Learning Hawaiian hula dance by using tablet computer

Abstract

Dance has been a required subject in Physical Education in Japan since 2012 [MEXT 2010]. However, there are many Physical Education teachers at elementary and junior high schools who had never taught dance before it became a required subject in 2012. There are even many teachers among them who have never studied dance. It has been reported that there are many instructors who feel anxiety about teaching dance under such conditions [Miyamoto 2012 and Matsumoto 2013]. Accordingly, the authors considered that by using motion capture and using the data of CG animation, new and exciting methods could be found to help people learn dance. Now, there have been some studies on dance using motion capture; however, the studies so far on motion capture and dance, including these previously mentioned, focus on technical system development. Watabe [2005] and Sato [2009] have made attempts to support dance learners in their practice by using motion capture focusing on the educational use it. Sato [2010] reduced the information about expression, muscle, background, etc. by using motion capture so that the points to be viewed were made clear for learners. Thus, in this study, usefulness of CG animation in learning dance through utilizing tablet computer was examined.