Why are animals’ courtship displays typically as costly for survival as they are beautiful? Songs attract predators; dances are exhausting; extravagant plumage is cumbersome. Biologists now have good explanations for the evolution of certain displays that are static parts of animals’ bodies, like plumage. Yet the evolution of dynamic displays, like dances, which individuals can alter based on their environment, remain mysterious. In this presentation, I explore why this mystery remains and address it using a simulation model that extends one of the leading theories of the evolution of costly courtship displays.