Religiousness as a Protective Factor for Substance Use in Dance Sport

Although religiousness is found to be a significant protective factor in substance use, there is an evidential lack of studies of such in athletes. The aim of the study was to identify the predictive value of the religiousness and some social, educational, and sport factors on substance use in 43 sport dancers. An originally developed questionnaire for studying substance use and precipitation factors was applied. The Chi-square showed male dancers as more religious than females. Using the Spearman’s correlation, religiousness was found to be a significant protective factor in cigarette smoking, sport nutritional supplementation, and the likelihood of doping. Data were interpreted emphasizing the previous findings from the literature.     

Sport Skill–Specific Expertise Biases Sensory Integration for Spatial Referencing and Postural Control

The authors asked how sport expertise modulates visual field dependence and sensory reweighting for controlling posture. Experienced soccer athletes, ballet dancers, and nonathletes performed (a) a Rod and Frame test and (b) a 100-s bipedal stance task during which vision and proprioception were successively or concurrently disrupted in 20-s blocks. Postural adaptation was assessed in the mean center of pressure displacement, root mean square of center of pressure velocity and ankle muscles integrated electromyography activity. Soccer athletes were more field dependent than were nonathletes. During standing, dancers were more destabilized by vibration and required more time to reweigh sensory information compared with the other 2 groups. These findings reveal a sport skill–specific bias in the reweighing of sensory inputs for spatial orientation and postural control.     

Effects of a 6-week aerobic dance intervention on body image and physical self-perceptions in adolescent girls

Research examining the impact of physical activity on body image dissatisfaction and physical self-perceptions has been both limited and equivocal. The current research investigated the effects of 6-week aerobic dance on these variables with 50 British schoolgirls aged 13–14 years. A cross-over design was used with two equivalent groups taught normal physical education and aerobic dance in a different order. The Body Attitude Questionnaire (BAQ) and Children and Youth Physical Self-Perception Profile (CY-PSPP) were administered as pre, mid and post-test to each participant in each group before the first intervention, at the change over and after 12 weeks. The results of this study revealed that participation in 6 weeks of aerobic dance significantly reduced body image dissatisfaction (Attractiveness, Feeling Fat, Salience and Strength and Fitness) and enhanced physical self-perceptions (Body Attractiveness and Physical Self-Worth), although these improvements were not sustained. The implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Evaluating video modeling and video modeling with video feedback to enhance the performance of competitive dancers

This study evaluated the use of video modeling and video modeling plus video feedback to enhance four adolescents' performance of a dance movement. Intervention was evaluated in a multiple baseline across participants design. This study found that video modeling enhanced performance from baseline, but the addition of video feedback produced further increases. For one participant, improvement was dependent on the perspective of the video model. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

TEACHING LEISURE SKILLS TO SEVERELY HANDICAPPED ADULTS: AN AGE-APPROPRIATE DARTS GAME

This study demonstrates the acquisition and generalization of dart skills by three severely multihandicapped adults. The program took place in a community adult development center. By identifying the motor responses required to play darts, a 7-step task analysis was generated to facilitate instruction. Systematic training procedures using applied behavior analysis were implemented. A combination multiple baseline across subjects and changing criterion design was used. The results indicated that not only could this supposedly difficult skill be acquired by severely multihandicapped individuals, but that they could also generalize to other appropriate environments. Acquisition of this skill could help optimize their use of free time for leisure pursuits in a variety of settings.     

Musical groove shapes children's free dancing

The drive to move to music is evident across a variety of contexts, from the simple urge to tap our toe to a song on the radio, to massive crowds dancing in time at a rock concert. Though seemingly effortless, beat synchronization is difficult to master and children are often poor beat synchronizers. Nevertheless, auditory-motor integration is fundamental for many daily processes, such as speech. A topic that has been relatively understudied concerns how stimulus properties affect young children's movement in responses to auditory stimuli. In the present study, we examined how musical groove (adult-rated desire to move) affected 3.0- to 6.9-year-old children's free dancing in the comfort of their home (n = 78). In the high groove conditions, children danced more and with more energy compared to the low groove conditions. Moreover, in the high groove condition, children's movement tempos corresponded better with the tempos of the music. Results point to early childhood sensitivity to the musical features that motivate adults to move to music. High groove music may therefore prove especially effective at facilitating early auditory-motor integration. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://youtu.be/vli0-6N12Ts .     

Analysis of the Impact of Creative Technique on the Motivation of Physical Education Students in Dance Content: Gender Differences

The aim of this study was to learn about the effectiveness of two dance teaching techniques, the creative examination technique and the direct instruction technique, on the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, the level of self‐determination, the perception of usefulness, enjoyment and effort of physical education students. Likewise, it purports to analyze the gender difference in the psychological variables addressed in agreement with the teaching technique used, to guide and personalize the treatment of these contents in physical education. A quasi‐experimental design was carried out with four natural groups from two school centers. The direct instruction technique was applied with two groups and the creative examination technique with the other two, in a total of 12 sessions. An initial and final measurement was taken in both groups, and the results revealed the complexity to motivate students after 12 sessions. However, the gender‐dependent analyses offer methodological guidelines, as the creative technique causes adaptative consequences on the male gender and disadaptative consequences on the female gender. By way of conclusion, we can highlight the need to devote more sessions to dance teaching and to apply different treatments depending on the gender.     

“象舞”初探

本文对周初之"象舞"的产生及其影响进行了初步的分析与梳理。作者从对"象"的文字训诂入手,分析了在中华民族文明发展的滥觞期,汉字、《易》和原始舞蹈的创生过程中,"象"作为早期先民的一种模仿、象形的交流、互动的信息传递手段,发挥着不可或缺的沟通载体作用。对"象舞"在华夏舞蹈史发展过程中的承先启后的历史地位,本文也进行了梳理,肯定了其审美主体意识的自觉与回归、启动了舞蹈世俗化、人性化、规范化、社会化的艺术进程的重要作用。     

Heroes on the Hill: A qualitative study of the psychosocial benefits of an intercultural arts programme for youth in Northern Ireland

The current study investigates the psychosocial benefits of a cross‐community, intercultural dance programme for youth in Northern Ireland. Psychological theories, including contact theory and the ecology of childhood development, underpin the study, and results are discussed in relation to the programme's aims. The present study used qualitative, inductive methods; data consisted of interviews before and after the programme with facilitators (n = 2) and 10 (n = 10) programme participants (11–15 years old) of diverse races and nationalities. Latent themes were identified using thematic analysis. Findings reveal that participants have complex senses of identity. Worryingly, they also reported many instances of bullying, relating both to themselves and others. Results reveal three main psychosocial benefits of the programme, all of which promote positive mental health in adolescents. The benefits are increased self‐confidence, the formation of new cross‐community friendships, and improved intercultural awareness and pride. It is argued that the programme is an exemplar of how the arts can promote peace as well as resilience in the face of adversity. Recommendations for future research are included.