Quantitative Analysis of Leg Movement and EMG Activity in Expert Japanese Traditional Dancer

The purpose of this research is to make a quantitative analysis of leg movement patterns of expert dancer, which cannot be analyzed with a motion capture system alone, using simultaneous measurement of body motion and biophysical information (EMG: electromyogram). We carried out experiments on traditional Japanese dance, Nihonbuyo. We can analyze leg movements of expert Japanese traditional dancer by calculating a center of gravity in human body and co-contraction of muscles in knee and ankle using biomechanics method. In addition, it is expected that our research will help dancers and researchers on dance through giving new information on dance movements which cannot be analyzed with motion capture alone.