Dance Fever Analysis- "Choreomania"

I will say that this is my favorite track on the album, and it's because I have a specific experience of anxiety related to my ADHD. For me at least, my anxiety manifests as a sort of euphoric panic. It's like an amalgamation of excitement and dread, and I can't untangle the two. And while I like Free a lot, it didn't grasp me in the same way Choreomania did simply because Choreomania felt like a manic spiral, and Free is coming off of a depressive spiral.

Aeros Sylphid

Hi, I'm new here! I wanted to add that I hear a little bit of a political message in there. Perhaps Jesus is wearing a dress because they are trans? Then the "oh yes" makes me think of popular slang associated with gay culture. She says a few things that are political in this album, or that are referencing current events, plus there's the message about Ukraine in the Free video so I think there might be something happening there too.

OMG!!!! I am obsessed with this idea!!!!

English Teacher KP

The last line in "Free" is "I am free." but if you think about it, it could be enjambed with the first line in this song and be "I am free and I am freaking out in the middle of the street."

You make a great point, and I actually thought about this as well. I like how you explain everything. I do think the track order is significant here. For me, it actually makes perfect sense. Mental illness can make something feel like both an escape and a compulsion. I like the nonsensical nature of it because mental illness isn't logical. I also like your take on the "rock 'n roll" bit, though I am still not sure what to think about that line. I feel like I need to listen a few more times!

English Teacher KP

100% agree!

English Teacher KP

This is a great point! The cyclical nature of life and death is definitely significant here.

English Teacher KP

Same! My husband calls it my "panic walk" 😭😭😭

English Teacher KP

I keep thinking that it CANNOT be a coincidence that "Choreomania" comes after "Free" on the album. Both of them are about dance in a semi-metaphorical, semi-literal relationship with anxiety, but while in "Free" dance is an escape from anxiety, in "Choreomania" it is a source or representation of it. I wonder if these two songs kind of lay out the dichotomy you saw in "King": that the speaker can be "king," at the top of her game as an artist, but there's also a price to pay for that commitment to kingship/art. And maybe it's saying something about the nature of art as a career-- that it can start as being an escape, but when it's your job, it then becomes a source of stress and panic. And maybe that's how the "you say that rock and roll is dead" part ties in-- that she feels the pressure from people saying that rock and roll is dead, and she's putting it on herself to be the resurrection?

Erin

I’m really enjoying this series/album so far and I am glad you seem to be as well. Florence definitely does write a lot about mental health struggles and it’s one of the most fascinating subjects to draw inspiration from, I feel, because it subverts the status quo of what we’ve come to expect from music which is more often written from a neurotypical perspective! Empathy, education, and understanding is the way we can all grow.

Edward Ramirez

The “spinning, dancing and being out of breath” and the fast paced sound almost too much reminiscent danse macabre. She cannot stop and it’s a circle of life, death is universal as it was back then as it is in 2023.

Kitana Khan

I had that same exact dream in High School! 😭 😭 It’s something about having anxiety and learning to drive at the same time. 😂 This song really feels like a panic attack. And I love the analogy of it being like dancing yourself to death. Because every time I’ve had a panic attack it’s like I can’t stop moving. I‘ll literally walk in circles for no apparent reason.

Sav Miller

I know 😭😭😭 I was like...oh well there ya go 😂😂😂

English Teacher KP

I love how you basically kept predicting the next lines in the bridge 😂 😂

Anna

Note- I apologize for the abrupt near at the end. The person who made the lyric video added some music at the end of the song, and I got confused because I thought that it was part of song, so I had to cut that bit out 🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️

English Teacher KP