The Dance of Death

The Dance of Death was originally a medieval myth: that all the dead who had been killed in the wars or by the black plague would rise as skeletons from their graves, tempting the living to join them in dance. All those who danced with the dead would lose their lives as well. Reverend Straton used the phrase Dance of Death when speaking of social dancing to recall this myth, which had a certain significance right after WWI and the flu epidemic. Reverend Porter also called social dancing a Dance of Death, but with different reasoning behind his claim. He associated social dancing with sexual promiscuity, referencing James 1:5 ("When lust is conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."). Social dancing was viewed as promiscuous largely because the dancers change partners often, but also because of the 'intimate' dance styles, which often had couples dancing cheek to cheek. These reverends, along with many others, truly believed that dancing was a path towards eternal damnation. If the social dances of their time (tango, waltz, swing...) were considered to be of the devil, how would they react to modern dancing?