Kinematic Characteristics of Aesthetic Gait Patterns

Abstract

To understand the nature of aesthetic walking pattern, we conducted two experiments. At first, we compared the kinematic gait characteristics between four ballet dancers and ten age-matched controls. Next, we conducted an experiment to evaluate the visual aesthetic impression of gait kinematics. To evaluate gait characteristics, principal component analyses is applied to kinematic time series. The following kinematic characteristics were commonly found in the ballet dancers and peoples with walking patterns of high aesthetic qualities ; 1) extended torso, 2) increment in the pelvic anteversion, 3) small knee flexion when heel-contacted.