Bilateral Transfer: The Effects of Practice on the Transfer of Complex Dance Movement Patterns

Abstract

The customary teaching methodology for dance classes is for the teacher to demonstrate the simple or complex motor pattern on the right side and for the students to practice and perform it on the right side. Then, without practice, the students perform the movement on the left side. This experiment tested the effects of practice on the bilateral transfer of complex movement patterns by having subjects learn two complex dance movement sequences in eight treatment conditions (a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design using naive and experienced ability, side preference and transfer of one-trial learning versus practice). An ANOVA yielded significant main effects for transfer (practice) and for side preference (non-preferred to preferred side). The implication for dance is that, intuitively, teachers have been correct in expecting students to bilaterally transfer complex movements which they have learned. However, teachers should teach to the nonpreferred side (i.e., the left side) to maximize learning through bilateral transfer.