A special "gene" for dancers?

[bart]

I came across this brief article, posted by Amy Reusch, on today's LINKS. It definitely connects to other threads we've had recently on musicality (dancers who "sing") as well as to the linkage between physical symmetry and dancing ability.

As one who -- despite a beautiful ballet dancing mother and a very musical guitar-player/singer father -- has only the most mediocre natural talent in these areas, I felt both intrigued and ... a little bit cheated by my own DNA.

Anyone have any thoughts or personal experiences?

Here's the LINK and a quote:

Special Dancer DNA?

Discovery News article by Jennifer Viegas:

Study: Some People Born to Dance

"People are born to dance," Ebstein told Discovery News. "They have (other) genes that partially contribute to musical talent, such as coordination, sense of rhythm. However, the genes we studied are more related to the emotional side of dancing — the need and ability to communicate with other people and a spiritual side to their natures that not only enable them to feel the music, but to communicate that feeling to others via dance."

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[ViolinConcerto]

I look forward to reading the article, but I'll say first that I've long, LONG believed that dancers are practically a sub-species (sub not indicating lower!!), homo sapien dancerii. They have to move, especially to music......as quoted above, "the need and ability to communicate with other people and a spiritual side to their natures that not only enable them to feel the music, but to communicate that feeling to others via dance."

Now, of course, I am not speaking realistically or scientifically here, it's just my way of expressing how very special I think dancers are.

[drb]

I've read the actual paper (it is quite short but extremely technical). They compared the genes of 85 performing dancers (and their parents) with two groups: athletes and people who are neither athletes nor dancers. They also measured (on psychometric scales) aspects of people that are believed to be associated with these two genes. A non-technical summary:

Dancers scored higher on a questionnaire that correlates positively with spirituality and altered states of consciousness, as well as on a measure of need for social contact and openness to communication. Very significant differences regarding the two genes* were found between dancers and athletes and between dancers and "civilians". These latter differences are beyond my ken. Hopefully some biologist can explain the technicalities. The paper:

http://genetics.plosjournals.org/perlserv/...al.pgen.0010042

The "spiritual" result found in this research has attracted interest in India, where as one might expect, spirituality is a strong aspect of classical dance:

“The dancer is transformed into the character he or she is performing,” says eminent Kuchipudi dancer Raja Reddy. “When I perform the role of Shiva, mentally and physically, there’s a feeling of transformation into Nataraja.”

and

Dance in diverse cultures, including Indian dance forms, involves spiritual experiences. Some performers have been known to enter a trance-like state of consciousness. “It’s a highly spiritual experience. You don’t even realise that the limbs are moving,” said Sandhya Desai, a senior teacher at the Kadamb Academy in Ahmedabad and the director of the Nritya Kala Kendra in Chicago.

The full article from The Telegraph in Calcutta:

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060209/asp/...ory_5823248.asp

*The serotonin transporter gene is the one associated with spirituality, perhaps altering boundaries or barriers between "inside" and "outside." The arginine vasopressin (hormone) receptor would be associated with communication, bonding, social contact and openness of communication.

Athletes of God? Looks like Einstein really did understand dancers!

[Tiffany]

I have thought this in the back of my mind for a long time. I am a dancer, not professional yet, and I have a passion for dancing that keeps me in class year after year. I have a need to dance. I get frustrated with dance but I also find it refreshing. I choreograph in my head when listening to the radio as I'm driving in my car. I am shy but I can talk for hours about dance. I used to think that everyone must be as passionate, driven, and focused on dance as dancers are, but I found out quickly that few people have a passion, strong interest, or love of something in their life comparable to how dance is for dancers. That is really cool that a study has been done on this topic. I'm thrilled someone was interested enough to research this "gene".