Ladies, here are the best moves to drop on the dance floor
You can dance like no one is watching, but to reach your optimal groove scientists have some advice.
In a new study that will help you work your magic at the club, researchers from Northumbria University in the UK looked at the most impressive moves of female dancers. It's a follow up to the group's earlier study on how male dancers should shake their tail feathers.
Although the study in Scientific Reports is confusingly called "Optimal asymmetry and other motion parameters that characterise high-quality female dance," there are some serious nuggets of dance floor gold hidden in the jargon. Everyone, take notes.
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For the small study, 39 heterosexual females between 18 and 30 years old were recorded using 3D motion-capture as they danced to a basic beat. These videos were watched and rated by 57 males and 143 females. The scientists were interested in dancing as a form of global courtship and how human behavior can attract a mate.
Researchers found more attractive dance moves among females followed certain movement patterns and used their arms, hands, hips and thighs in just the right way.
The most attractive of dancers used a solid amount of arm movement and really put their back into it. They also didn't forget the legs. High "asymmetric thigh movement," which means moving your legs and feet around with just the right amount of rhythm and flow, also made dancers look more appealing.
But the researchers were quick to point out if someone used their arms too much or too little, that contributed to a lower attractiveness. They put it rather bluntly, "Both of these options might indicate poor motor control." So find that middle ground, like the dancing queen you are.
In the previous study of men dancing it was large movements of the head, neck and torso along with mixing up the moves that were deemed the most attractive. Arm movements were not an important element to focus your attention on.
For women, though, combine the thighs and arm movements in just the right way and you've got a recipe to dominate the dance floor.
Here's how the scientists see good and bad dancing.
GOOD
BAD
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
