This study examined the relationship between kinematic variables and aesthetic perception in young recreational dancers performing a grand battement and développé. Sixteen dancers were videotaped and their movements were evaluated for aesthetics by a panel of professional dancers. 3D motion capture was also used to analyze kinematic variables. Results showed correlations between greater range of motion, higher speeds, and smoother movements of the thigh and higher aesthetic ratings for the grand battement. No such correlations were found for the développé, which may be more difficult to perform smoothly for recreational dancers. The findings suggest that dancers and teachers should be aware of key kinematic parameters that influence aesthetic judgment.

1. Existence of aesthetic-kinematic correlations in developpé and
grand battement in young recreational dancers
Fabien Buisseret (1,2,3)
, Loreda Filiputti(2)
, Nathalie Roussel (4)
, Frédéric Dierick(1,5)
(1) CeREF, Chaussée de Binche 159, 7000 Mons, Belgium.
(2) Laboratoire Forme et Fonctionnement Humain, HELHa, Rue Trieu Kaisin 136, 6061 Montignies-sur-Sambre, Belgium.
(3) Service de Physique Nucléaire et Subnucléaire, Université de Mons, UMONS Research Institute for Complex Systems, Place du Parc 20, 7000
Mons, Belgium.
(4) Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
(5) Centre National de Rééducation Fonctionnelle et de Réadaptation - Rehazenter, Laboratoire d'Analyse du Mouvement et de la Posture (LAMP),
Luxembourg, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg.
Contact
Buisseret Fabien
E-mail : buisseretf@helha.be
References
[1] Daprati, E, Iosa, M & Haggard, P. (2009). A Dance to the Music of Time: Aesthetically-Relevant Changes in Body Posture in Performing Art. PLoS ONE, 4(3), e5023. 10.1371/journal.pone.0005023.
[2] Bronner, S & Shippen, J. (2015). Biomechanical Metrics of Aesthetic Perception in Dance. Exp. Brain Res., 233 (12), 3565-81, 0.1007/s00221-015-4424-4.
[3] Torrents, C, Castaner, M, Jofre, T, Morey, G & Reverter, F. (2013). Kinematic parameters that influence the aesthetic perception of beauty in contemporary dance. Perception, 42, 447.
16 recreational dancers performed a grand battement and a développé from first position:
• 12♀/4♂
• aged 15.3±2.8 years
• dancing from 7.5±3.8 years
• practicing 8.8±4.3 hours/week
Aesthetic evaluation. Video recordings were scored by a jury made of 5 professionnal
dancers:
• 4♀/1♂
• aged 25.8±4.1 years
• dancing from 18.6±4.6 years
• practicing 14.8±8.5 hours/week
Kinematical evaluation. 3D kinematics of lower limb was recorded by an optoelectronic
Vicon® system (8 cameras, 120 Hz). Computation of:
• Duration (T)
• Angles and ROM
• Maximal speeds (Vmax)
• Adimensional jerks (J)
Dancers physical skills condition their ability to reach their aesthetics
ambitions.
Need to find a balance between technical requirements
(kinematics) and artistic expression (aesthetics).
Kinematical variables such as range of motion (ROM) and a jury’s
aesthetic perception are known to be correlated in professional dancers
[1,2,3].
Our aim: To show the existence of such correlations in adolescent
recreational dancers performing a grand battement or a développé.
Kinematics
Motion
"Objectivity"
Aesthetics
Artistic
"Subjectivity"
Performance
The case of dancers The protocol
Global (/24) Technique (/4) Smoothness (/4)
Two examples of grand battement. The trajectories of the thigh, knee, ankle and toe are shown. (a) Grand
battement with high aesthetic evaluation. (b) Grand battement with low aesthetic evaluation. (c) Angles computed.
Correlations.
• Agreement between members of the jury
assessed by Kendall’s t coefficient.
• Correlations between aesthetic and kinematical
evaluations assessed by Pearson correlation
coefficient r.
• Significant correlation ? 𝑟 or 𝜏 > 0.3 and
p<0.05.
Main findings
(a) (b)
(a) (b) (c)
Message for young dancers and dance teachers
(a) Correlation plot for the different computed parameters in grand battement. Crosses denote
nonsignificant correlations. (b) Same for the développé.
• Various correlations exist between kinematical
parameters (ROM) and artistic perception.
• Become conscious of key parameters.
• Learn motor strategies that will favorably by
judged by the public
Coherence of aesthetic evaluation.
• Kendall’s t coefficients are globally around 0.4 with p<0.05.
Grand battement. The jury favors:
• Large thigh ROMs
• High thigh speeds
• Low thigh jerks (high smoothness)
Développé. No aesthetical-kinematical correlation.
• Slower développés are less smooth.
• Controlled movement, difficult for recreational dancers.
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