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* In the biographical comicbook ''ComicBook/{{Stitches}}'' by David Small, the author's grandmother was dancing in the street after burning down her house with her husband trapped inside. The event was a sign of dementia due to old age, and she was sent to a mental institution.
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* In the biographical comicbook comic book ''ComicBook/{{Stitches}}'' by David Small, the author's grandmother was dancing in the street after burning down her house with her husband trapped inside. The event was a sign of dementia due to old age, and she was sent to a mental institution.
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* Jack Torrance does this in ''Film/TheShining'' while seeing a vision of the deserted ballroom filled with people.
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* In the short film ''2 AM: The Smiling Man'', an adaptation of [[WebOriginal/TheSmilingMan the similarly-named creepypasta]], the protagonist encounters what appears to be a madman with a strange rictus grin, dancing on the sidewalk in the middle of the night. Then the man stops dancing and chases after him...
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* In the short film ''2 AM: The Smiling Man'', an adaptation of [[WebOriginal/TheSmilingMan [[Literature/TheSmilingMan the similarly-named creepypasta]], the protagonist encounters what appears to be a madman with a strange rictus grin, dancing on the sidewalk in the middle of the night. Then the man stops dancing and chases after him...
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* A propaganda video from World War II (which was an early case of StupidStatementDanceMix) showed a delighted Adolf Hitler dancing a ridiculous jig in delight at the surrender of France. It was used throughout the war to emphasize that the Allies' foremost enemy was a ridiculous but dangerous lunatic, and the film circulated worldwide as part of the British propaganda effort. It was only after the war that it was revealed that the Hitler Jig had never happened -- a sequence of his walking normally had been copied backwards and forwards on a recurring loop to give the impression of Hitler dancing madly.
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* A propaganda video from World War II (which was an early case of StupidStatementDanceMix) showed a delighted Adolf Hitler dancing a ridiculous jig in delight at the surrender of France. It was used throughout the war to emphasize that the Allies' foremost enemy was a ridiculous but dangerous lunatic, and the film circulated worldwide as part of the British propaganda effort. It was only after the war that it was revealed that the Hitler Jig had never happened -- a sequence of his walking normally had been copied backwards and forwards on a recurring loop to give the impression of Hitler dancing madly.
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* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' has [[spoiler: Dabi dancing wildly after revealing his true identity to his father, brother and all of Japan.]]
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* In the ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'' anime, [[BloodKnight Ladd Russo]] (as shown in the page image) dances with glee on the bloodied LudicrousGibs of his minions left by [[MemeticBadass Claire Stanfield]] acting as the Rail Tracer, fawning over his [[InLoveWithYourCarnage murderous exploits]] and excited at the prospect of meeting the perpetrator and killing them on his own.
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* In the ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'' anime, [[BloodKnight Ladd Russo]] (as shown in the page image) dances with glee on the bloodied LudicrousGibs of his minions left by [[MemeticBadass Claire Stanfield]] acting as the Rail Tracer, fawning over his [[InLoveWithYourCarnage murderous exploits]] and excited at the prospect of meeting the perpetrator and killing them on his own.
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* In the ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' anime, [[BloodKnight Ladd Russo]] (as shown in the page image) dances with glee on the bloodied LudicrousGibs of his minions left by [[MemeticBadass Claire Stanfield]] acting as the Rail Tracer, fawning over his [[InLoveWithYourCarnage murderous exploits]] and excited at the prospect of meeting the perpetrator and killing them on his own.
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* In the ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'' anime, [[BloodKnight Ladd Russo]] (as shown in the page image) dances with glee on the bloodied LudicrousGibs of his minions left by [[MemeticBadass Claire Stanfield]] acting as the Rail Tracer, fawning over his [[InLoveWithYourCarnage murderous exploits]] and excited at the prospect of meeting the perpetrator and killing them on his own.
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* Nellie [=LaRoy=] in ''Film/{{Babylon|2022}}'' dances wildly and confidently during the opening party scene, which gets her noticed by some executives and gets hired on the spot as a replacement for an actress who overdosed at the party. [[spoiler:Way later in the movie, she dances away into the night after having second thoughts about leaving Los Angeles with Manny.]]
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* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoMqvniiEkk this]] commercial for the perfume Kenzo World, a young woman, played by Creator/MargaretQualley, walks out of a fancy gala and performs a frenzied dance while threshing through the building that hosts the gala.
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* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoMqvniiEkk this]] commercial PerfumeCommercial for the perfume Kenzo World, a young woman, played by Creator/MargaretQualley, walks out of a fancy gala and performs a frenzied dance while threshing through the building that hosts the gala.
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No video game examples yet? I'm surprised.
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[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}: The Delicious Last Course'': While the Bishop sends his floating head (or heads) to attack you, his body dances frantically to the fast-paced battle music.
[[/folder]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}: The Delicious Last Course'': While the Bishop sends his floating head (or heads) to attack you, his body dances frantically to the fast-paced battle music.
[[/folder]]
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[[quoteright:350:[[LightNovel/{{Baccano}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crazy_dance1.JPG]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Nothing says you're crazy like dancing in a pool of blood!]]
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[[caption-width-right:350:Nothing says you're crazy like dancing in a pool of blood!]]
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Dancing can signify many things, be it [[DanceOfRomance love]], [[DanceOfDespair desperation or hopelessness]], [[AngryDance anger]], or even [[HappyDance happiness]]. It can even convey insanity- which is the scope of this trope.
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Dancing can signify many things, be it [[DanceOfRomance love]], [[DanceOfDespair desperation or hopelessness]], [[AngryDance anger]], or even [[HappyDance happiness]]. It can even convey insanity- insanity -- which is the scope of this trope.
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While playing this trope seriously or [[PlayedForDrama for drama]] is more common, [[PlayedForLaughs hilarious examples]] do exist, for example having the character dance [[NakedPeopleAreFunny naked]] or in their [[ComedicUnderwearExposure underwear]].
Compare and contrast DanceOfDespair -- with which the trope has a strong overlap especially if desperation is the cause of the insanity. Expect DancingWithMyself, as it's a rare occurrence that someone else sees the character, at least openly. Compare also TunelessSongOfMadness -- ''singing'' as a sign of failing sanity -- which sometimes overlaps with this trope. If the mad dancing resembles (or ''is'') ballet, it may fall under CreepyBallet as well. Similarly uncoordinated to ICantDance, but that trope is because the character can't dance in the first place. If it's unplanned in addition to the above, it also falls under InvoluntaryDance. Due to its nature, is heavily intertwined with SanitySlippage. May be paired with a SanitySlippageSong.
Compare and contrast DanceOfDespair -- with which the trope has a strong overlap especially if desperation is the cause of the insanity. Expect DancingWithMyself, as it's a rare occurrence that someone else sees the character, at least openly. Compare also TunelessSongOfMadness -- ''singing'' as a sign of failing sanity -- which sometimes overlaps with this trope. If the mad dancing resembles (or ''is'') ballet, it may fall under CreepyBallet as well. Similarly uncoordinated to ICantDance, but that trope is because the character can't dance in the first place. If it's unplanned in addition to the above, it also falls under InvoluntaryDance. Due to its nature, is heavily intertwined with SanitySlippage. May be paired with a SanitySlippageSong.
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While playing this trope seriously or [[PlayedForDrama for drama]] is more common, [[PlayedForLaughs hilarious examples]] do exist, exist -- for example example, having the character dance [[NakedPeopleAreFunny naked]] or in their [[ComedicUnderwearExposure underwear]].
Compare and contrast DanceOfDespair -- with which the trope has a strongoverlap overlap, especially if desperation is the cause of the insanity. Expect DancingWithMyself, as it's a rare occurrence that someone else sees the character, at least openly. Compare also TunelessSongOfMadness -- ''singing'' as a sign of failing sanity -- which sometimes overlaps with this trope. If the mad dancing resembles (or ''is'') ballet, it may fall under CreepyBallet as well. Similarly uncoordinated to ICantDance, but that trope is because the character can't dance in the first place. If it's unplanned in addition to the above, it also falls under InvoluntaryDance. Due to its nature, is heavily intertwined with SanitySlippage. May be paired with a SanitySlippageSong.
Compare and contrast DanceOfDespair -- with which the trope has a strong
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* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoMqvniiEkk this]] commercial for the perfume Kenzo World, a young woman, played by Creator/MargaretQualley, walks out of a fancy gala and performs a frenzied dance while threshing through the building that host the gala.
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* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoMqvniiEkk this]] commercial for the perfume Kenzo World, a young woman, played by Creator/MargaretQualley, walks out of a fancy gala and performs a frenzied dance while threshing through the building that host hosts the gala.
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* In ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'', there is Alvin Kothers, AKA the Death Dancer, is a SerialKiller who does a little tap dance in front of his victims right before "liberating" them from their suffering via knife to the throat. He tries to do a dance before killing his next victim, [[MuggingTheMonster but ends up being flattened when the victim turns out to be Batgirl/Oracle.]]
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* In ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'', there is Alvin Kothers, AKA the Death Dancer, who is a SerialKiller who does a little tap dance in front of his victims right before "liberating" them from their suffering via knife to the throat. He tries to do a dance before killing his next victim, [[MuggingTheMonster but ends up being flattened when the victim turns out to be Batgirl/Oracle.]]
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* In ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'', [[TragicHero Lan]] jigging in savage joy over the deaths of enemy soldiers- when only an hour earlier he had felt extreme revulsion at the idea of killing anybody- is a sign that he's been DrivenToMadness.
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* In ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'', [[TragicHero Lan]] jigging in savage joy over the deaths of enemy soldiers- soldiers -- when only an hour earlier he had felt extreme revulsion at the idea of killing anybody- anybody -- is a sign that he's been DrivenToMadness.
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* In ''Series/TheCryOfMann'', Courtney's DanceOfDespair occurs while she's undergoing SanitySlippage and sinking into a deep state of existential depression. She asks her callers for different dance moves she can preform and staggers around trying to do them, before collapsing on her bed, her mood taking a downward spiral. This is one of the first signs that something is ''very wrong'' with her, before she eventually covers her face in rhinestones trying to look beautiful.
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* In ''Series/TheCryOfMann'', Courtney's DanceOfDespair occurs while she's undergoing SanitySlippage and sinking into a deep state of existential depression. She asks her callers for different dance moves she can preform perform and staggers around trying to do them, before collapsing on her bed, her mood taking a downward spiral. This is one of the first signs that something is ''very wrong'' with her, before she eventually covers her face in rhinestones trying to look beautiful.
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* A propaganda video from World War II (which was an early case of StupidStatementDanceMix) showed a delighted Adolf Hitler dancing a ridiculous jig in delight at the surrender of France. It was used throughout the war to emphasize that the Allies' foremost enemy was a ridiculous but dangerous lunatic, and the film circulated worldwide as part of the British propaganda effort. It was only after the war that it was revealed the Hitler Jig had never happened -- a sequence of his walking normally had been copied backwards and forwards on a recurring loop to give the impression of Hitler dancing madly.
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* A propaganda video from World War II (which was an early case of StupidStatementDanceMix) showed a delighted Adolf Hitler dancing a ridiculous jig in delight at the surrender of France. It was used throughout the war to emphasize that the Allies' foremost enemy was a ridiculous but dangerous lunatic, and the film circulated worldwide as part of the British propaganda effort. It was only after the war that it was revealed that the Hitler Jig had never happened -- a sequence of his walking normally had been copied backwards and forwards on a recurring loop to give the impression of Hitler dancing madly.
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* In TheStinger of ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' movie ''Rebellion'', the absolutely MadGod [[spoiler:[[FallenHero Akuma Homura]]]] does a few ballet moves after subjecting the BigBad of the movie to ColdBloodedTorture.
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* In the Creator/TakarazukaRevue musical ''Nijinsky'', Vaslav’s nervous breakdown is rendered as a wild dance.
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Compare and contrast DanceOfDespair -- with which the trope has a strong overlap especially if desperation is the cause of the insanity. Expect DancingWithMyself, as it's a rare occurrence that someone else sees the character, at least openly. Compare also TunelessSongOfMadness -- ''singing'' as a sign of failing sanity- which sometimes overlaps with this trope. If the mad dancing resembles (or ''is'') ballet, it may fall under CreepyBallet as well. Similarly uncoordinated to ICantDance, but that trope is because the character can't dance in the first place. If it's unplanned in addition to the above, it also falls under InvoluntaryDance. Due to its nature, is heavily intertwined with SanitySlippage. May be paired with a SanitySlippageSong.
to:
Compare and contrast DanceOfDespair -- with which the trope has a strong overlap especially if desperation is the cause of the insanity. Expect DancingWithMyself, as it's a rare occurrence that someone else sees the character, at least openly. Compare also TunelessSongOfMadness -- ''singing'' as a sign of failing sanity- sanity -- which sometimes overlaps with this trope. If the mad dancing resembles (or ''is'') ballet, it may fall under CreepyBallet as well. Similarly uncoordinated to ICantDance, but that trope is because the character can't dance in the first place. If it's unplanned in addition to the above, it also falls under InvoluntaryDance. Due to its nature, is heavily intertwined with SanitySlippage. May be paired with a SanitySlippageSong.
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Compare and contrast DanceOfDespair- with which the trope has a strong overlap especially if desperation is the cause of the insanity. Expect DancingWithMyself, as it's a rare occurrence that someone else sees the character, at least openly. Compare also TunelessSongOfMadness- ''singing'' as a sign of failing sanity- which sometimes overlaps with this trope. If the mad dancing resembles (or ''is'') ballet, it may fall under CreepyBallet as well. Similarly uncoordinated to ICantDance, but that trope is because the character can't dance in the first place. If it's unplanned in addition to the above, it also falls under InvoluntaryDance. Due to its nature, is heavily intertwined with SanitySlippage. May be paired with a SanitySlippageSong.
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Compare and contrast DanceOfDespair- DanceOfDespair -- with which the trope has a strong overlap especially if desperation is the cause of the insanity. Expect DancingWithMyself, as it's a rare occurrence that someone else sees the character, at least openly. Compare also TunelessSongOfMadness- TunelessSongOfMadness -- ''singing'' as a sign of failing sanity- which sometimes overlaps with this trope. If the mad dancing resembles (or ''is'') ballet, it may fall under CreepyBallet as well. Similarly uncoordinated to ICantDance, but that trope is because the character can't dance in the first place. If it's unplanned in addition to the above, it also falls under InvoluntaryDance. Due to its nature, is heavily intertwined with SanitySlippage. May be paired with a SanitySlippageSong.
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[[quoteright:360:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crazy_dance1.JPG]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Nothing says you're crazy like dancing in a pool of blood!]]
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[[caption-width-right:350:Nothing says you're crazy like dancing in a pool of blood!]]
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[[folder:Advertising]]
* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoMqvniiEkk this]] commercial for the perfume Kenzo World, a young woman, played by Creator/MargaretQualley, walks out of a fancy gala and performs a frenzied dance while threshing through the building that host the gala.
[[/folder]]
* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoMqvniiEkk this]] commercial for the perfume Kenzo World, a young woman, played by Creator/MargaretQualley, walks out of a fancy gala and performs a frenzied dance while threshing through the building that host the gala.
[[/folder]]
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* In the ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' anime, [[BloodKnight Ladd Russo]] dances with glee on the bloodied LudicrousGibs of his minions left by [[MemeticBadass Claire Stanfield]] acting as the Rail Tracer, fawning over his [[InLoveWithYourCarnage murderous exploits]] and excited at the prospect of meeting the perpetrator and killing them on his own.
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* In the ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' anime, [[BloodKnight Ladd Russo]] (as shown in the page image) dances with glee on the bloodied LudicrousGibs of his minions left by [[MemeticBadass Claire Stanfield]] acting as the Rail Tracer, fawning over his [[InLoveWithYourCarnage murderous exploits]] and excited at the prospect of meeting the perpetrator and killing them on his own.
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[[folder:Advertising]]
* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoMqvniiEkk this]] commercial for the perfume Kenzo World, a young woman, played by Creator/MargaretQualley, walks out of a fancy gala and performs a frenzied dance while threshing through the building that host the gala.
[[/folder]]
* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoMqvniiEkk this]] commercial for the perfume Kenzo World, a young woman, played by Creator/MargaretQualley, walks out of a fancy gala and performs a frenzied dance while threshing through the building that host the gala.
[[/folder]]
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* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoMqvniiEkk this]] commercial for the perfume Kenzo World, a young woman, played by Creator/MargaretQualley, walks out of a fancy gala and performs a frenzied dance while threshing through the building that host the gala.
[[/folder]]
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[[caption-width-right:350:Nothing says you're crazy like dancing in a pool of blood!]
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[[caption-width-right:350:Nothing says you're crazy like dancing in a pool of blood!]blood!]]
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crazy_dance1.JPG]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Nothing says you're crazy like dancing in a pool of blood!]
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[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* In the ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' anime, [[BloodKnight Ladd Russo]] dances with glee on the bloodied LudicrousGibs of his minions left by [[MemeticBadass Claire Stanfield]] acting as the Rail Tracer, fawning over his [[InLoveWithYourCarnage murderous exploits]] and excited at the prospect of meeting the perpetrator and killing them on his own.
-->'''Ladd Russo:''' I cannot wait to meet the genius responsible for this masterpiece! … I'll tap dance on their head like I'm Goddamn Bojangles!!
[[/folder]]
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* In ''Film/KingsmanTheGoldenCircle'', one of the main symptoms caused by the toxin [[BigBad Poppy]] has added to her widespread drugs is uncontrollable and disturbingly spastic dancing before the victim starts completely losing their minds.
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* In ''Film/KingsmanTheGoldenCircle'', one of the main symptoms caused by the toxin [[BigBad Poppy]] has added to her widespread drugs is uncontrollable and disturbingly spastic erratic dancing before the victim starts completely losing their minds.
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Dancing can signify many things, be it [[DanceOfRomance love]], [[DanceOfDespair desperation or hopelessness]], [[AngryDance anger]], or even [[HappyDance happiness]]. It can even convey insanity- which is the scope of this trope.
A character performing a Deranged Dance usually signifies his/her failing sanity, if it hasn't been compromised entirely before. Their dancing will usually be erratic and/or uncoordinated, and may involve screaming, crying, frightening stoicism, or any combination thereof.
While playing this trope seriously or [[PlayedForDrama for drama]] is more common, [[PlayedForLaughs hilarious examples]] do exist, for example having the character dance [[NakedPeopleAreFunny naked]] or in their [[ComedicUnderwearExposure underwear]].
Compare and contrast DanceOfDespair- with which the trope has a strong overlap especially if desperation is the cause of the insanity. Expect DancingWithMyself, as it's a rare occurrence that someone else sees the character, at least openly. Compare also TunelessSongOfMadness- ''singing'' as a sign of failing sanity- which sometimes overlaps with this trope. If the mad dancing resembles (or ''is'') ballet, it may fall under CreepyBallet as well. Similarly uncoordinated to ICantDance, but that trope is because the character can't dance in the first place. If it's unplanned in addition to the above, it also falls under InvoluntaryDance. Due to its nature, is heavily intertwined with SanitySlippage. May be paired with a SanitySlippageSong.
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Advertising]]
* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoMqvniiEkk this]] commercial for the perfume Kenzo World, a young woman, played by Creator/MargaretQualley, walks out of a fancy gala and performs a frenzied dance while threshing through the building that host the gala.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'', there is Alvin Kothers, AKA the Death Dancer, is a SerialKiller who does a little tap dance in front of his victims right before "liberating" them from their suffering via knife to the throat. He tries to do a dance before killing his next victim, [[MuggingTheMonster but ends up being flattened when the victim turns out to be Batgirl/Oracle.]]
* In the biographical comicbook ''ComicBook/{{Stitches}}'' by David Small, the author's grandmother was dancing in the street after burning down her house with her husband trapped inside. The event was a sign of dementia due to old age, and she was sent to a mental institution.
* In ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 Vol 2]] #97, Wonder Woman is infected by a powerful variant of Joker Venom during a fight with the Joker. Her solution is to invoke the MadGod Pan to "teach her how to dance in Chaos" and thus gains InsanityImmunity through a special dance tied to the concept of a chaotic atypical mind.
* The story Thulsa Doom: The Serpent's Den from ''Savage Tales'' issue #5. In a flashback, the sorceress Thalia is shown dancing with demented glee after being corrupted by dark magic.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/Joker2019'' has Arthur Fleck dancing in the bathroom after killing the three men who assaulted him in the subway, dancing down a long stair path, ''and'' dancing on top of a car in the midst of a riot, all as a sign of his descent into madness.
* ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'' features serial killer Buffalo Bill dancing in the buff and in makeup to "Goodbye Horses" in his disorganized basement, a scene that highlights his PsychopathicManchild and SissyVillain traits.
* In ''Film/SonicTheHedgehog2020'' it's PlayedForLaughs. Dr. Robotnik dances to "Where Evil Grows" at one point. While he feels confident in his ability to catch Sonic at the moment, and his dancing is pretty smooth, his chase for the hedgehog is slowly taking a toll on his sanity, and it's telling how he openly (if silently) [[CardCarryingVillain acknowledges that he's evil]] in this moment. And then he gets startled out of the dance by his lackey, Stone, showing up to offer him a latte.
* In ''Film/BlackSwan'', Nina's final dance as the Black Swan shows her as being truly DrivenToMadness, but for that, it's noted as being "perfect". [[spoiler:Made even more so by how she stabbed herself, maybe to death, just before it.]]
* A rare example when the dance doesn't involve the protagonist dancing (necessarily; it's at least ambiguous) in ''Film/MulhollandDrive''. Betty's journey into Hollywood begins with an intercut of people dancing the jitterbug while she watches. [[spoiler:When the film cuts back to what may be reality, Betty's doppelgänger Diane is increasingly menaced by dancing people and visions of sinister people dancing.]] One theory for this is that one of [[spoiler:Diane's]] few accomplishments is winning a jitterbug contest, ''perhaps'' while her AbusiveParents or [[GruesomeGrandparent grandparents]] watched.
* In ''Film/{{Us}}'', rather than trying to defend herself actively when Adelaide [[spoiler:aka the real Red]] comes at her with a sword, Red [[spoiler:aka the original, real Adelaide]] simply dances away from her and avoids the blade. The closer Adelaide[[spoiler:/Red]] gets, however, the more deranged Red's movements become, especially as it's intercut by Red's InvoluntaryDance for the other Tethered.
* Towards the end of ''Film/{{Alps}}'', as Monte Rosa's sanity declines, she bursts into a dance class and forces one of the patrons to dance with her.
* In ''Film/{{Climax}}'', the dance troupe grows more and more insane as they continue drinking the LSD-laced sangria and their dances become more demented and horrifying in turn.
* In ''Film/KingsmanTheGoldenCircle'', one of the main symptoms caused by the toxin [[BigBad Poppy]] has added to her widespread drugs is uncontrollable and disturbingly spastic dancing before the victim starts completely losing their minds.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* In ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'', [[TragicHero Lan]] jigging in savage joy over the deaths of enemy soldiers- when only an hour earlier he had felt extreme revulsion at the idea of killing anybody- is a sign that he's been DrivenToMadness.
* Invoked in ''Literature/{{Shogun}}''; Toranaga is travelling in disguise, and in order to prevent his identity from being revealed Blackthorne feigns madness and dances a hornpipe to distract everyone.
* In ''Literature/LordsAndLadies'', the people of Lancre are subjected to an Elven invasion. The Lancre Morrismen are surrounded by elves as they rehearse. They are terrified, but it occurs to Jason Ogg that humans can cast a counter-enchantment on Elves: they can dance and sing. Dancing buys the Morrismen time to fight to safety: the Elves are compelled to watch and the humans realize they have no choice but to keep up the dancing, singing and music . For ''hours''. Without rest. (Every so often, an Elf gets close enough to kick or fell with a wooden staff).
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* A perfect example would be The Swede aka Thor Gunderson from ''Series/HellOnWheels'', in which the Hell on Wheels settlement burns to the ground thanks to an Indian raid caused by the Swede, who's by now become a crazed murderer and gleefully dances with himself while the town burns down around him. [[note]]Best seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9uEzVQpJUw [[/note]]
* In ''Series/TwinPeaks'', Leland Palmer begins sporadically dancing with no one at inappropriate moments as his sanity dissolves after the brutal death of his daughter Laura [[spoiler:and his worsening possession by BOB]].
* A-Yan in ''Series/TheUntamed'' after having her soul restored after it was forcibly taken is mentally and spiritually damaged from the experience. She would occasionally start dancing much to the distress of her surviving family and attendant. It actually was a sign that she was possessed by the Dancing Goddess statue but they didn't know that so they just though she was deranged.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Music]]
* The Music/PeterGabriel song "Moribund the Burgermeister" is told from the point of view of a Medieval magistrate observing the crazed dancing of his town's people, possibly a symptom of ergotism.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Mythology And Religion]]
* Greek Mythology features Eris, the infamous goddess of discord and conflict, who often danced in the ruins of burning cities like Troy while wearing hair decorations dripping with human blood. Thus, this trope is OlderThanFeudalism.
* Also the infamous Maenads of Greek Mythology, the female followers of the God of Merriment and Madness Dionysis, who were known for roaming mountains and forests performing frenzied, ecstatic dances and were believed to be possessed by the god. While under his influence they were supposed to have unusual strength, including the ability to tear animals or people to pieces when encountered, with the mythical hero Orpheus being a famous victim of that practice.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'', the Menzoberranzan boxed set has Menzoberranzan, an underground city of the drow (dark elves). One of its prominent merchants is the halfling Myrip Minstrelwish, who is considered half-mad by the drow because he dances and sings while he works.
* ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'' has the Black Spiral Dancers. Their initiation involves dancing across a seemingly innocuous spiral shaped pattern on the ground. But doing this brings you face-to-face with the madness of the Wyrm. And you [[DrivenToMadness do not want]] to be face-to-face with the Wyrm.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Theatre]]
* Perhaps the most famous example in the Western literary canon is Ophelia dancing and strewing flowers all the way through her SanitySlippageSong in ''{{Theatre/Hamlet}}''.
* ''Theatre/BeMoreChill'': At the end of the song ''Halloween'', Rich's dancing becomes more and more erratic as he fights the SQUIP.
* In ''Elektra'' by Richard Strauss, Elektra goes completely insane in the finale, after learning that Klytaemnestra, Aegisthus and their followers were massacred by Orestes, and starts dancing wildly. Then she drops dead mid-dance.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Videos]]
* In ''Series/TheCryOfMann'', Courtney's DanceOfDespair occurs while she's undergoing SanitySlippage and sinking into a deep state of existential depression. She asks her callers for different dance moves she can preform and staggers around trying to do them, before collapsing on her bed, her mood taking a downward spiral. This is one of the first signs that something is ''very wrong'' with her, before she eventually covers her face in rhinestones trying to look beautiful.
* In the short film ''2 AM: The Smiling Man'', an adaptation of [[WebOriginal/TheSmilingMan the similarly-named creepypasta]], the protagonist encounters what appears to be a madman with a strange rictus grin, dancing on the sidewalk in the middle of the night. Then the man stops dancing and chases after him...
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life]]
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_mania Dancing Mania]], which are cases of mass dance hysteria occuring in Europe between the 14th and 17th Centuries. In these cases, people danced until they collapsed from exhaustion. Even though theories have been proposed as to why these freakish events happened (one of the theories states that people broke into mass-dance hysteria to release pent-up stress from the poor living conditions in those eras), little progress of understanding them have been made and the phenomenon is a mystery even today.
* A propaganda video from World War II (which was an early case of StupidStatementDanceMix) showed a delighted Adolf Hitler dancing a ridiculous jig in delight at the surrender of France. It was used throughout the war to emphasize that the Allies' foremost enemy was a ridiculous but dangerous lunatic, and the film circulated worldwide as part of the British propaganda effort. It was only after the war that it was revealed the Hitler Jig had never happened -- a sequence of his walking normally had been copied backwards and forwards on a recurring loop to give the impression of Hitler dancing madly.
[[/folder]]
----
A character performing a Deranged Dance usually signifies his/her failing sanity, if it hasn't been compromised entirely before. Their dancing will usually be erratic and/or uncoordinated, and may involve screaming, crying, frightening stoicism, or any combination thereof.
While playing this trope seriously or [[PlayedForDrama for drama]] is more common, [[PlayedForLaughs hilarious examples]] do exist, for example having the character dance [[NakedPeopleAreFunny naked]] or in their [[ComedicUnderwearExposure underwear]].
Compare and contrast DanceOfDespair- with which the trope has a strong overlap especially if desperation is the cause of the insanity. Expect DancingWithMyself, as it's a rare occurrence that someone else sees the character, at least openly. Compare also TunelessSongOfMadness- ''singing'' as a sign of failing sanity- which sometimes overlaps with this trope. If the mad dancing resembles (or ''is'') ballet, it may fall under CreepyBallet as well. Similarly uncoordinated to ICantDance, but that trope is because the character can't dance in the first place. If it's unplanned in addition to the above, it also falls under InvoluntaryDance. Due to its nature, is heavily intertwined with SanitySlippage. May be paired with a SanitySlippageSong.
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Advertising]]
* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoMqvniiEkk this]] commercial for the perfume Kenzo World, a young woman, played by Creator/MargaretQualley, walks out of a fancy gala and performs a frenzied dance while threshing through the building that host the gala.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'', there is Alvin Kothers, AKA the Death Dancer, is a SerialKiller who does a little tap dance in front of his victims right before "liberating" them from their suffering via knife to the throat. He tries to do a dance before killing his next victim, [[MuggingTheMonster but ends up being flattened when the victim turns out to be Batgirl/Oracle.]]
* In the biographical comicbook ''ComicBook/{{Stitches}}'' by David Small, the author's grandmother was dancing in the street after burning down her house with her husband trapped inside. The event was a sign of dementia due to old age, and she was sent to a mental institution.
* In ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 Vol 2]] #97, Wonder Woman is infected by a powerful variant of Joker Venom during a fight with the Joker. Her solution is to invoke the MadGod Pan to "teach her how to dance in Chaos" and thus gains InsanityImmunity through a special dance tied to the concept of a chaotic atypical mind.
* The story Thulsa Doom: The Serpent's Den from ''Savage Tales'' issue #5. In a flashback, the sorceress Thalia is shown dancing with demented glee after being corrupted by dark magic.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/Joker2019'' has Arthur Fleck dancing in the bathroom after killing the three men who assaulted him in the subway, dancing down a long stair path, ''and'' dancing on top of a car in the midst of a riot, all as a sign of his descent into madness.
* ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'' features serial killer Buffalo Bill dancing in the buff and in makeup to "Goodbye Horses" in his disorganized basement, a scene that highlights his PsychopathicManchild and SissyVillain traits.
* In ''Film/SonicTheHedgehog2020'' it's PlayedForLaughs. Dr. Robotnik dances to "Where Evil Grows" at one point. While he feels confident in his ability to catch Sonic at the moment, and his dancing is pretty smooth, his chase for the hedgehog is slowly taking a toll on his sanity, and it's telling how he openly (if silently) [[CardCarryingVillain acknowledges that he's evil]] in this moment. And then he gets startled out of the dance by his lackey, Stone, showing up to offer him a latte.
* In ''Film/BlackSwan'', Nina's final dance as the Black Swan shows her as being truly DrivenToMadness, but for that, it's noted as being "perfect". [[spoiler:Made even more so by how she stabbed herself, maybe to death, just before it.]]
* A rare example when the dance doesn't involve the protagonist dancing (necessarily; it's at least ambiguous) in ''Film/MulhollandDrive''. Betty's journey into Hollywood begins with an intercut of people dancing the jitterbug while she watches. [[spoiler:When the film cuts back to what may be reality, Betty's doppelgänger Diane is increasingly menaced by dancing people and visions of sinister people dancing.]] One theory for this is that one of [[spoiler:Diane's]] few accomplishments is winning a jitterbug contest, ''perhaps'' while her AbusiveParents or [[GruesomeGrandparent grandparents]] watched.
* In ''Film/{{Us}}'', rather than trying to defend herself actively when Adelaide [[spoiler:aka the real Red]] comes at her with a sword, Red [[spoiler:aka the original, real Adelaide]] simply dances away from her and avoids the blade. The closer Adelaide[[spoiler:/Red]] gets, however, the more deranged Red's movements become, especially as it's intercut by Red's InvoluntaryDance for the other Tethered.
* Towards the end of ''Film/{{Alps}}'', as Monte Rosa's sanity declines, she bursts into a dance class and forces one of the patrons to dance with her.
* In ''Film/{{Climax}}'', the dance troupe grows more and more insane as they continue drinking the LSD-laced sangria and their dances become more demented and horrifying in turn.
* In ''Film/KingsmanTheGoldenCircle'', one of the main symptoms caused by the toxin [[BigBad Poppy]] has added to her widespread drugs is uncontrollable and disturbingly spastic dancing before the victim starts completely losing their minds.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* In ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'', [[TragicHero Lan]] jigging in savage joy over the deaths of enemy soldiers- when only an hour earlier he had felt extreme revulsion at the idea of killing anybody- is a sign that he's been DrivenToMadness.
* Invoked in ''Literature/{{Shogun}}''; Toranaga is travelling in disguise, and in order to prevent his identity from being revealed Blackthorne feigns madness and dances a hornpipe to distract everyone.
* In ''Literature/LordsAndLadies'', the people of Lancre are subjected to an Elven invasion. The Lancre Morrismen are surrounded by elves as they rehearse. They are terrified, but it occurs to Jason Ogg that humans can cast a counter-enchantment on Elves: they can dance and sing. Dancing buys the Morrismen time to fight to safety: the Elves are compelled to watch and the humans realize they have no choice but to keep up the dancing, singing and music . For ''hours''. Without rest. (Every so often, an Elf gets close enough to kick or fell with a wooden staff).
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* A perfect example would be The Swede aka Thor Gunderson from ''Series/HellOnWheels'', in which the Hell on Wheels settlement burns to the ground thanks to an Indian raid caused by the Swede, who's by now become a crazed murderer and gleefully dances with himself while the town burns down around him. [[note]]Best seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9uEzVQpJUw [[/note]]
* In ''Series/TwinPeaks'', Leland Palmer begins sporadically dancing with no one at inappropriate moments as his sanity dissolves after the brutal death of his daughter Laura [[spoiler:and his worsening possession by BOB]].
* A-Yan in ''Series/TheUntamed'' after having her soul restored after it was forcibly taken is mentally and spiritually damaged from the experience. She would occasionally start dancing much to the distress of her surviving family and attendant. It actually was a sign that she was possessed by the Dancing Goddess statue but they didn't know that so they just though she was deranged.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Music]]
* The Music/PeterGabriel song "Moribund the Burgermeister" is told from the point of view of a Medieval magistrate observing the crazed dancing of his town's people, possibly a symptom of ergotism.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Mythology And Religion]]
* Greek Mythology features Eris, the infamous goddess of discord and conflict, who often danced in the ruins of burning cities like Troy while wearing hair decorations dripping with human blood. Thus, this trope is OlderThanFeudalism.
* Also the infamous Maenads of Greek Mythology, the female followers of the God of Merriment and Madness Dionysis, who were known for roaming mountains and forests performing frenzied, ecstatic dances and were believed to be possessed by the god. While under his influence they were supposed to have unusual strength, including the ability to tear animals or people to pieces when encountered, with the mythical hero Orpheus being a famous victim of that practice.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'', the Menzoberranzan boxed set has Menzoberranzan, an underground city of the drow (dark elves). One of its prominent merchants is the halfling Myrip Minstrelwish, who is considered half-mad by the drow because he dances and sings while he works.
* ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'' has the Black Spiral Dancers. Their initiation involves dancing across a seemingly innocuous spiral shaped pattern on the ground. But doing this brings you face-to-face with the madness of the Wyrm. And you [[DrivenToMadness do not want]] to be face-to-face with the Wyrm.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Theatre]]
* Perhaps the most famous example in the Western literary canon is Ophelia dancing and strewing flowers all the way through her SanitySlippageSong in ''{{Theatre/Hamlet}}''.
* ''Theatre/BeMoreChill'': At the end of the song ''Halloween'', Rich's dancing becomes more and more erratic as he fights the SQUIP.
* In ''Elektra'' by Richard Strauss, Elektra goes completely insane in the finale, after learning that Klytaemnestra, Aegisthus and their followers were massacred by Orestes, and starts dancing wildly. Then she drops dead mid-dance.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Videos]]
* In ''Series/TheCryOfMann'', Courtney's DanceOfDespair occurs while she's undergoing SanitySlippage and sinking into a deep state of existential depression. She asks her callers for different dance moves she can preform and staggers around trying to do them, before collapsing on her bed, her mood taking a downward spiral. This is one of the first signs that something is ''very wrong'' with her, before she eventually covers her face in rhinestones trying to look beautiful.
* In the short film ''2 AM: The Smiling Man'', an adaptation of [[WebOriginal/TheSmilingMan the similarly-named creepypasta]], the protagonist encounters what appears to be a madman with a strange rictus grin, dancing on the sidewalk in the middle of the night. Then the man stops dancing and chases after him...
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life]]
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_mania Dancing Mania]], which are cases of mass dance hysteria occuring in Europe between the 14th and 17th Centuries. In these cases, people danced until they collapsed from exhaustion. Even though theories have been proposed as to why these freakish events happened (one of the theories states that people broke into mass-dance hysteria to release pent-up stress from the poor living conditions in those eras), little progress of understanding them have been made and the phenomenon is a mystery even today.
* A propaganda video from World War II (which was an early case of StupidStatementDanceMix) showed a delighted Adolf Hitler dancing a ridiculous jig in delight at the surrender of France. It was used throughout the war to emphasize that the Allies' foremost enemy was a ridiculous but dangerous lunatic, and the film circulated worldwide as part of the British propaganda effort. It was only after the war that it was revealed the Hitler Jig had never happened -- a sequence of his walking normally had been copied backwards and forwards on a recurring loop to give the impression of Hitler dancing madly.
[[/folder]]
----
