Coordination dynamics of back-and-forth movement among expert performers: interaction in the battle scene of breaking

Abstract

Complex interactions are central to the performing arts. While recent studies have explored these dynamics through synchronization and coordination theories, they have mainly focused on collaborative contexts. In contrast, genres like jazz sessions and breaking battles involve active competition, where performers seek to outshine one another. Although prior research has identified patterns like anti-phase synchronization in such settings, coordination across expressive channels and differences from sports interactions remain underexplored. To address this gap, the present study had two objectives: first, to investigate coordination through back-and-forth movements during breaking battles, and second, to compare these patterns with those observed in interpersonal sports. We conducted an experimental study simulating a battle scene with expert break dancers, examining how they coordinated their movements and managed relative distances. The results revealed two key findings: (1) dancers maintained close distances (~1.0 m) while coordinating through anti-phase synchronization (-180° to -160° and 160° to 180° relative phases), with coordination patterns shifting dynamically-from leader-follower relationships to anti-phase and then in-phase synchronization-depending on context and time; and (2) such time- and context-dependent coordination dynamics were unique to the performing arts and not observed in interpersonal sports. This study highlights the distinctive nature of context-sensitive, multi-channel interpersonal coordination in competitive performing arts.

Keywords: back-and-forth movement; breaking; competitive context; interpersonal coordination; performing arts; relative distance; relative phase.

Figure 1

(A) Outline of the battle scene. Two dancers faced each other and showed their performances in turn. (B) Picture of the battle scene. One dancer showed his performance, and another dancer watched and responded to his performance. (C) Marker setting. The picture draws the back side of the participants. The red circle indicates the marker positions around the neck and blue circle indicates the marker positions around the trunks. In the analysis, we used the marker data around the neck, mainly the marker data of red circle with blue lines (for a few participants, this marker fell off during their performances, so other neck marker data was used). A portion of the figure has been adapted and modified from Shimizu and Okada (2021).

Figure 2

(A) Two data sets which we applied the four analyses. (B) Source images from which each dataset was extracted.

Figure 3

Procedures of calculating the relative distance and relative phase of the two dancers' back-and-forth movements. We made this explanation by referring to Kijima et al. (2012) and Okumura et al. (2012). D (t) indicates the relative distance at time t, x (t) and y (t) indicate the position of dancer A at time t and u and v indicate that of dancer B. A_{t−1 → t+1} and B_{t−1 → t+1} indicate the vectors of the movements from time t-1 to time t+1. L_A and L_B show the vectors of the distance at time t. V_A(t) and V_B(t) indicate the vectors of the movements to the co-dancer's direction at time t. P_A(t) and P_HA(t) show the phase of these vectors of dancer A, and P_B(t) and P_HB(t) show these of dancer B. Φ_AB (t) show the relative phase between the two dancers at time t.

Figure 4

(A) Several examples of the relative distances in the Real pair condition. The spaces colored in blue show the time when both dancers did not show their performances (Before, After), those colored by red show the performance time of the first dancer (P1, P3, P5), and those colored by green show the performance time of the second dancer (P2, P4, P6). (B) Several examples of the relative distances in the Virtual pair condition.

Figure 5

(A) Frequencies of the relative distances in the whole performance turns (P1–P6). Black vertical lines indicate standard error. Red vertical line indicates the mode. Asterisks indicate the relative distances whose frequencies show significant differences with the mode. *p < 0.05. (B) Frequencies of the relative distances in each turn.

Figure 6

(A) Frequencies of the relative phases of dancers' back-and-forth movements in the whole performance turns (P1–P6). Black vertical lines indicate standard error. Red vertical line indicates the mode. Asterisks and crosses indicate the relative phases whose frequencies show significant differences with that at −180 to −160 degrees and 160–180 degrees (*p < 0.05 with −180 to −160 degrees, ⁺p < 0.05 with 160–180 degrees). (B) Frequencies of the relative phases in each turn.

Figure 7

(A) Frequencies of the length of the switching intervals in the whole performance turns (P1–P6). Black vertical lines indicate standard error. Red vertical line indicates the mode. Asterisks indicate the length of the intervals whose frequencies show significant differences with the mode. *p < 0.05. (B) Frequencies of the length of the intervals in each turn.

Figure 8

(A) Frequencies of the relative phases in each relative distance in the whole performance turns (P1–P6). Black vertical lines indicate standard error. Red vertical line indicates the mode. Asterisks and crosses indicate the relative phases whose frequencies show significant differences with that at −180 to −160 degrees and 160–180 degrees (*p < 0.05 with −180 to −160 degrees, ⁺p < 0.05 with 160–180 degrees). (B) Frequencies of the relative phases in each relative distance in each turn.