Humans have a metronome-like ability to mark regular time intervals by clapping their hands, rocking, swaying, nodding or tapping their feet that does not seem to be shared by other mammals nor any other members of the animal kingdom. Not only that, but humans have the ability to synchronize their timed movements with each other, with music, or with mechanical devices such as metronomes. Humans are able to dance because of those abilities, but very little has been known about how humans are able to do those things and consequently about how humans are able to dance.

Steven Brown, director of the NeuroArts Lab in the Department of Neuroscience and Behavior at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, and Lawrence Parsons, a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Sheffield in England, published an interesting article entitled "The Neuroscience of Dance" in the July 2008 issue of Scientific American magazine. In that article they report on recent brain-imaging studies that reveal some of the complex neural processing that enables us to dance.

Their first neuroimaging study of dance movement was conducted by means of Positron-Emission Tomography (PET) in conjunction with Michael Martinez of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio using ten amateur Argentine Tango dancers as subjects. Even though cerebral blood-flow changes in the brains of Argentine Tango dancers were studied, there is no reason to think the results would not be the same for Flamenco Tango dancers or dancers dancing any other type of dance.

I won't summarize more about their research or findings here, because you can read the text of the article on-line at http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-neuroscience-of-dance. {NOTE: This article was available on-line without charge when I linked to it, but is no longer available without charge.} However, the printed magazine article is more interesting, because it includes Positron-Emission Tomography images, brain area drawings, and sidebar explanations that are not included in the on-line version.

Scientific American magazine is available at most university libraries and at many major city libraries throughout the world.

-Bob

This is very fascinating information, Bob. Thank you.

Doog

Hi Bob

Thanks for that information
Great knowledge lies behind the dance

What makes a move dance?
what makes it look nice or moving?

I watch some flamenco shows, some of them move you more then others
It is not just movements but more to it

solendogan wrote:What makes a move dance?
what makes it look nice or moving?

I watch some flamenco shows, some of them move you more then others
It is not just movements but more to it

That is true not only of dance, but also of most other things humans are able to do. Any normal adult human can pick guitar strings, but will others consider the sounds they make to be good music? Most humans are able to apply paint to canvas, but will others consider the result to be good art? Most humans are capable of mixing things together in a pot, but will others consider what they make to be good food? It often isn't clear how or why humans judge some things to be better than others.

-Bob

Deaf Flamenco Dancer
How did she do it? Her deafness was the result of whooping cough and effected only the hearing portion of her inner ear. IMO her balance (vestibular) portion was strengthened because of the hearing loss and she developed extraordinary balance. Be patient this link is very slow, but worth the wait.
http://www.msd.edu/media/mdb/mdbarchive ... _15_24.pdf

The ability to dance is directly related to the inner ear. A deaf person can learn to dance if their deafness is not related to inner ear damage effecting the balance mechanisms. This was demonstrated this past season on the TV show "Dancing with the Stars" by Marlee Matlin best known from the movie "Children of a Lesser God." The study of the inner ear is called Neuro-otology. In short the inner ear has nerve sensors called hairs that are moved by inner ear fluid. This fluid moves with our bodies movement and has nerve sensors "hairs" for all planes or positions. The movement of the hairs causes an electrical impulse to be sent to the brain which in turn sends signals to the muscles, etc. to maintain balance. Another interesting study is the inner ears ability to sense microgravity. Lost of balance is experienced by astronauts in space for an extended time when they return to earth. It takes a week for their inner ear to recover and function properly.

Here is an interesting short video on hearing and balance

On the "Dancing with the Stars" TV show dancers are dancing with partners. She obviously senses the music rhythm and changes in the music by observing and feeling her partner. I don't think it would be possible for a deaf person to dance solo flamenco.

Fernandez wrote:On the "Dancing with the Stars" TV show dancers are dancing with partners. She obviously senses the music rhythm and changes in the music by observing and feeling her partner. I don't think it would be possible for a deaf person to dance solo flamenco.

Partly true for Marlee on Dancing with the Stars, but read the link I posted above. Florita Corey danced solo flamenco very well and she was deaf. She did dance with Jose Costa for years, but from what I have heard, he watched her more than she watched him. She also did a lot of solo performances. She did it by learning compas. If with live accompaniment, she had signals when to start and all she had to do was keep the compas perfect. A deaf person can learn rhythm by watching and duplicating hand clapping. Others can teach them rhythm by touching them on the arm with the rhythm. Once they learn the rhythm, then they no longer need to have touching. I have read where some deaf people learn rhythm by watching lights flashing to music. I am not up on the latest electronic technology, but I understand there is some amazing devices now for teaching deaf people music. I can believe that most deaf people if physically able to do all the movements in flamenco dancing, could learn to dance flamenco very accurately because of most of the palos requiring strict compas. Having lost much of my hearing and balance, I have learned how it effects my guitar playing. When I play I cannot watch my left hand or my brain gets confused and I mess up. If I look away I am fine once I have learned the falseta or rhythm pattern.

The bailaora Antonia La Singla was a deaf mute, according to the book Flamenco, Gypsy dance and Music from Andalusia, in the chapter on baile flamenco by Madeleine Claus. Claus writes that La Singla "was hailed as Carmen Amaya's successor. Like Carmen Amaya, she grew up in the Somorostro slums on Barcelona's waterfront, and as a girl of 13 danced with Amaya in the gypsy film Los Tarantos. Her career was launched in the '60s at the Festival Flamenco Gitano but her greatest popularity came from outside Spain. Like her predecessor, La Singla also loved the dramatic 'trouser dances', which exclude any flirtatious elements."

Carlos

Here is Antonia La Singla! I watched this without any sound ... awesome!!!

solendogan wrote:I watch some flamenco shows, some of them move you more then others
It is not just movements but more to it

This is true. You can have a technically good dance, but if you have a dance with duende, it is a whole other experience.