Biomechanical Description of Zapateado Technique in Flamenco

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to identify a dancer’s body alignment while performing flamenco footwork to provide a detailed description that could be used by flamenco practitioners: teachers, instructors and students of different levels of advancement. The zapateado technique performed by a professional flamenco dancer was analyzed. The biomechanical analysis was based on 30 cycles composed of six repeating sequences of strikes. Kinematic recordings were performed using a Vicon system, while the measurement of the ground reaction forces (GRF) was accomplished with a Kistler force plate. The following parameters were analyzed: the time of each foot strike, the maximal value of the vertical component of GRF normalized to body weight (BW) for subsequent footwork steps, the impulse of the GRF and the kinematics of pelvis and lower limb joints, and an exemplary waveform view of the sound of footwork strikes was shown. The average values of the vertical component of GRF ranged between 0.6 and 2.7 BW. The maximal anterior pelvic tilt was 29°, with a 6° range of motion (RoM). This mobility was accompanied by 20° hip RoM and by ~40° knee RoM throughout flexion. The conclusions provide practical information that a teacher and flamenco student should receive.

External Load of Flamenco Zap-3 Footwork Test: Use of PlayerLoad Concept with Triaxial Accelerometry

“…This difference may be because the professional group had a higher fastest speed and their movement quality was higher. Professional dancers tended to strike the floor firmly to make a louder sound while performing the footwork, producing more ground reaction force [13]. Therefore, professional dancers may have higher injury risk when practicing their footwork.…”

“…Participants completed the sequence of flamenco Zap-3 footwork, which is a sequence of 6 steps completed bilaterally. When one sequence is completed, it is repeated with the other foot, and this repetition continues with alternating feet [4,13]. The 6 steps are:…”

“…Therefore, practicing the required footwork in flamenco may cause chronic repetitive pain and injuries of the feet, knees and spine, mainly at the lumbar and cervical levels [4,[7][8][9][10][11][12]. Previous studies regarding flamenco's technical movements have focused on analyzing them from the perspective of electromyography, kinematics and epidemiology [9,[13][14][15]. However, questionnaires and labor-intensive methods were often used in these studies.…”

“…Furthermore, Zapateado-3 (Zap-3) is a topical issue surrounding flamenco footwork. It is widely used to analyze flamenco technique and associated movements [4,13,20]. Therefore, this study aimed to quantify the external load during performance of the Zap-3 footwork technique via triaxial accelerometry in the form of PL values, comparing the difference in external load at a lumbar vertebra, a cervical vertebra and the dominant ankle, and to explore whether speed, position, axis and the proficiency level of the flamenco dancer affected the external load.…”

In Pursuit of the Perfect Dancer’s Ballet Foot. The Footprint, Stabilometric, Pedobarographic Parameters of Professional Ballet Dancers

“…Both the ankle and foot itself of professional dancers are exposed to high stresses and loads connected to dance techniques [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Related investigations indicate that injuries affecting these structures constitute between 4.7% and 54% of all injuries suffered by ballet dancers [ 4 , 7 , 8 , 9 ].…”