Partnering Effects on Joint Motion Range and Step Length in the Competitive Waltz Dancers

Abstract

Competitive dance, also known as DanceSport, is one of the official sports of the World Games. The most salient characteristic of ballroom dance is the closed-hold position, during which the upper body segments of partner-dancers are linked. This study aimed to investigate partnering effects on joint motion ranges of the lower extremity and step lengths during the waltz in 13 national level competitive dance couples and a world champion couple. A Xsens MVN system was used to record movement at 240 Hz. Solo and pair conditions were examined. Compared with the highly skilled couples, the world champion couple demonstrated superior dance skills for generating the first step length in the pair condition of the waltz. This was particularly evident in the step length and joint motion range of the champion female dancer.

Determining Partnering Effects in the “Rise and Fall” Motion of Competitive Waltz by the Use of Statistical Parametric Mapping

“…The results of this study could be partly explained by combining them with the results of our previous research (Yoshida et al, 2020). The champion male dancer's step length in PRE was larger in the pair condition.…”

“…One reason for this is that, for the champion female dancer, the proportion of the total time represented by the PRE stage was longer in the pair condition. In addition, according to our previous research (Yoshida et al, 2020), the champion female dancer's step length during PRE was longer in the pair condition. As found for the male dancers, the lowest point of the vertical component of the female dancers' centers of mass was higher in the pair condition when compared to the solo condition.…”

“…The methods used in the current research have been described in our previous study (Yoshida et al, 2020).…”

“…A previous study conducted by the present authors (Yoshida et al, 2020) focused on partnering skill, which is one of the main judging components in competitive dance (Premelč, Vučković, James, & Leskošek, 2019;WDSF, 2015). In the course of this research, we investigated partnering effects in the waltz through analysis of a world champion dance couple and national level competitive dance…”

What are the kinematic characteristics of the world champion couple in competitive ballroom dance during the waltz's spin movement?

“…This approach of employing champions (top-ranked experimental participant) in a specific field for conducting biomechanics analyses (Fujii and Moritani, 2012;Whiteside et al, 2013;Hobara et al, 2019) is used previously. We also included the world champion couples in competitive ballroom dancing (Yoshida et al, 2020(Yoshida et al, , 2021 in our previous biomechanics studies.…”