Dancing with a Robot?

Some people taking ballroom dancing lessons might be told that their movements are a bit robotic, but maybe that is a compliment. Recently, Diego Felipe Paez Granados, a researcher at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, and his team of researchers revealed a robot dance partner who helps beginning dancers improve their skills.

The robot, which is 1.8 meters tall (just a little under 6 feet), glides along on wheels but has an upper body that moves more like the human body. The robot has sensors to track its human partner's movements, comparing them to motion-captured data of professional dancers to determine the partner's performance. The robot’s face displays real-time feedback, helping the person to understand their mistakes and providing information on the person’s progress, encouraging the human dance partner.

The robot is built to adapt to its partner's abilities, providing less force in leading as its human partner improves. In a test of people who had never waltzed before, five out of six of the volunteers improved under the tutelage of their robot dance partner. Previously, the robot had not been created to adapt to its partner's improvements. When that was the case, only two out of six people showed improvements.

While it might be fun to have a robot dance partner at first, at Quick Quick Slow Ballroom Dance Studio, we know that it is not the same as having a human dance partner. With a robot dance partner, you miss out on many of the great things about dancing. You don't get the human contact. You don't get the opportunity to talk with your partner. The experience of looking into your partner's eyes while dancing is missing. You do not get the opportunity to cheer with your partner when you have finally figure out a difficult move. If you want that human interaction while learning to ballroom dance, contact us. Whether you want to take lessons on your own or you want to bring along a few friends, we have dance lessons to fit your needs.