I confess to being a competent, but not at all accomplished dancer, in spite of my parents’ efforts in my childhood years to introduce me to ballet. Our instructor was a fairly frightening Frenchwoman, who dramatically used only her last name, Collinette. She seemed to us kids to be about a thousand years old, an illusion helped along by her stories of sharing the stage with the magnificant Pavlova. I enjoyed the lessons, but at 5’9″, it’s not like a dance career was in the cards. I still enjoy watching dance performances, and Mr. F, whose interests run much more to football, was kind enough to procure tickets while we were still in high school to a performance by Rudolph Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in LA. Wow!
So it was with interest that I read about a new article in Scientific American’s “Ask the Experts” column by Columbia’s John Krakauer. Krakauer notes that music and dance together might constitute a reward “double play.” We know that music has the ability to activate pleasure circuits in the brain. Add to that the existence of mirror neurons–special neurons that activate when we either perform an action or see another perform the same action. Krakauer suggests that mirror neurons might allow us to feel pleasure when we see someone perform a skilled activity well, because we can empathize or feel how much fun it would be to be that good. Although I’m not much of a TV watcher, isn’t Dancing With the Stars in about its 7th season or so? And even though I can’t relate to Karen‘s strength (my personal record in the shot put is a whopping 25 feet, and she threw nearly 58), it was always fun to watch her throw. At times, I felt like I was trying to mentally levitate the shot for her, sort of a Harry Potter “wingardium leviosa” thing.
I would add a couple of other observations to Krakauer’s. First, music and language are tightly related. Children who understand rhythm in preschool generally turn out to be very good readers later on, an argument on behalf of emphasizing music in the schools. It would be interesting to know if language has the same or different effects on the reward circuits of the brain. Then let’s not overlook the ability of music to bring people together socially, as we can observe when people sing a school’s alma mater together at the end of a tough football game, or people’s emotional reactions when they hear “Taps.” It goes without saying that such bonding is going to be reinforcing. As far as dance goes, Krakauer seems to have glossed over the obvious. I’m no anthropologist, and there are many forms of dance, but isn’t one of the driving forces behind dance all about sex? (Note to Google–please be kind here. Psychologists do use the “s” word on occasion) Seems to me most people find that behavior somewhat reinforcing, too. Who’s to say that our own “dirty dancing” isn’t just the human version of animal mating rituals?
She Looks Impressed By His Style
So although my ballet activities are relegated to the past (isn’t it amazing what kids can do without ever knowing what muscle soreness is?), I still enjoy watching it–well, at least when football isn’t on TV!
6 Comments
Amber Thompson · September 27, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Krakauer says in his article, “if you’re watching someone dance, your brain’s movement areas activate; unconsciously, you are planning and predicting how a dancer would move based on what you would do.” I find this extremely interesting, as I find myself doing this consciously also. Having 14 years of experience in dance, I can understand the basics of most all forms of movement, and can relate in my own experiences. When seeing certain moves in a dance, I expect a certain outcome (such as in making a preparation for a turn).
cammyt · September 28, 2008 at 11:16 am
Anyone interested in music, dance, pleasure and evolution should check out Daniel Levitin’s new book “The World in Six Songs.” Lots of relevant information and a good, thought-provoking read.
nikkinate · October 1, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Krakauer stated that “mirror neurons might allow us to feel pleasure when we see someone perform a skilled activity well, because we can empathize or feel how much fun it would be to be that good.” Through my own experience, I find his statement without a doubt very true. I often find myself watching others dance or sing and suddenly get the chills and wish that I too was able to perform like them. He also mentioned that “Dancing With the Stars” is currently on its seventh and I personally find that “So You Think You Can Dance?” is quite similar to “Dancing With the Stars” for it captivates the audience and has them aspire to be able to dance as well as the contestants.
bfrota · October 5, 2008 at 3:06 pm
In high school, I took dance, Capoeira (a Brazilian martial art), and played soccer. Whenever I watch any of these, I don’t just wish I could be in that person’s shoes, I involuntarily try to imitate their actions. In my car I start visualizing myself playing Capoeira; I find myself in my car moving back and forth to the rhythm of the drums. I sit in dance recitals and feel my leg kick out from under me and hit the seat in front of me. I watch soccer and I get fidgety as my body prepares to receive a pass and take off running. Maybe it is more than just “planning and predicting,” as Krakauer mentioned. Perhaps when we watch something we enjoy we are switching on our observational learning and are moving through Bandura’s steps. Maybe our mirror neurons are just a function of our observational learning.
kesmith · October 24, 2008 at 9:42 am
I first fell in love with ballet when I was in fifth grade and my teacher showed us several great performances – a few by Rudolph Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn. My favorite performance was Swan Lake. That year, it just so happened that Swan Lake was playing in San Francisco on my birthday. My parents always said that it would be hard to top going to the ballet in San Francisco. We had a blast. However, I’ve never been much of a dancer. When I was five I took some tap lessons, but at the recital I froze and just stood there while all my classmates danced around me. A few years later I took up the violin. I loved going to the symphony just to hear all the musicians warm up. The whole concept of: “we know that music has the ability to activate pleasure circuits in the brain” is really interesting because don’t plants grow better when they listen to music? I wonder if there is some kind of ancient gene that both plants and humans carry that is connected to music.
jpham05 · March 12, 2009 at 2:50 pm
That is a great picture of the birds! I can relate to feeling happy from seeing the creative skills of others. It’s soothing to see a beautiful dance or listen to good music. I’ve learned how to play the violin and piano when I was younger and I’ve found it fun. It’s interesting to learn that there are actual neurons that activated pleasure from engaging, listening, or watching dance and music. Something I will think about the next time I watch a dance or enjoy some good music.
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