It is a well-known evolutionary habit among females that we frequent bars, clubs, and dance halls with the sole intention of finding a mate. (Pretty much nothing in that sentence is true, but let's just pretend. Work with me here.) We scan the crowds with our evolutionarily adapted, keen eyes as the menfolk rip it to classics lyrics like "boots with the fur (WITH THE FUR)" and "Britney, bitch" and attempt to zero in on the man whose dancing chops that scream, "I'm sexy in the bedroom, make an awesome omelette and am total lifelong partner potential." Well thank goodness science has swooped in to help us by researching exactly what dance moves catch a woman's eye. Now, instead of relying on intuition and good conversation, we can stop wasting all that time getting to know each other and get right down to business.
I'm clearly mostly kidding about the dance hall mating, which is lucky because I have nothing but left feet and if we did live in a world like that, I'd be dancing with myself and die alone. But the science is real. Researchers at Northumbria University and the University of Gottingen teamed up with 30 men and had them all dance for 30 seconds to a drum beat, then showed 37 women faceless, gender neutral avatar versions of each of the dancing men and tracked their perceptions of the dancing ability of each of them. The verdict?
- Women responded to more variable movements of the head, neck, and torso.
- Women responded to leg speed and agility, and for some reason enjoy a right knee twist.
- Women's perception of their dancing ability had nothing to do with arm movement.
There you have it, folks. The real secret behind every attraction to a strange man you ever had in a club. I wonder when a study to see which female dance moves appeal to men will come out, but I'm almost afraid to know (unless it turns out that men are super into girls who just walk back and forth awkwardly around the room, which I'm generally pretty good at, thank you very much).
Here are what the study determined are "good" dance moves:
And here are the "bad" moves:
In the meantime, let's all take a moment to enjoy and appreciate the real master of dance, who needs no help from science:
Images: Vestron Pictures, Giphy (4)
