ABSTRACT
As humans, we have an unparalleled ability to coordinate our bodies to perform an endless number of skilled actions. As dancers, this ability is even more impressive, as a dancer’s motor repertoire comprises movements that are not only highly skilled, but also remarkably precise, complex, and coordinated. An intriguing feature of the human brain is how a network of seemingly disparate cortical regions and subcortical nuclei can give rise to dance movements, from the razor-sharp precision of 32 fouettés en tournant performed by Odile in Swan Lake to the contorted, convulsive, and seemingly out-of-control whole-body flings and gyrations that typify the choreographic vocabulary of Twyla Tharp’s Torelli. Of particular interest to neuroscientists is the remarkable plasticity of the human brain to integrate different types of physical and perceptual experiences to learn new movements. Such abilities are quite pronounced in dancers, whose livelihood depends on rapid and adept movement production and reproduction. How does the brain accomplish this feat? Neuroscientists have recently observed that it is the extraordinary plasticity of seemingly disparate cortical regions and subcortical nuclei within the brain that gives rise to such movements. This network of brain regions works together when we observe someone else performing an action and then learn how to perform it ourselves.
