OK. Now we get it. We've been trying to make sense of what goes on at South Beach dance floors for years. Finally, we have an answer, and it's come from all the way over in England. A group of evolutionary psychologists from Northumbria University just released the results of a study that show that women are most attracted to men who get crazy on the dance floor. And by crazy we mean those who gyrate, thrash, flail, and do any other head, neck and arm movement which simulate an epileptic episode.
Lest you think the ladies were swayed by how good the guys looked or some other variable, the researchers used 3D motion capture technology to create avatars videos of men dancing. According to researchers, the results showed select movements that made all the difference: size of the movement of the neck (think Stevie Wonder neck sway), trunk (think Elvis gyrating), left shoulder and wrist (think pop-n-lock), and speed of movement of the right knee (we have nothing for that one).
"This is the first study to show objectively what differentiates a good dancer from a bad one. Men all over the world will be interested to know what moves they can throw to attract women," said lead researcher Dr. Nick Neave, in a statement put out by the university. "We now know which area of the body females are looking at when they are making a judgment about male dance attractiveness. If a man knows what the key moves are, he can get some training and improve his chances of attracting a female through his dance style."
For the love of John Travolta, please check out the videos researchers created to show, unequivocally, what constitutes "good" and "bad" dancing. Warning the good dancing includes the early 90s "running man" move.
And in case you need any more help, watch below:
