Ballroom Dancers Research Articles

Resonance and beat perception of ballroom dancers: An EEG study.

The ability to synchronize the perceptual and motor systems is important for full motor coordination and the core determinant of motor skill performance. Dance-related training has been found to effectively improve sensorimotor synchronization, however, the underlying characteristics behind these improvements still warrant further exploration. This study was conducted to investigate the behavioral and neuroactivity characteristics of ballroom dancers relative to those of non-dancers. Thirty-two dancers (19.8 ± 1.8 years old) and 31 non-dancers (22.6 ± 3.1 years old) were recruited to perform a finger-tapping task in synchrony with audiovisual beat stimuli at two intervals: 400 and 800 ms, while simultaneously recording EEG data. Behavioral and neural activity data were recorded during the task. The dancers employed a predictive strategy when synchronizing with the beat. EEG recordings revealed stronger brain resonance with external rhythmic stimuli, indicating heightened neural resonance compared to non-dancers (p < 0.05). The task was more challenging with an 800-ms beat interval, as observed through both behavioral metrics and corresponding neural signatures in the EEG data, leading to poorer synchronization performance and necessitating a greater allocation of attentional resources (ps < 0.05). When performing the finger-tapping task involving audiovisual beats, the beat interval was the primary factor influencing movement synchronization, neural activity and attentional resource allocation. Although no significant behavioral differences were observed between dancers and non-dancers, dancers have enhanced neural resonance in response to rhythmic stimuli. Further research using more ecologically valid tasks and stimuli may better capture the full extent of dancers' synchronization abilities.

Comparison of selected biomechanical variables of lower limbs and dynamic balance between folk and ballroom dancers

Comparison of selected biomechanical variables of lower limbs and dynamic balance between folk and ballroom dancers

PECULIARITIES OF JUNIOR BALLROOM DANCERS’ MOTIVATION

The aim of this research is paid to the peculiarities of junior ballroom dancers’ motivation. The sample of the research consisted of 70 12-15-aged junior ballroom dancers – 40 girls and 30 boys. The sport motivation scale (SMS) was chosen in order to reveal this issue. The study revealed that the internal motivation of junior dancers was expressed more than the external motivation, but some statements that reflect the internal motivation were evaluated differently by the dancers. The dancers did not have a strong opinion – they doubted the statements of the external motivation subscales. The dancers mostly disagreed with the following statements: I dance because my friends and other people respect and appreciate me for it and I dance because I think it’s one of the best ways to make friends and communicate. The amotivation of the dancers was not strongly expressed. They did not doubt their success, why they were dancing and they had no thoughts that they will not achieve their intended purpose. The girls that dance ballroom dances have higher internal motivation – to find out and internal motivation – experience; meanwhile, the boys had stronger internal motivation – to strive for perfection. It was also revealed the external motivation – to get identified and coincide – was important for the junior dancers of the both groups.

Higher artistic education in ballroom choreography: Forecast of educational trends

The objective of this article is to analyze higher art education in ballroom choreography through an examination of current educational trends and a forecast of their utilization. The work employs methods such as comparative analysis, generalization, corporate-pedagogical analysis, analytical-interpretative method, and forecasting modeling. The results assess the specificities of the American experience in teaching ballroom dancing within higher education, European experiences in ballroom dancing instruction, and the primary trends in the development of this choreographic field. Using the gathered information, a theoretical model for teaching ballroom choreography in higher education institutions is formulated, aiming for demonstrably high training outcomes. Innovative stimulation technologies have proven effective, suggesting that their ongoing evolution will significantly impact the advancement of higher choreographic education overall. These cutting-edge sports fitness technologies are poised to play a pivotal role in the training of ballroom dancers, serving as a potent resource to enhance the physical fitness levels of choreographers. The effectiveness of fitness techniques is demonstrated through various aerobic methods, including cardio training and cyclic exercises, as well as distinct dance techniques like Latina, Zumba, oriental dance, among others. Additionally, neurohumoral methods contribute to their effectiveness. In conclusion, it is emphasized that further somatic training, currently utilized in leading European countries, will play an important role.

Body Posture and Low Back Pain: Differences between Folk and Ballroom Dancers.

(1) Background: Dance is extremely diverse in its styles. Each of them presents different training, dynamics, and figures that may impact the body posture and the occurrence of low back pain. This observational study aimed to compare the sagittal curvatures and the range of motion (ROM) of the spine, as well as the low back pain occurrence and its intensity between folk and ballroom dancers. (2) Methods: Fifty-one participants took part in the study (nineteen folk dancers, fifteen ballroom dancers, and seventeen non-dancers) aged 18-32. Study groups did not differ in anthropometric parameters as well as in dancing experience and training frequency. Study procedures included a self-administered questionnaire and a physical examination of the sagittal spine curvatures and ROM. The questionnaire included questions about epidemiological data and the occurrence of chronic pain and its intensity using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). (3) Results: There was a significant difference in thoracic kyphosis angle between study groups (p = 0.02). The greatest angle was found in folk dancers and the lowest in ballroom dancers (40 vs. 33 respectively). We have found no significant differences in spine ROM, low back pain occurrence, and intensity between study groups (p > 0.05). We have found no correlation between low back pain and spine curvatures and ROM in dancers (p > 0.05), however, we found a very strong and negative correlation between thoracic spine range of motion and the pain intensity in non-dancers (R= -0.95, p = 0.003). The analysis also revealed that only in folk dancers, but not in ballroom dancers, the BMI correlates positively with dancing experience (R = 0.67, p = 0.002). (4) Conclusions: There are no differences in low back pain occurrence and pain intensity between folk and ballroom dancers, however, the prevalence of low back pain in dancers is very high. Folk dancers seem to have more flexed body posture compared to ballroom dancers.

Investigation of Intercultural Sensitivity Levels of Folk Dancers and Ballroom Dancers in Terms of Some Variables

Bu araştırmada, halk oyuncular ve salon dansçılarının kültürlerarası duyarlılık düzeylerini incelemek ve çeşitli değişkenlere göre kültürlerarası duyarlılık düzeyleri arasındaki farklılığı ortaya çıkarmak amaçlanmıştır. Bu amaç bağlamında yapılan araştırma, tarama modeli niteliğindedir. Araştırma kapsamında katılımcıların kültürlerarası duyarlılık düzeylerini tespit etmek için Chen ve Starosta (2000) tarafından geliştirilen ve Üstün (2011) tarafından Türkçe’ye uyarlanan “Kültürlerarası Duyarlılık Ölçeği (KDÖ)” kullanılmıştır. Veri toplama aracında aynı zamanda katılımcıların dans türü, cinsiyet, yaşamının büyük bir çoğunluğunu geçirdiği yer, anne ve baba eğitim düzeyi ve kendini tanımladığı gelir düzeyi olmak üzere altı maddelik kişisel bilgi formu bulunmaktadır. Araştırma kapsamında katılımcılardan toplanan veriler SPSS-25 programı ile analiz edilmiştir. Araştırmaya 129 kadın 52 erkek olmak üzere 181 kişi katılmıştır. Katılımcıların KDÖ’ne ilişkin dağılımın Levene homojenlik testi incelendiğinde normal dağıldığı ve test varyanslarının homojen olduğu görülmektedir. Katılımcıların dans türü ve cinsiyet değişkenleri ile kültürlerarası duyarlılık düzeyleri arasındaki farklılıkları tespit etmek için t-testi uygulanmış olup diğer değişkenler olan yaşamının büyük çoğunluğunu geçirdiği yer, anne eğitim düzeyi, baba eğitim düzeyi ve kendini tanımladığı gelir düzeyini test etmek için ANOVA kullanılmıştır. Araştırmadan elde edilen bulgulara göre, katılımcıların kültürlerarası duyarlılık düzeyleri incelendiğinde yüksek düzeyde duyarlılığa sahip oldukları tespit edilmiştir. Katılımcıların dans türü, cinsiyet, yaşamının büyük çoğunluğunu geçirdiği yer, anne ve baba eğitim düzeyi ve kendini tanımladığı gelir düzeyi değişkenleri ile kültürlerarası duyarlılık düzeyleri arasında istatistiksel açıdan herhangi bir anlamlı farklılık tespit edilmemiştir.

Enhanced neural synchrony associated with long-term ballroom dance training

Long-term dance training offers numerous benefits, including improvements in physical health, posture, body coordination, and mental health and well-being. Since dance is an art form of body-to-body communication, professional dancers may share feelings and thoughts on dance with their partners, owing to their shared training experiences. Considering this perspective, one may expect that professional dancers would demonstrate pronounced neural similarities when viewing dancing videos, which could be associated with their training duration. To test these hypotheses, we collected functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data while presenting ballroom dancing and neutral video clips with long durations (∼100 s each) to 41 professional ballroom dancers (19 pairs of dance partners) and 39 age- and sex-matched nondancers. Our findings revealed that dancers exhibited broader and stronger neural similarities across the whole brain when watching dancing video clips, as compared to the control group. These increased neural similarities could be interpreted in at least two distinct ways. First, neural similarities in certain brain regions within the motor control circuit (i.e., frontal cortical-basal ganglia-thalamic circuit) were significantly correlated with dance-related information (e.g., dance partners’ cooperation duration), which reinforced the impact of long-term dance training on neural synchronization. Second, neural similarities in other brain regions (e.g., memory-related brain regions) were significantly correlated with subjects’ impression of the viewed videos (i.e., whether they have watched before, familiarity, and liking), which may not necessarily be directly linked to long-term dance training. Altogether, our study provided solid evidence for synchronized neural mechanisms in professional dancers due to long-term dance training.

LGBT+ ballroom dancers and their shoes: Fashioning the queer self into existence

This article examines the role of dance shoes in LGBT+ ballroom dancers’ identity formation and expression on the dancefloor. Applying Entwistle’s (2015) ‘situated bodily practice’ to an analysis of ethnographic field notes and 35 interviews, I highlight that dancers’ performative constitution of subversive identities through reiterative mobilisation of the traditional symbolic values of dance shoes is influenced by the material. The article makes a key contribution to sociological knowledge on performativity through an introduction of materialities of place, bodies and artefacts into a close reading of reiterative acts. I argue that a closer look into performative acts is necessary for determining whether and how resistance is constituted, recognised and reproduced, taking into account how materialities interweave with discourse in order to give credit to subversive agents emerging in the micro-moments.

How partnering changes the process of postural control?

The aim of the study was to identify changes in the mechanism of postural control among ballroom dancers between standing solo and standing with a partner during specific standard dance positions. Specifically, the study attempted to determine whether the male partner plays a stabilising role in the dance couple. A total of seven competitive dance couples participated in the study. The experimental procedure comprised four dance positions characteristic of international standard dances: standard, starting, chasse and contra check. The dance positions were staged twice – while standing solo and while standing with a partner. The assumption of the assessed position was preceded by a dance phase after which the participants were instructed to freeze on a force plate and hold the position for 30 s. To examine whether subjects standing solo or with partners had greater rambling (RM) or trembling (TR) components in their dance postural profile, the ratios of RM to the center of foot pressure (COP) and TR to COP were computed for velocity. No significant differences were observed in the velocity of COP between standing solo and standing with a partner (p > 0.05). However, during the standard and starting positions, female and male dancers standing solo were characterised by higher values of the velocity of RM/COP ratio and lower values of the velocity of TR/COP ratio than those standing with a partner (p < 0.05). According to the theory behind the RM and TR decomposition, an increase in TR components could indicate a higher reliance on spinal reflexes, which would suggest greater automaticity.

"I Hear the Music and My Spirits Lift!" Pleasure and Ballroom Dancing for Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

Physical activity for older adults is recommended to encourage the maintenance of functional autonomy and improve mental health. Ballroom dancing involves aerobic, strength, and balance work and is an inherently a social activity. This 12-month qualitative study considered the influence of ballroom dancing on health and well-being in community-dwelling older adults. It explores an underreported aspect of physical activity, which may incentivize older people to participate, that is, pleasure. Qualitative data were managed and analyzed using the Framework Analysis approach. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 26 older adult ballroom dancers. Five typologies of pleasure were identified. In addition to "sensual pleasure," "pleasure of habitual action," and "pleasure of immersion," as suggested by Phoenix and Orr, the "pleasure of practice" and "pleasure of community" were also identified. Ballroom dancing produces a strong sense of embodied pleasure for older adults and should be promoted by health and exercise professionals for community-dwelling older adults.

Association of Back Pain with Spinal Hypermobility and Static Trunk Endurance in Ballroom Dancers

Background. Low back pain is one of the most common problems among ballroom dancers. The aim. To determine the correlations between the hypermobility of the lumbar spine, lower back pain and static endurance of the trunk muscles in sports dancers. Methods. 36 ballroom dancers (50% males and 50% females) between the ages of 16 and 22 participated in the study. The subjects filled out a questionnaire, inclinometry was performed to determine the amplitudes of spinal movements, the static endurance of the trunk muscles was assessed according to the McGill methodology, and the intensity of the felt pain was assessed on the analog pain scale. Results. 72.2% of dancers have experienced lower back pain at least once in their life. The average back pain intensity for males was 2.17 ± 2.92 p., and for females – 3.56 ± 2.66 (p&lt; 0.05). The amplitude of back extension was 28.1° for dancers with back pain, and 22.2° for those without. The average endurance of the back muscles of the subjects who felt pain was 101s, and 117s for those who did not. The average endurance of the left side of the trunk muscles was 70s in subjects with low back pain and 83s in subjects without. A statistically significant difference was found between pain sensation and extension amplitude (p&lt;0.05) and pain sensation and static endurance of trunk muscles (p&lt;0.05). Conclusion. The more intense the pain, the greater the amplitude of the spine. With lower back pain the static endurance of the muscles of the back and left side of the trunk was shorter. Keywords: hypermobility of the spine, back pain, static endurance of the trunk muscles, sports dancing.

Competition in tertiary ballroom dance education in China: ‘a double-edged sword’

ABSTRACT Presently there are approximately 50 million ballroom dancers in China, and over 100 tertiary institutions offering bachelor’s degrees majoring in ballroom dance. It was this context and the growth of tertiary ballroom dance education and the prosperity of ballroom dance competition in China that prompted this research question: What are tertiary teachers’ meanings of competition in tertiary ballroom dance education in China? In contextualising the study in China, the history of tertiary ballroom dance education and ecology of ballroom dance competition was outlined. Related to this were the various pedagogical approaches valued within Chinese educational institutions and ballroom dance contexts. A qualitative methodology was utilised in answering the research question. This study found that ballroom dance competition culture informed tertiary teachers’ pedagogy, students’ learning, and curriculum setting. This study posits that as ballroom dance continues to grow in China, tertiary ballroom dance education in China will require a more finely balanced approach to the role of competition within the curriculum, pedagogical approaches and assessment.

The development of ballroom choreography in the Caucasian countries in the second half of the 20th century

The aim of this article. The purpose of the article is to analyze the historical processes of the development of ballroom choreography in the Caucasian countries in the second half of the 20th century - early XXI century. Research methodology. The following methods were used in the work: historical and historical-genetic - to understand the genesis, the specifics of the processes of development of ballroom dance; source study - for the selection and processing of sources related to the art of ballroom dancing; comparative - to compare the historical periods of the evolution of ballroom culture; included observation - to view individual choreographic works and their preliminary comprehension. Novelty. For the first time, an attempt is made to scientifically study topical issues of the development of ballroom choreography in the Caucasian countries in the second half of the 20th century - early XXI century. Results. The article highlights the peculiarities of historical processes of ballroom choreography development in the Caucasian countries in the second half of the XX century - early XXI century. The history of formation, local specifics of ballroom choreography in Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan are analyzed. Ballroom choreography in the Caucasian countries has been constantly evolving in recent decades: the number of its supporters is growing, associations have become members of international federations, and the training of ballroom dance specialists has improved. It is concluded that the gradual integration of ballroom dancing into the international socio-cultural space is a common trend in these countries. It is emphasized that the majority of the amateur target audience of ballroom choreography in Caucasian countries is children's and junior contingent. On the other hand, the mass popularization of ballroom dancing as a recreational and health resource among the middle-aged and elderly is almost non-existent, and in this respect, the Caucasian countries lag far behind the Western world with its more developed social policies against ageism. Broadcasting the experience of different generations of ballroom dancers gives the right to talk about the heritage of ballroom choreography traditions in Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. Keywords: ballroom choreography, ballroom dance, competition dance.

The association between ballroom dance training and empathic concern: Behavioral and brain evidence.

Dance is unique in that it is a sport and an art simultaneously. Beyond improving sensorimotor functions, dance training could benefit high-level emotional and cognitive functions. Duo dances also confer the possibility for dancers to develop the abilities to recognize, understand, and share the thoughts and feelings of their dance partners during the long-term dance training. To test this possibility, we collected high-resolution structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from 43 expert-level ballroom dancers (a model of long-term exposure to duo dance training) and 40 age-matched and sex-matched nondancers, and measured their empathic ability using a self-report trait empathy scale. We found that ballroom dancers showed higher scores of empathic concern (EC) than controls. The EC scores were positively correlated with years with dance partners but negatively correlated with the number of dance partners for ballroom dancers. These behavioral results were supported by the structural and functional MRI data. Structurally, we observed that the gray matter volumes in the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and EC scores were positively correlated. Functionally, the connectivity between ACC and occipital gyrus was positively correlated with both EC scores and years with dance partners. In addition, the relationship between years with dance partners and EC scores was indirect-only mediated by the ACC-occipital gyrus functional connectivity. Therefore, our findings provided solid evidence for the close link between long-term ballroom dance training and empathy, which deepens our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying this phenomenon.

What are the kinematic characteristics of the world champion couple in competitive ballroom dance during the waltz's spin movement?

To evaluate competitive ballroom dancing, one of the official events of the World Games, spin movements used by advanced dancers who ranked high in actual competition may be employed. The purpose of this study was to investigate the kinematic characteristics of spin movements in competitive ballroom dancing performed by world champion couples, especially holding posture and lower limb movements. A champion couple and 13 national-level competitive ballroom dancers as the control group participated in this study. An inertial measurement unit (IMU) system (MVN Link; Xsens, Netherlands) consisting of 17 IMUs, attached to feet, shanks, thighs, pelvis, sternum, head, upper arms, forearms, and hands of the dancers, was used to obtain three-dimensional kinematic data at 240 Hz. The overall trend was that the actual and normalized stride lengths of the champion male and female dancers tended to be longer than those of the male and female dancers in the control group. Further, large differences were observed in the pelvic and rib cage segments movements, and the relative angle of the rib cage segment to the pelvic segment. The champion male dancer started to move from the pelvic segment, whereas the champion female dancer and the national-level top male and female dancers started to move from the rib cage segment. During the spin movement, the champion male dancer was in a position where the rib cage segment was rotated to the left with respect to the pelvic segment, whereas the other dancers were in a position where the rib cage segment was rotated to the right. Although limited to technical aspects, these dance kinematic characteristics of the world champion couples and their differences from those of the control group dancers, will be helpful to competitive ballroom dancers and coaches in their daily practice.

Ballroom choreography of the XX century in the Baltic countries

The purpose of this article. The purpose of the article is to analyze the historical processes of the development of ballroom choreography in the Baltic countries in the XX century.&#x0D; The methodology. The following methods were applied in the work: historical and historical-genetic — in order to understand the genesis, the specifics of the processes of development of ballroom dance; source study — for the selection and processing of sources related to the art of ballroom dancing; comparative — to compare the historical periods of the evolution of ballroom culture; included observation — to view individual choreographic works and their preliminary comprehension.&#x0D; The scientific novelty. For the first time, an attempt was made to study topical issues of the development of ballroom choreography in the Baltic countries in the XX century.&#x0D; The results. The Baltic republics became the center of the development of Soviet ballroom choreography, because ballroom practice existed here even before World War II as part of local traditions. The first choreographic organizations arose here, in particular, the Estonian Dance Union (1930). In the post-war period, local and international ballroom dance tournaments were held at a high level in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. A generation of outstanding ballroom dancers has formed in Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius, Klaipeda and other cities.&#x0D; In the Baltic republics, the “Soviet program” of ballroom dancing did not become popular: due to the lack of strict party censorship that exists in other Soviet regions, local dancers developed as performers of the European and Latin American programs. Conducting seminars and master classes in different republics of the USSR, they served as conductors of high standards of world ballroom choreography in the Soviet Union.&#x0D; The collapse of the USSR led to significant socio-cultural transformations and the beginning of a movement towards European integration, the Baltic countries, like other former Soviet republics, began to actively join the world traditions and trends of ballroom choreography.

Soviet bodies in Canadian DanceSport: identities and culture in four competitive ballroom dance studios

ABSTRACT This article examines the processes of cultural transfer and cross-pollination within four diasporic DanceSport studios located in major cities in Canada. It focuses on first- and second-generation Soviet-Canadian competitive ballroom dancers and their experiences with identity as a diasporic community. Through an ethnographic study, it explores the adaptations of these dancers to the Canadian DanceSport industry and the roots of their teaching methodologies in Soviet physical culture. Using narrative vignettes based on fieldwork and examined through a Dance Studies lens, this article shows how the participants navigated the expectations of their parents’ and coaches’ traditional Soviet upbringing and used multicultural identities in their approach to dance practice and daily interactions. This analysis is tied to the parallel yet divergent evolution of educational methodologies in the former USSR and Canada and illustrates how the DanceSport industry was nudged by these migrant dancers toward a focus on athletic excellence, while the dancers themselves adapted to social dance pedagogy and commercialization of ballroom dance in North America. Using interview excerpts and observations, this research gives voice to practitioners and aims to increase awareness of migration flows and cultural influences in DanceSport.

Static Body Balance in Children and Expert Adults Ballroom Dancers: Insights from Spectral Analysis of Shifts.

Simple SummaryThe development of balance in children engaged in a particular and challenging task such as dance, is influenced by several factor, including growth of body and limbs, development of the central nervous system, and training. Comparing a group of experienced dancers and child dancers, we found that gender differences are overshadowed by technical training in adults. The dominance of the vestibular system (centralized and efficient fine control system) is apparent in adults from the static equilibrium tests carried out in this study. In children, however, a greater use of the somatic-sensory system (stereotyped and superficial) was recorded. A recommendation for practice, therefore, can be to train children in balance exercises with their eyes open, while adults could train with their eyes closed, to stimulate the use of the relevant balance subsystem. A limitation of our study may be, as is the case for most of the previous research on the topic, that we measure balance in lab conditions and not in real life conditions.Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the differences in maintaining body balance (influence of different sensorial sub-systems) in a representative sample of active Dance Sport competitors (children and adults). Methods: Overall, 13 children and 15 high-level adults sport dancers underwent a static equilibrium test on a force platform, in which 17 different parameters were examined, including a spectral analysis of shifts using an FFT algorithm that can assess the contribution of different somatic-sensory systems on maintaining body balance. Results: Younger subjects rely on their somatic-sensory reactions to maintain their balance, while adults rely more on the vestibular system, according to shifts’ spectral analysis. No differences were noted between the male and female participants. Conclusions: Children predominantly use the somatic-sensory system in body balance, while adults make more use of the vestibular system. According to these results and due to the trainability phases, exercises that challenge the somato-sensorial system are recommended to train balance in young dancers, while exercises that challenge the vestibular system are recommended in adult dancers which who have not developed exceptional somato-sensory balance abilities during their growth and training history.

Anglicization and canonization of ballroom dance, late 19th - early 20th century

Purpose of the Article. The aim of the article is to analyze the processes of anglicization and canonization of ballroom dance, during the period of democratization of social dances in England, in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. Methodology is an organic set of basic principles of research: objectivity, historicism, multifactor essence, systematicity, complexity, development, and pluralism, to achieve the goal, the following methods of scientific knowledge are used: problem-chronological, concrete historical, statistical, descriptive, logical- analytical. Scientific Novelty. The scientific novelty lies in the identification of the processes of origin and development of competitive ballroom dancing in England at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. Conclusions. The widespread democratization of social dancing in England began as early as the 19th century when the Austrian waltz and other ballroom dancing became popular among all social strata. Democratic fervor of the common people, which at the end of the XIX century got the opportunity to relax on the resort coast of Great Britain, gave birth to the first dance competition in ballroom dancing. It was often noted by professional dance experts that the new British dance forms were superior to the original. Certainly, the distinctive features and high quality of British ballroom dancing were a matter of special professional pride. The advantages of a standardized English style as early as the late 30s. The XX century was recognized outside the country for the extraordinary success of British dancers in international ballroom dancing championships. Gradually, it established the international standard for ballroom dancing and was adopted by many of the world's dance organizations at the national level, with the exception of the United States of America (by many American competitive ballroom dancers, the English style was not adopted until the 1960s.).

Зміни показників позної стійкості тіла спортсменів, що спеціалізуються в бальних танцях, під впливом тренувальних навантажень і змагальної діяльності

The purpose of the study is to establish changes in the indicators of postural stability of the body of ballroom dancers under the influence of training loads and competitive activity. Materials and methods. With the help of a force plate with biological feedback “Stabilan 01-2” the interaction of athletes with the support was registered, in particular the movement of the common center of pressure of the feet on the support. The standard (with open eyes) and complicated (with closed eyes) Romberg tests were used. The indicators were being recorded for 30 seconds at rest, as well as under the conditions of visual control before and after a typical training session, before and after competitions. The obtained data in two experimental situations were compared with initial data at rest. In total, 25 couples were studied. Couples aged 18-19 years old were studied in the amount of 15 couples, training at the stage of maximum realization of individual capabilities, and 10 couples at the age of 14-15 years old, training at the stage of specialized basic training. All the participants actively train and regularly participate in competitions. Results and discussion. Studies have shown that in the tests, which were carried out, there were obvious differences in posture stability associated with the influence of training and loads used in them. The analysis of the data proved that the test results indicate the regular differences in the indicators of posture stability in accordance with the sports experience of athletes after a training session in comparison with the initial ones (in the so-called state of rest). Athletes aged 18-19 years have a significantly higher quality indicator of balance function than people aged 14-15 years (p &lt;0.01), which in our opinion is explained by dancing experience and adaptive changes that occur in the athlete’s body, because, according to researchers, the higher the specified indicator is, the correspondingly higher the human statokinetic stability is. A separate analysis of female and male representatives indicated less frontal scattering in male athletes aged 18-19 years old compared to girls of this age group (p &lt;0.05). The area of the ellipse when conducting the test with closed eyes also significantly differed in boys from girls, regardless of dancing experience (p &lt;0.05). Comparing the stability indicators of girls in dancing shoes and without them, we stated a regularity of a decrease in the quality of body balance from “more to less”: from maintaining a classical posture with open eyes to the same posture in dancing shoes in a test with closed eyes. The results of the correlation analysis between the indicators of static-dynamic body stability and the sports result of more experienced girl-partners allowed to establish the existence of a connection (r=0.61), which reflects the tendency according to which, with an increase in sports performance, the indicators of the oscillation amplitude of the center of body pressure on the support, its linear velocity of movement, the length of this trajectory both in the sagittal and in the frontal planes, the area of the ellipse decrease, which complements and confirms the data of other authors [6, 10]. Conclusion. Thus, according to the results of the study, it was found that the visual analyzer plays an important role in maintaining balance, which can be seen in the test results of both age groups. Moreover, the greater influence of visual control on the postural stability was stated in girl-partners than in boy-partners. It was also found that the quality of the balance function before and after competitions in older dancers did not change, while in less experienced dancers it decreased by almost 2%, and a comparison of the changes that occurred under the influence of training loads and competitive activity made it possible to establish the presence of adaptation to competitive loads, which manifested in a very significant improvement in the work of systems of vertical posture support in all age groups