Gender and Limb Differences in Healthy Elite Dancers: Passé Kinematics

Symmetry of skill development is emphasized in dance training, and many movements are well learned by both genders. The authors conducted a 2-dimensional kinematic analysis of a complex dance movement, the passé, in 12 healthy professional male and female dancers to determine whether there are differences between genders or limbs during the performance of that task. Only peak hip angular displacement differed in men and women. No differences were found between limbs in any of the dependent variables. Dancers displayed consistent temporal and spatial proximal-to-distal sequencing of movement coordination. Despite an indication of limb preference, as defined by gesture or stance limb, there were no differences in proficiency.