Spatial updating and domain expertise: the case of dancers: Poster

Dancers are a unique group of individuals who routinely engage in coordi nated highly skilled performances with others in the immediate environment. Previous research suggests that, compared to non-dancers, dancers have superior cognitive and motor skills, such as memory, posture control and balance. Although differences between dancers and non-dancers are reported for spatial skills as well, it is still unknown whether they are the result or the cause of dancing experience, with individuals having superior skills being more likely to take up dancing. To answer this question, we asked novices with no formal dance experience to attend dance lessons for a year. To investigate the effects of d…