Comparison of Biomechanical Characteristics during the Second Landing Phase in Female Latin Dancers: Evaluation of the Bounce and Side Chasse Step

Abstract

Research on dance lower extremity joint motion has been limited. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the lower limb biomechanics differences between the side chasse step (SCS) and the bounce step (BS) of the second landing phase in Jive. Thirteen female recreational Latin dancers (Age: 22 ± 2.5 years; Height: 1.65 ± 0.05 m; Weight: 50 ± 4.5 kg; Dance experience: 4 ± 2 years) were involved in the experiment. The same music was used throughout the data collection period. We intended to determine whether these two steps gen-erate different kinematic and kinetic data. The ankle, hip, and knee joint angle, moment, velocity, and ground reaction force were calculated for each step. Results demonstrated that the lower limb biomechanics of the two different steps showed signi fi cant differences. As a result, strengthening the lower limb muscles (gastrocne-mius, Tibialis muscle, and quadriceps) is signi fi cantly important to balance the joint strength and prevent foot injury. According to the training time reasonably increasing the heel height should be recognized as important. The current study could provide new insights into reducing lower extremity injuries and improving dance performance.