The Triple Step in Recreational Swing Dancers: A Kinematic Analysis

Swing dancing is gaining popularity, yet our biomechanical understanding of swing dance remains poor, creating barriers to the development of training protocols and evaluation of performances. This study aimed to determine whether dancing with or without a partner affects the lower extremity kinematics of the triple step, and if the kinematics differ among the three steps of the dance element. Eight recreational swing dancers completed three sets of rightward triple steps with and without a partner. The angles in the sagittal, frontal and transverse planes were determined for bilateral lower limb joints and pelvis based on the kinematics collected by a motion capture system. Results illustrated that dancing with a partner has a significant effect on the angular kinematics of the lower extremity and pelvis. Dancers showed more restricted motion at the knee and hip in the sagittal and frontal planes when dancing with a partner. Additionally, differences were observed among the steps with most differences occurring between steps one and two and steps two and three in all three planes. These findings expand our knowledge of swing dancing biomechanics, possibly informing the design of future studies that will further expand our understanding of swing dancing.