Current ProjectsThe Dance Lab team are currently working on the following dance-related projects.
Watching Women DanceWe know that women dance differently depending on their level of fertility. For example, we know that women who are at the fertile stage of their menstrual cycle move their hips more when they walk (and dance) than women who are at the less fertile stage of their cycle. We think this is because women are subconsciously communicating their fertility to other people when they dance socially, for example at a nightclub or wedding. In this study we are using eye tracking equipment to see if men look at different regions of a woman's body while she is dancing and we want to see if this changes as a woman's fertility level changes.
Dance and Self-EsteemPrevious research has suggested that dancers have lower self esteem than non-dancers. However, previous research has looked exclusively at the self esteem of ballet dancers. In phase one of this study, which we have just completed, we have examined the self esteem of ballet dancers, non-ballet dancers and non-dancers. In phase two of the project we are examining the self esteem of Indian classical (Kathak) dancers and modern Indian dancers. Peter Lovatt will be presenting the findings of phase one of this project at the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science conference at the Hague in October.
Watching DanceWhat do people "see" when they watch dance? We are interested in how people make sense of dance. In this study we ask people to watch dance and using what is a called a "Think aloud" protocol we monitor what people think at different stages of the piece. In addition we take physiological measures to understand the physiological response people have to dance. In phase one of this project we are looking at people's response to contemporary dance and in phase two we are looking at people's response to Indian classical dance. One of the questions we are investigating is whether different types of people respond differently to different types of dance.
Dance Improvisation and Self Focused AttentionWe know that when people improvise it has a profound effect on the way they think. For example, we know that improvisation can help people solve problems more successfully and they become faster at processing information. But what impact do these cognitive changes have on the way we think about ourselves? This study examines the consequences of engaging in dance improvisation on the way we think about ourselves and the world around around us.
Dance and the Recognition of EmotionIn this on-going series of experiments we are asking how much information does an observer need to recognise emotions such as happiness, sadness, and anger in dance. We ae also asking a second set of questions which are concerned with the individual differences of the observers and how these influence the recognition of emotion. So far we have found differences in the way men and women recognise emotion, and we are currently examining the recognition of emotion in people with a clinical diagnosis of autism and in those people who differ in terms of the qualities of empathising and systemising.
Dance, Hormones and CommunicationThere is a relationship between our hormone levels and the way we dance. Furthermore, there is a relationship between the way we dance and how attractive people think we are. In these studies we film people as they dance in nightclubs and then we analyse people's movement patterns and we examine how variations in movement style are related to subtle differences in hormone levels. Peter Lovatts work in this area was covered extensively by the press in late 2008.
Recreational Dance, Health and HormonesIn this large scale project we are examining the health benefits of engaging in recreational dance. In this study we are looking at a wide range of people and we are collecting data on personality, health, social interaction, and hormones in both dancers and non-dancers.