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Copyright of Retos: Nuevas Perspectivas de Educación Física, Deporte y Recreación is the property of Federacion Espanola de Asociaciones de Docentes de Educacion Fisica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

To analyze the short-term (one month intervention and post-intervention) and long-term (six-month follow-up) effects of Jazz Dance on menopausal symptoms (somatic, psychological and urogenital), in addition to the psychological aspects in specific (anxiety, depression, mood, stress, and aging perspective), compared to the control group of menopausal women. Randomized clinical trial with early postmenopausal women divided into two groups: Jazz Dance Intervention Group (GIDJ) (n = 23), and control group (CG) (n = 24). The physical exercise group received interventions of two weekly sessions of 60 minutes each, for 16 weeks. The control group received monthly calls, educational lectures, and maintained their usual activities during the intervention period. Assessments with all participants occurred at baseline, after the 1st month, after the interventions, and at the six-month follow-up. The evaluations are assessed by questionnaires and include menopausal symptoms (Menopause Rating Scale), depressive and anxiety symptoms (Anxiety and Depression Scale), stress (Perceived Stress Scale), mood (Brunel Mood Scale), and aging perspective (Sheppard Inventory). There was a significant improvement in GIDJ outcomes post-intervention, such as menopausal symptoms (p = .001), psychological aspects (anxiety (p =  <.001), depression (p = .016) and stress (p = .030)); in the integrity domain (p = .011) for the aging perspective, and in the confusion (p = .028) and vigor (p = .044) domains for mood. Furthermore, the CG showed significant improvements in the happiness domain at one month of intervention (p = .043) from the perspective of aging. Jazz Dance is effective in treating symptoms of menopause, depression, anxiety and stress, especially with an intervention of at least 16 weeks duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sports like dancing and gymnastics are often performed in front of an audience. It is therefore an important question whether spectators help or hinder movement execution. Previous research suggests that the influence of spectators on motor performance depends on the type of task, with condition-based tasks being facilitated, and coordination-based tasks being inhibited (for a recent review, see van Meurs, Greve, & Strauss, 2022). We tested a group of female carnival dancers (N = 15, Mage = 19; age range between 15 and 35 years) over the course of a competitive season. The same dance choreography was performed at four timepoints, each time with and without spectators. Dance performances were videotaped and afterwards rated by 7 qualified raters, who were blinded concerning the experimental condition. Raters noted an increased quality of the dance with increasing practice (linear and cubic trend). Concerning social facilitation effects, dance performance was either improved (timepoint 2) or unchanged (timepoints 1, 3, and 4) in front of the audience. Our results indicate that a complex coordination task like the carnival dance may be facilitated when being watched. Future research should address whether these findings can be replicated in other aesthetic sports (like gymnastics), whether they are influenced by gender, and how individual performances influence the group outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Retos: Nuevas Perspectivas de Educación Física, Deporte y Recreación is the property of Federacion Espanola de Asociaciones de Docentes de Educacion Fisica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

"The first record of Estonians singing – or more?". This article explores three key questions: how folklorists have interpreted the account of warriors’ singing and dancing in Saxo Grammaticus’s Gesta Danorum; how 20th-century researchers have conceptualized the facts about Estonians presented in Saxo’s work; and what insights have been gained from using folk songs to study depictions of Estonia’s past during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Saxo Grammaticus describes a battle near the island of Öland in 1170, where Christian Danes and Swedes faced off against Estonian and Curonian pirates. The description suggests that the pirates prepared for battle by singing and dancing, among other things. This account has emerged in the history of Estonian folklore studies as the earliest record of Estonians singing. However, dancing has received significantly less attention, owing to the classification of folklore by genre. Singing was a favoured topic in 20th-century folkloristics, while interest in dance was relegated to the periphery of the field. Returning to Saxo’s text, it provides insights into the cultural environment of the time, where singing and dancing were used to express sentiments and readiness for battle. In light of medieval dance culture, it is worth considering whether the mention of dancing in Saxo’s work could indicate a precursor to singing games, especially since the medieval dance ‘reigen’ is etymologically linked to the old Estonian folk song known as ‘regilaul’ (runosong). Saxo’s text inspired Jaan Jõgever (1860–1924) to seek connections between the imagined songs from the time of the Battle of Öland and the Estonian folk songs recorded in the 19th century. Through stylistic analysis of these songs, he uncovered a diversity of mentalities within Estonian war-related folk songs. Furthermore, in his analysis of Saxo’s text, Jõgever emphasised that before the 13th century, Estonians did not live in the cultural isolation characteristic of the 19th century. This view differed from that of Baltic-German researchers, and Jõgever considered it important to incorporate this perspective when studying Estonian history and educational conditions.

It was the evening of Simchat Torah, 2023, just hours before the October 7 massacre and the outbreak of war in Israel. With no inkling, as yet, of those terrible [...]

AbstractThe importance of physical activity (PA) for overall health and well-being cannot be overstated, especially in today’s fast-paced and sedentary society. Engaging in enjoyable activities like dancing can significantly enhance PA levels and positively affect one’s mood. Advances in technology have the potential to increase individuals’ engagement in more physical activities. This work explores the effectiveness of augmented reality-driven persuasive intervention in enhancing users’ physical activity and mood. To achieve our goal, we developed AR Dancee, a mobile-driven intervention combining Augmented Reality, Machine Learning, and persuasive technology to encourage adults to increase their PA through dancing, ultimately improving their mood. A 15-day user study with 104 participants showed that the intervention effectively increased PA levels, with equal effectiveness across genders and a stronger impact on younger adults. The results also show that the intervention improved participants’ mood while reducing anxiety levels, demonstrating its potential for stress management. Overall, the contribution of this work to the HCI fields is threefold: (1) the design and development of an AR-driven persuasive mobile app, (2) providing design recommendations, and (3) pinpointing limitations and providing suggestions for future work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores three key questions: how folklorists have interpreted the account of warriors' singing and dancing in Saxo Grammaticus's Gesta Danorum; how 20th-century researchers have conceptualized the facts about Estonians presented in Saxo's work; and what insights have been gained from using folk songs to study depictions of Estonia's past during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Saxo Grammaticus describes a battle near the island of Öland in 1170, where Christian Danes and Swedes faced off against Estonian and Curonian pirates. The description suggests that the pirates prepared for battle by singing and dancing, among other things. This account has emerged in the history of Estonian folklore studies as the earliest record of Estonians singing. However, dancing has received significantly less attention, owing to the classification of folklore by genre. Singing was a favoured topic in 20th-century folkloristics, while interest in dance was relegated to the periphery of the field. Returning to Saxo's text, it provides insights into the cultural environment of the time, where singing and dancing were used to express sentiments and readiness for battle. In light of medieval dance culture, it is worth considering whether the mention of dancing in Saxo's work could indicate a precursor to singing games, especially since the medieval dance 'reigen' is etymologically linked to the old Estonian folk song known as 'regilaul' (runosong). Saxo's text inspired Jaan Jõgever (1860-1924) to seek connections between the imagined songs from the time of the Battle of Öland and the Estonian folk songs recorded in the 19th century. Through stylistic analysis of these songs, he uncovered a diversity of mentalities within Estonian war-related folk songs. Furthermore, in his analysis of Saxo's text, Jõgever emphasised that before the 13th century, Estonians did not live in the cultural isolation characteristic of the 19th century. This view differed from that of Baltic-German researchers, and Jõgever considered it important to incorporate this perspective when studying Estonian history and educational conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to determine the effects of dancing on college students' psychological well-being before and after the intervention. This quantitative research study used a quasi-experimental design, specifically the one-group pretestposttest research design. The results of the study revealed that the data gathered before and after the intervention of BSIT and BPED students as a whole were closely similar. However, when the results were analyzed per subscale, the findings revealed an increase in autonomy, environmental mastery, positive relationships with others, purpose in life, and self-acceptance, and a slight decrease in the personal growth subscale. Additionally, findings showed a significant difference existed before and after the intervention in BSIT students. However, in the BPED students, it was found that a significant difference existed before and after the intervention. The researchers concluded that while dancing is a fun and enjoyable form of physical activity, it may not have any significant effects on the psychological well-being of BPED students but has a great impact on the psychological well-being of BSIT students because it gives students a chance to engage with others, which helps lessen feelings of loneliness and isolation. Thus, this study suggests that teachers must encourage BSIT students to use dance as a form of stress relief by incorporating dance breaks into classes or by suggesting dance as a way to unwind after a long day of studying. For BPED, the intervention does not have any specific psychological benefits beyond what they can already achieve through other forms of physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive deterioration and gait balance disturbances are the core symptoms of idiopathic normal pressure patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus -- NHP (J. Larson et al, 2021). The manifestations caused by NPH directly foul the patient's autonomy. Rehabilitation in NPH and supervised physical exercise are important factors to improve patient's functions (J. Rydja et al, 2021). Music therapy and background music have cognitive, psychosocial, behavioural, and motor benefits for people with neurological disorders. Various forms and genres of music can be engaging, emotional, physical, personal, social, persuasive, and music also promotes synchronization of movement (O. Brancatisano et al., 2020). The process of music therapy intervention was structured and designed according to American Music Therapy Association (2005) in a 3-step process of preparation, implementation, and evaluation. Background music and instrumental and movement music activities were aimed at relaxation and cognitive stimulation in a patient with NPH during physiotherapy. In instrumental activities three music instruments were used, two Orff instruments a tambourine, a rattle, and a plastic string resembling an accordion (made from recycled material) -- to improve the range of movements, strength, endurance, and coordination of the upper limb bilaterally and to improve walking motor skills. Furthermore, we selected background music according to the patient's taste and choice. The music genres in our sessions were electronic music, pop, and relaxing jazz: The music styles were Synth-pop, Ambient, Disco, Eurodance, Dance-pop and Relaxing jazz. A total of 5 music therapy sessions were held within two months. Each session lasted for 60 min. We observed the following changes in the patient: The mechanism of regulation of fine motor movements was affected in his upper arm bilaterally, and communication skills were also improved. The gross motor skills in upper arm improved bilaterally. The walking speed was more pronounced, and his submaximal performance distance was extended. During background music the patient myofascially relaxed -- the spasticity began to subside, and music induced psychological and physical well-being on his emotional level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent social isolation can intensify some Parkinson's disease (PD) motor and non-motor symptoms. To minimize the damage to the physical and mental health of people with PD, strategies to promote health in this population must be adapted to the new reality. Considering the negative impact of social isolation on the physical and mental health of people with PD, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and considering the importance of using online tools to safely promote complementary therapies to attenuate these issues, we developed an online dance project called 'Dance & Parkinson's at home', inspired by the Samba and Forró Brazilian rhythms. First, from April to July 2020, the activities were offered in an asynchronous learning format (recorded dance classes inspired by the Samba and Forró Brazilian rhythms). Later, from August to December 2020, a blended learning experience was provided (asynchronous – recorded dance classes – and synchronous learning – live-streamed dance classes). This article describes the new challenges faced by the online 'Dance & Parkinson's at home' project and teaching strategies developed to provide online dance classes for people with Parkinson's disease during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess the evidence for the effect of strength and conditioning on physical qualities and aesthetic competence in dance populations, three electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, SPORTDiscus) were searched (until September 2022) for studies that met the following criteria: (i) dancers aged >16 years; (ii) structured strength and conditioning intervention; and (iii) with physical qualities and aesthetic competence as outcome measures. Methodological quality and risk of bias of the included studies were assessed through the systematic review tool "QualSyst". Meta‐analyses of effect sizes (Hedges' g) with forest plots explored the effects of the strength and conditioning interventions. Thirty‐six studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. Meta‐analysis indicated strength and conditioning significantly (p < 0.05) improved lower body power (g = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.53–1.27), upper body strength (g = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.39–1.57), lower body strength (g = 1.59, 95% CI: 0.97–2.22), and flexibility (g = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.05–1.66). Strength and conditioning interventions were found to be effective at improving physical qualities in dancers, recommending their participation in additional sessions to enhance overall fitness and ultimately dance performance. It is recommended that future strength and conditioning intervention research should include sample size calculations, with participants recruited from a specific dance genre and skill level in order to evaluate how strength and conditioning influences dance performance. Highlights: Resistance training, plyometric training, whole body vibration training, and combined training are the most common strength and conditioning interventions in dance.Strength and conditioning, regardless of modalities, are found effective at improving some physical qualities in dancers.Dancers are recommended to participate in additional strength and conditioning for overall dance performance enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual reality (VR) has recently seen significant development in interaction with computers and the visualization of information. More and more people are using virtual and immersive technologies in their daily lives, especially for entertainment, fitness, and socializing purposes. This paper presents a qualitative evaluation of a large sample of users using a VR platform for dancing ( N = 292 ); we study the users' motivations, experiences, and requirements for using VR as an inclusive platform for dancing, mainly as a social or physical activity. We used an artificial intelligence platform (OpenAI) to extract categories or clusters of responses automatically. We organized the data into six user motivation categories: fun, fitness, social activity, pandemic, escape from reality, and professional activities. Our results indicate that dancing in virtual reality is a different experience than in the real world, and there is a clear distinction in the user's motivations for using VR platforms for dancing. Our survey results suggest that VR is a tool that can positively impact physical and mental well-being through dancing. These findings complement the related work, help in identifying the use cases, and can be used to assist future improvements of VR dance applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In television, there is a phenomenon of unexpected dance scenes in non-dance, non-musical texts. This article expands the currently limited research on this popular screen trope. Rich in dance and musical references, Apple TV+'s Ted Lasso (2020–23) presents an unexpected moment of dance in Season 2's departure episode, 'Beard After Hours' (Season 2, Episode 9). I argue that the dance performed by Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt) further unfolds the series' exploration of masculinities and mental health by expressing and producing my original concept of 'pleasant pessimism'. Generated from Lauren Berlant's notion of 'cruel optimism', pleasant pessimism resists cruel optimism and its fantasies of an unattainable good life, establishes acceptance of reality as is and offers an alternative way of being that is, however unintentionally, transformative. Merging this concept with gender studies and dance theory (primarily Laban Movement Analysis), I demonstrate how Beard's dance into a world of pleasant pessimism expands masculinities and advocates for mental health through the production of (self-)acceptance. Ultimately, I argue, the moment of dance achieves the good life that is always out of reach with cruel optimism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional dancers are contemplated as athletes as it is involving repetitive and rhythmic movement. These strenuous activities are the negative stressors and reason for overuse injuries leading to discomfort and pain. This pain and discomfort results in some major issues in the future and it can affect their professional performance or career. This study aimed to exploring the prevalence, common region involved and relation of course of pain in different regions of the body in dancers. A total of 110 dancers, both male and female, participated in this cross-sectional study using the Nordic MSD questionnaire tool. The mean and standard deviation for age (years), height (cm), weight (kg), BMI (kg/cm²), experience (years), and weekly practice hours were calculated as follows: for women, 21.87±4.47, 165.57±9.89, 60.98±17.85, 22.20±5.93, 8.05±5.47, and 8.98±6.93, and for men, 21.83±6.59, 173.73±7.34, 70.41±11.43, 23.23±3.24, 7.84±5.55, and 9.36±6.95. The result findings revealed, 30.8% participants had pain in the low back region that in last 7 days, followed by shoulder 27.3% and ankle 25.5%. In last 12 months 51% participants reported pain, discomfort and numbness in the lower back region followed by ankle/foot and knee (31%). In response towards the restriction in the ADL, lower back pain cases (30%) were highest followed by knee (23.6%). The results also revealed that neck pain is strongly and positively associated with upper back pain(r=.601) and moderately related to shoulder pain (r=.467). The study concludes that the lower back region is more prevalent area for pain following the ankle and knee among dancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dance is a universal human behavior and a crucial component of human musicality. When and how does the motivation and tendency to move to music develop? How does this behavior change as a process of maturation and learning? We characterize infants' earliest dance behavior, leveraging parents' extensive at-home observations of their children. Parents of infants aged 0-24 months (N = 278, 82.7% White, 84.5% in the United States, 46.0% of household incomes ≥ $100,000) were surveyed regarding their child's current and earliest dance behavior (movement by the child, during music, that the parent considered dance), motor development, and their own infant-directed dance. We found that dance begins early: 90% of infants produced recognizable dance by 12.8 months, and the age of onset was not solely a function of motor development. Infants who produced dance did so often, on average almost every day. We also found that dance shows qualitative developmental change over the first 2 years, rather than remaining stable. With motor development, age, and more time dancing, infants used a greater variety of movements in dance, and began to incorporate learned, imitated gestures (80% of infants by 17.9 months). 99.8% of parents reported dancing for or with their infants, raising questions about the role of infant-directed dance. These findings provide evidence that the motivation and tendency to move to music appears extremely early and that both learning and maturation lead to qualitative change in dance behavior during the first 2 years, informing broad questions about the origins of human musicality. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

El objetivo principal de esta investigación ha sido estudiar la alineación del cuerpo del bailaor(a), mientras realiza el zapateado durante el baile, para proporcionar una descripción detallada al servicio de los profesionales del flamenco: profesores, instructores y estudiantes de diferentes niveles. Se analizó la técnica de zapateado de una bailaora profesional. El análisis biomecánico se basó en treinta ciclos de seis secuencias de repeticiones consecutivas de zapateado. Se realizaron mediciones cinemáticas utilizando el sistema Vicon, mientras que la medición de las fuerzas de reacción del suelo (GRF), se realizaron con una plataforma de fuerza Kistler. Se analizaron los siguientes parámetros: el tiempo de cada zapateado; el valor máximo del componente vertical de GRF, en relación al peso corporal (BW), para la secuencia de zapateados; el impulso de GRF; la cinemática de la pelvis y las articulaciones de las extremidades inferiores; y la forma de onda del sonido de los golpes de los zapateados. Los valores medios de la componente vertical de GRF oscilaron entre 0.6 y 2.7 BW. La inclinación pélvica anterior máxima fue de 29º, con un rango de movimiento (RoM). Esta movilidad estuvo acompañada por un RoM de cadera de 20° y un RoM de rodilla de ~40° durante la flexión. Las conclusiones proporcionan información práctica para que docentes y estudiantes de baile flamenco puedan tenerla en consideración.

En el contexto de la cultura contemporánea se observa una serie de prácticas escénicas asociadas con una estrategia creativa denominada deconstrucción. Una de estas prácticas se manifiesta en el espectáculo Solo del coreógrafo y bailaor Israel Galván. El objetivo de la reseña sería la reflexión sobre los aspectos de esta pieza relacionados con el enfoque de la deconstrucción, a partir de los conceptos de minimalismo y duende. Su análisis crítico nos permite aproximarnos a la poética de la obra, en la que se observa un regreso a las fuentes de la tradición flamenca.

El flamenco como industria cultural española, requiere de un profundo análisis. El objetivo de este estudio es la realización de una revisión bibliográfica, como herramienta para la investigación sobre la economía del flamenco. El estudio parte de un método de análisis bibliográfico de elaboración propia y se aplica a este análisis, para ello se parte de una muestra formada por documentos recuperados de la Web of Science y se realiza un estudio de las publicaciones recuperadas para clasificarlas y ordenarlas. El principal resultado es el repertorio con los 56 documentos seleccionados, clasificados y distribuidos ordenadamente para su análisis. De manera que se concluye en la necesidad del estudio de estas publicaciones, dada la diversificación de parámetros que conforman la industria del flamenco y por tanto de su análisis económico.

Physical and social activity can influence positively the effects of ageing. This study examined differences in balance, physical activity and social integration between everyday active, sportive or dancing 60- to 80-year-old people in Lower Austria.

Abstract Purpose This study aims to analyze the clinical characteristics of Chinese children with spinal cord injury (SCI) without radiographic abnormality (SCIWORA) and explore their contributing factors and mechanisms of occurrence. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of pediatric patients diagnosed with SCIWORA from January 2005 to May 2020. Epidemiological, etiological, mechanistic, therapeutic, and outcome aspects were analyzed. Results A total of 47 patients with SCIWORA were included in this study, comprising 16 males and 31 females. The age range was 4 to 12 years, with an average age of 7.49 ± 2.04 years, and 70% of the patients were below eight. Sports-related injuries constituted 66%, with 70% attributed to dance backbend practice. Thoracic segment injuries accounted for 77%. In the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) classification, the combined proportion of A and B grades accounted for 88%. Conservative treatment was chosen by 98% of the patients, with muscle atrophy, spinal scoliosis, hip joint abnormalities, and urinary system infections being the most common complications. Conclusion SCIWORA in Chinese children is more prevalent in those under eight years old, with a higher incidence in females than males. Thoracic spinal cord injuries are predominant, dance backbend as a primary contributing factor, and the social environment of “neijuan” is a critical potential inducing factor. Furthermore, the initial severity of the injury plays a decisive role in determining the prognosis of SCIWORA.