DO YOU TEND TO IMITATE OTHERS WHEN YOU DANCE? THAT'S NORMAL, SCIENCE SAYS

Do you tend to imitate others when you dance? That's normal, science says

If you're a frequent nightclub-goer, you may have noticed that revelers seem to dance in sync. It's as if they've somehow all learned the same routine. This has nothing to do with dance in itself, but more to do with our brains, suggests a study published in the journal Current Biology.

Dance can be a powerful vehicle for social unity.

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A research team in Italy was able to demonstrate this after conducting an unusual kind of experiment. For the purposes oftheir research, the academics transformed their laboratory into a large dance floor. They invited 80 volunteers to dance to their hearts' content, after fitting them with headphones that played music, like in a silent disco. During the experiment, several cameras filmed the participants so that the researchers could later analyze their dance moves.

As it turned out, the volunteers tended to make 15 different types of movements, some with their heads and others that involved the whole body. But surprisingly, the researchers found that the participants didn't do these movements at random. They were driven either by the music or by the other dancers around them.

Indeed, raising the hands or moving the head back and forth were identified as moves in response to the music. Conversely, moving sideways or turning the hands were seen to be driven by the imitation of other dancers. "We discovered that one cluster of movements synchronized with the music, and another cluster of movements synchronized with thedance partner. And these two processes did not overlap, which was something we did not expect. They are totally independent and do not interact," explains study lead author, Félix Bigand, speaking toEl País.

Bringing people together

However, one movement stood out from the rest, due to its hybrid nature. This was the vertical bounce. In fact, dancers liked to jump, all together, up and down to the rhythm of the music. "We suggest that vertical bounce could be seen as a supramodal pacesetter that individuals emphasize to achieve interpersonal synchrony," the researchers write in their paper. "We highlight the idea that bounce triggers several sensory feedback signals that might reinforce internal timekeeping and, in turn, interpersonal coordination," they conclude.

This study shows howdancecan act as a powerful vehicle for social unity. When we move our bodies together to music, a sense of interpersonal connection eventually emerges. This is because our brains are programmed to imitate and copy the gestures of those around us, thanks in part to the mirror neuron system.

By imitating the moves of dancers on the dance floor, we connect with them. This causes our bodies to release pleasure hormones, leading to the euphoric feeling we get when dancing with one or more partners. If you feel embarrassed about the way you dance, don't hesitate to take inspiration from others. That's how you learn and, above all, how you bond.

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2024-06-28T19:06:27Z dg43tfdfdgfd