A COMPARISON OF BASIC RHYTHM MOVEMENT KINEMATICS BETWEEN EXPERT AND NON-EXPERT HIP HOP DANCERS

Abstract

Common motion characteristics that may be linked to higher judging evaluations of hip hop dance were investigated. A comparison of the rhythmic movement between ten expert and twelve non-expert dancers was undertaken. Trajectory data was captured using a motion capture system at 120 Hz and kinematic parameters including the time lags of occurrence of peak joint angle in neck, trunk, hip and knee joint were calculated. Smaller time lags between neck and other joints were observed in the expert dancers. Furthermore, the neck motion was delayed for approximately a quarter cycle of the basic rhythm compared with the half cycle delay observed in the non-expert group. Timing differences in the coordination of joint angles is the most likely a factor to explain the higher judging evaluations awarded to the expert dancers.