title: Motor imagery modality in expert dancers: an investigation of hip and pelvis kinematics in demi-plié and sauté.
abstract: Elite dancers often engage in mental practice during training, but little is known about the effects of discrete, repetitive motor imagery on dance movement performance. This study compared the effects of two motor imagery modalities, third-person visual imagery and kinesthetic imagery, on hip and pelvis kinematics during two technical dance movements, plié and sauté. Twenty-four female dancers (mean age: 26.04; mean years of training: 19.63) were randomly assigned to a type of imagery practice: visual imagery (VI), kinesthetic imagery (KI), or a mental arithmetic task control condition (MAT). No statistically significant effects of imagery group or task type were found for external hip rotation, sagittal pelvic excursion, or a ratio relating hip to pelvic movement, suggesting that imagery practice did not affect either temporal or kinematic characteristics of the plié or sauté.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teacher's College, Columbia University, 525 West 120th Street, Box 199, New York, New York 10017, USA. erc2101@tc.columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Coker
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, A.T. Still University, Arizona School of Health Sciences, Mesa, Arizona, USA.
authors.forename: Tara L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: McIsaac
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Dawn
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nilsen
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena / Q000502:physiology; D003615:Dancing / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006621:Hip Joint / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D019018:Imagery, Psychotherapy; D007092:Imagination; D007699:Kinesthesis / Q000502:physiology*; D010388:Pelvis / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult