Blog-GL! Seven things you did not know about dance.
Dance Dancers also train mentally
A few years ago, a team of researchers from the University College London (UCL), in the United Kingdom, discovered that in our brain there is a "mirror system" that responds differently when we see a dancer doing a pirouette as we are trained or not to execute that movement. The neurons that form it are "tuned" to the repertoire of movements of each individual. One of the main conclusions of the finding, according to its authors, is that athletes and dancers could continue training mentally when they suffer a physical injury.
The genes of dance
After analyzing the genetic code of different dance professionals, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has found important differences in two genes: the gene responsible for coding the serotonin transporter, a neurotransmitter that contributes to the spiritual experience among other things, and a receptor for the hormone arginine-vasopressin, which according to recent studies modulates our capacity for social communication. "Both are genes linked to the emotional aspect of dance", points out Richard Ebstein, co-author of the study.
Intelligence related to body movement
Along with linguistic, musical, logical / mathematical, spatial, intrapersonal, interpersonal or spiritual intelligence, there is a bodily or kinesthetic intelligence, which can be defined as the ability to control one's own body movements and manipulate objects with a certain skill . This type of intelligence, according to Howard Gardner, is what is behind the ability of the dancer to "see-and-do", transforming a dynamic visual image or certain sound orders into a physical action.
Dancing samba should be part of the training of footballers
A team of Japanese researchers has come to the conclusion that dancing samba, a Brazilian dance with African roots, favors body control that can improve motor skills in activities as diverse as playing a percussion instrument or playing football. According to Dr. Tomoyuki Yamamoto and colleagues at Japan's Advanced Institute for Science and Technology, "exercising hip movement is essential to improve mobility in other areas of the body," possibly due to the proximity of this area to our body. body center of gravity. That's why they decided to try to train soccer players by dancing samba. The result: a significant improvement in sports performance. The next thing, says Yamamoto, will be to test the effects of other dances on athletes.
Our ancestors also danced
Geoffrey Miller, evolutionary psychologist at the University of New Mexico (USA), believes that "music is what happens when an anthropoid ape stumbles and enters the evolutionary paradise of unbridled sexual selection, of complex acoustic exhibition." The author believes that singing and dancing formed a set of indicator traits for our ancestors when they chose partners, especially for females. The dancing and singing showed good physical condition, coordination, strength and health.
The dance can be therapeutic
Scientists from the University of Missouri (USA) have come to the conclusion that dancing can be therapeutic when reaching the third age, since it improves the balance considerably and reduces the risk of falls and injuries.
There are choreographies based on the mathematics of chaos
In the 1990s an engineering student from the popular Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Diana S. Dhabi, decided to use the mathematics of chaos to compose music on piano. Following his example, American scientists Elizabeth Bradley and Joshua Stuart have recently created several sequences of movements based on chaos based on classic pieces. They have even developed a chaotic version of the popular dance associated with the Macarena song. And all through an original software developed by themselves, the Chaographer. The result is an original dance and "pleasing to the eye", they say. In addition to teaching these results in class is a very effective way to motivate students to learn more about rigid body math and chaos.