Evaluation of impressions and movements related to negative emotional expressions in dance

This experiment investigated the impressions and movement characteristics that observers use to perceive expressions of negative emotions in dance. Expressions of sadness, anger, fear, and disgust using movements by dancers were recorded by video cameras and a motion capture system. Observers rated words related to impressions and movements. The results of factor analyses indicated that the expressions of negative emotions in dance have particular features to each emotion. Disgust in dance was not extracted with any factors, but Sadness in dance is conveyed by the following factors: “Negative feelings,” “Contraction,” “Quietness,” and “Imbalance.” Anger in dance consists of “Intensity,” “Imbalance,” and “Direction.” Fear in dance is conveyed by “Shake,” “Extensity,” “Imbalance,” and “Acute.” Strong and frequent downward movements increased negative feeling and tended to have a greater effect on perceiving movements as expressing sadness. More tense and imbalanced movements tended to have a greater effect on perceiving anger, whereas shaking and accented movements tended to perceiving fear. Moreover negative emotional expressions had the imbalance of movements in common.