The Sound of Movement: Does Musical Structure Guide Lindy Hop Dancers?

Abstract

Introduction

This project explores how different sections of a jazz band affect Lindy Hop dancers dance style. It examines whether the number, variety, and complexity of moves change depending on the music. Dancers improvise either to a full ensemble or to just the soloist, background instruments, or rhythm section. The study also explores dancers’ preference for open vs. closed positions and how their choice of moves differs in each condition. We hypothesize that dancers use more complex moves when the beat is clear, and more varied moves when a melody is present and diverse.

Music and dancing have been an integral part of human society since ancient times and they are intertwined with many different cognitive faculties [1], [2]. Dancing with a partner requires the anticipation of the partner’s intentions based on bodily cues, musical timing, and shared social context [3]. In dance, leaders must plan actions before execution, while followers must attend closely to both physical and musical signals and understand broader patterns. The required cognitive processing can either be facilitated or impeded by the clarity of the music.

Methodology

Data were collected over two sessions with 8 overall participants (2 × N=4). Within each session each participant danced in rotating roles as leader and follower with every other. Every participant wore a full-body motion capture suit while dancing to 12 stimuli of Swing music (30–33 seconds each). For these stimuli 3 songs were isolated into different band sections after two initial 8-counts played by the full band. Participants also completed questionnaires assessing personality, the Music Sophistication Index (MSI), and prior dance experience.

Previous research established a grammar of Lindy Hop. It categorizes dance moves into families and identifies 15 positions based on how partners connect and their spatial orientation. A website displays this grammar interactively and is used to annotate all dance clips. Additionally, the complexity of each example on the website was rated with an experienced dancer (13 years of training) as a sample reference for the annotation of all clips.

Significance

This project aims to show how music connects to the cognitive motor planning in dance. Instead of focusing only on measurable movement data, it looks at the dancer’s thought process by quantifying the decisions behind each movement. The approach is based on an embodied, phenomenological perspective, as the analysis is performed from the viewpoint of a Lindy Hop dancer.

References

[1] M. Pearce and M. Rohrmeier, “Music Cognition and the Cognitive Sciences,” Topics in Cognitive Science, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 468–484, Oct. 2012. doi: 10.1111/j.1756-8765.2012.01226.x. 

[2] B. Burger and P. Toiviainen, “Embodiment in Electronic Dance Music: Effects of musical content and structure on body movement,” Musicae Scientiae, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 186–205, Aug. 2018. doi: 10.1177/1029864918792594. 

[3] J. Phillips-Silver, C. A. Aktipis, and G. A. Bryant, “The Ecology of Entrainment: Foundations of Coordinated Rhythmic Movement,” Music Perception, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 3–14, Sep. 2010. doi: 10.1525/mp.2010.28.1.3.