (S3: E13). In this episode, a ballerina is cursed to dance the same ballet, nightly, forever. To break the spell, she must dance the wrong steps leading to her death.
October 19, 2025 at 8:46 AM
For Day 19 of #31DaysofMacabreDanse, our dancing dead girl is the Prima Ballerina (Summer Glau) in 'Waiting in the Wings', Angel (S3: E13). In this episode, a ballerina is cursed to dance the same ballet, nightly, forever. To break the spell, she must dance the wrong steps leading to her death.
Some goth rock melodrama for your #31DaysOfMacabreDanse Day 18 with Creeper. An example of theatrical metal, the band includes worldbuilding and story arcs with their albums, creating personas for the members and expanding the stories in their music videos.
October 19, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Some goth rock melodrama for your #31DaysOfMacabreDanse Day 18 with Creeper. An example of theatrical metal, the band includes worldbuilding and story arcs with their albums, creating personas for the members and expanding the stories in their music videos.
Our Dancing Dead Girl for Day 17 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse is Monster High's Draculaura. Daughter of Dracula, our girl is harbouring a secret; she might be a Vampire but she's also a Witch and the two are mortal enemies.
October 17, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Our Dancing Dead Girl for Day 17 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse is Monster High's Draculaura. Daughter of Dracula, our girl is harbouring a secret; she might be a Vampire but she's also a Witch and the two are mortal enemies.
Let me in a your window for Day 16 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse. The debut single from Kate Bush, Wuthering Heights, released in 1978, is a self penned number sung from the point of view of Cathy's ghost.
October 16, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Let me in a your window for Day 16 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse. The debut single from Kate Bush, Wuthering Heights, released in 1978, is a self penned number sung from the point of view of Cathy's ghost.
Day 15 of #31DaysofMacabreDanse and it's Guy Maddin's 'Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary' (2002), a film of Royal Winnipeg's Baller adaptation of 'Dracula' (1897). Filmed in the silent film tradition, the addition of colours - golden, green and red - add depth and symbolism.
October 15, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Day 15 of #31DaysofMacabreDanse and it's Guy Maddin's 'Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary' (2002), a film of Royal Winnipeg's Baller adaptation of 'Dracula' (1897). Filmed in the silent film tradition, the addition of colours - golden, green and red - add depth and symbolism.
Day 14 of #31DaysofMacabreDanse, and we turn to a lost a film, 'The Dance of Death' (1919). Written by Fritz Lang, and directed by Otto Ripert, this silent horror film centres on a dangerous dancing woman (Sascha Gura).
October 14, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Day 14 of #31DaysofMacabreDanse, and we turn to a lost a film, 'The Dance of Death' (1919). Written by Fritz Lang, and directed by Otto Ripert, this silent horror film centres on a dangerous dancing woman (Sascha Gura).
Day 13 of #31DaysofMacabreDanse and it's unlucky for some. In this case, the Treginnis family in 'The Haunted Ballroom', first performed in 1934 with music and libretto by Geoffrey Toye and choreography by Ninette de Valois. Image: Alicia Markova and Robert Helpmann
October 13, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Day 13 of #31DaysofMacabreDanse and it's unlucky for some. In this case, the Treginnis family in 'The Haunted Ballroom', first performed in 1934 with music and libretto by Geoffrey Toye and choreography by Ninette de Valois. Image: Alicia Markova and Robert Helpmann
Day 12 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse brings a Dancing Dead Girl from the mind of Rob Zombie. Loving Dead Girl (1998) was the second single from Zombie's Hellbilly Deluxe album and features Sheri Moon as the titular Dean Girl.
they pray for the living dead girl is written on a blackboard
ALT: they pray for the living dead girl is written on a blackboard
media.tenor.com
October 12, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Day 12 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse brings a Dancing Dead Girl from the mind of Rob Zombie. Loving Dead Girl (1998) was the second single from Zombie's Hellbilly Deluxe album and features Sheri Moon as the titular Dean Girl.
Day 11 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse is a recurrent motif in art and media. Death and the Madien evolved from the Danse Macabre (yes, where we took the inspiration for our name) and became popular first during the Renaisance and later revived in the Romantic era.
October 11, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Day 11 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse is a recurrent motif in art and media. Death and the Madien evolved from the Danse Macabre (yes, where we took the inspiration for our name) and became popular first during the Renaisance and later revived in the Romantic era.
Day 10 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse and for your Friday night feast we bring you a colab between 2/3 of Danse Macabre and The Ghoul Guides Association youtu.be/R6n5TGVfb6o?...
Gothic Dance | Ghoul Guides Association
YouTube video by The Ghoul Guides
youtu.be
October 10, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Day 10 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse and for your Friday night feast we bring you a colab between 2/3 of Danse Macabre and The Ghoul Guides Association youtu.be/R6n5TGVfb6o?...
Day 9 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse, and our dancing dead girls are stitching a seam across the eye. Season 2 of So You Think You Can Dance in 2006 gave us a zombie group number to Ramalama (Bang Bang) by Roísín Murphy
October 9, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Day 9 of #31DaysOfMacabreDanse, and our dancing dead girls are stitching a seam across the eye. Season 2 of So You Think You Can Dance in 2006 gave us a zombie group number to Ramalama (Bang Bang) by Roísín Murphy
Day 8 of #31DaysofMacabreDanse and we wonder 'to sleep, perchance to dream' (Hamlet, 3:1) with 'La Sonnambula'. Premiering in 1946, at the City Center of Music and Drama, New York, it was created by George Balanchine.
October 8, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Day 8 of #31DaysofMacabreDanse and we wonder 'to sleep, perchance to dream' (Hamlet, 3:1) with 'La Sonnambula'. Premiering in 1946, at the City Center of Music and Drama, New York, it was created by George Balanchine.