The Dance Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Laboratory for the Scientific Study of Dance (LAB:SYNC) were pleased to host the Dance Science Symposium (DSS) 2022 in March. Dr. Aga Burzynska (Colorado State University), Dr. Julia Basso (Virginia Tech), and Ms. Martha Waugh (Western Sydney University) respectively presented original research on cognitive and neural effects of dance, intra- and inter-brain synchrony, and the role of self-efficacy in the design and results of dance interventions.
In her talk on the cognitive and neural effects of dance, Dr. Burzynksa emphasized the benefits of dance on brain health as a form of enriched physical activity. Burzynksa shared key results from her studies “The dancing brain: structural and functional signatures of expert dance training” & “White matter integrity declined over 6-months, but dance intervention improved integrity of the fornix of older adults.” Following, Dr. Julia Basso considered experiences of synchrony between people while dancing, as well as the benefits of dance for organizing neural activity for the dancer within individual contexts. Basso presented a theoretical overview on synchrony, as it relates to dance, from her paper Dance on the brain: Enhancing intra- and inter-brain synchrony, and she offered an inside look into some of her ongoing studies—including video footage from a recent, special visit to her lab from dancer Lil Buck while he was on tour at Virginia Tech. Wrapping up the symposium, Ms. Waugh emphasized the importance of measuring dance self-efficacy during dance interventions to help explain some of the formative and summative differences that participants may report for key intervention outcomes while engaged in dance. Waugh showed results from her manuscript The psychometric properties of a novel task-based dance self-efficacy measure for older adult dance program participants, which offers the field a new method for understanding and measuring dance self-efficacy.
Many thanks to all who attend the DSS 2022 virtually from around the world! The date for the DSS 2023 will be announced this summer, and the call for abstracts to be considered as a speaker at next year’s symposium is forthcoming.