Identifying and analyzing motor skill responses in body movement and dance

The present article analyzes the diversity of motor skills related to three different kinds of instructions: descriptive, metaphoric, and kinesic, with a special emphasis on the detection of temporal patterns (T-patterns). Twelve undergraduates studying sport and physical education, but without experience in dance, were observed during 24 lessons of Body Movement, a discipline based on creative dance, mime dance, and motor skill improvisation. Using observational methodology and technology applied to movement, the aim of this article was to adapt the Observational instrument of Motor Skills (OSMOS) (Castañer, Torrents, Anguera, & Dinusová, 2008) so as to create an instrument capable of analyzing the motor skill responses generated in lessons of Body Movement and Dance. The results, as reflected by the T-patterns detected, show that (1) participants try to generate their own motor skills but copy some fundamental components of the instructions, and (2) the criterion of stability in two configurations (support and axial) is the predominant category. Sequential and coordinated locomotion also appears to be very relevant.