Two left feet? Your ears are to blame

Published on Friday 10 April 2009 22:13

IF YOUR disco moves are more nightmare than night fever, you might want to spend a few minutes measuring your ears before wasting any more money on those dance classes.

A mass experiment taking place in Edinburgh next week will see both good and bad dancers invited to show off their skills – or lack thereof – before having their ears also subjected to scrutiny.

The purpose of the event is to test the theory that the more symmetrical you are, the more likely you are to be a hit on the dance floor.

Researcher Professor Richard Wiseman, who is taking part in the event, is confident the experiment will support previous study findings.

"We will be finding the best and worst dancers in the room and finding out how symmetrical their bodies are," he said.

"Good dancers tend to be quite physically symmetrical – if you measure their ears they tend to be about the same size."

The reasons behind the link between symmetry, dancing and attractiveness are complex.

Symmetrical features, such as equally sized ears and eyes, are generally thought to be linked to genetic quality.

Studies suggest highly symmetrical people are generally rated as more attractive.

Researchers have said dancing may be a way to advertise the body's symmetry, which could explain why dancing is such a common feature in courtship rituals.

But it is not clear exactly how symmetrical people become better at dancing. It could be that greater symmetry leads to better co-ordination which helps dancing ability, or it could be that being more attractive boosts confidence making people more likely to take to the dance floor in the first place.

Prof Wiseman said in evolutionary terms, attractiveness was a sign of a good genetic background, meaning someone was likely to produce the best and healthiest offspring.

"One theory about dance is that it is a kind of display of sexual fitness. It's a way of saying to people we're fit, we've got a good sense of rhythm.

"You expect good dancers to be displaying their fitness and people who are good bets from an evolutionary perspective are those who are quite symmetrical in terms of facial attraction."

At the Edinburgh Science Festival event, good dancers will be asked to put themselves forward for a dance-off to find the five best among them. The five worst dancers, Prof Wiseman said, would be easier to spot.

Then the ear measuring will commence. Prof Wiseman said researchers suspected the best dancers would have the most symmetrical ears, while the worst dancers would be less equal – though there may only be a few millimetres difference.

"Pretty much every society dances and a lot of the time those dances are about attracting mates," he added.

&#149 In The Mood For Dancing, with Professor Richard Wiseman takes place on Thursday, 16 April at Informatics at the University of Edinburgh at 6pm.