The Neuroscience of Dance
By Shawn Lent, Manager of Dance Education
“Dance is the only thing that lets you lose yourself and find yourself at the same time.” Pete Townsend
This quote speaks to one of the things I most love about dancing. When I dance, I feel as if my brain/body runs on autopilot (thanks to the months of practice and rehearsal) so that I can express myself fully in this embodied art form. Dancing surely is beautiful. But have you ever considered the beauty happening inside the brain of a dancer?
A dancer’s brain is a wonder. While controlling their full body with both technique and the intended creative expression, a dancer navigates space and social relationships, with emotional intelligence and musicality. From complex motion planning in the frontal lobe, to neuroaesthetics (the scientific study of the neural consequences of contemplating a creative work of art), to efficiency of crossing pathways and improved neuroplasticity, the findings are fascinating.
One study shows that “the performance of a dance routine appears to affect neural activity in the alpha and gamma bands, and to recruit working memory, attentional processing, and heightened awareness.” In The Neuroscience of Dance: A Conceptual Framework and Systematic Review, Olivia Foster Vander Elst and colleagues summarize relevant research and explain that “the changes observed in functional connectivity [of dancer] may reflect:
(1) improved sensorimotor function;
(2) facilitation of the integration of internal and external information;
and (3) the improved empathic ability of dancers.”
The last part on empathy I find particularly interesting. The researchers stated, “There is strong evidence that dance training enhances the action observation network,... enabling us to infer information about others’ actions and intentions, improve prediction of their future behavior, and plan appropriate responses. These abilities are of prime importance in social interactions... This supports evolutionary theories of the importance of dance, and the theory that dance has had a significant role in enhancing our interpersonal skills.”
With neuroscience in mind, Music House is proud to announce that we are currently revising our studio-wide dance curriculum to address child development domains (physical, cognitive, and social/emotional), in addition to dance skills. With the new curriculum, class activities may focus on areas such as proprioception (the body's ability to sense movement, action, and location) or building toward developmental milestones like bilateral reciprocal coordination. The new curriculum is scheduled to be released next year.
Next time you see your dancer on the stage or practicing at home, take a moment to appreciate the neuroscience at play. “Before dancing begins, the nervous system processes auditory and other stimuli, and instigates the various necessary preparatory processes. During dance it generates, directs, and coordinates dancers’ movements, while continuing to process relevant external stimuli (Vander Elst).” That, in itself, is something worth celebrating.
