Initially I researched mass hysteria as the starting point for my FMP. I was instantly fascinated with the dancing plague of 1518. How the 'disease' spread to more and more dancers and why the victims did not stop despite the symptoms (bleeding feet, stroke, heart attack, death, etc) can only be theorised. The extreme symptoms of the dancing plague as well as the continuous dancing of those suffering, lead me to research Marina Abramović’s work.

Abramović’s style of performance art is often called ‘Endurance art’ due to her lengthy performances. Within these performances the artist puts herself in positions where she has lost control. I have experimented with creating my own ‘performance’ inspired my Marina Abramović’s work and the events of the dancing plague, which I used to develop textile samples, and inspired research into other artworks.

Later into the project I began to research the dance marathons which took place during the 1920’s and 30’s in the US. The competitions were held for cash prizes. During the Great Depression contestant’s desperation turned the light hearted sport into intense tournaments, often lasting days and even weeks. There is one case of a man dying of exhaustion and another of a women who attempted suicide after only placing 5th after dancing 19 days. The photographs of the fatigued contestants draped over their partners inspired my own draped experiments and fashion design development.