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METHODS article

Front. Behav. Neurosci.
Sec. Individual and Social Behaviors
Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2025.1534371
This article is part of the Research Topic Interpersonal Synchrony and Network Dynamics in Social Interaction: Volume II View all 8 articles

Modelling dynamics on the dance floor with directional swarmalators

Provisionally accepted
Petri Toiviainen Petri Toiviainen 1,2*Marc Richard Thompson Marc Richard Thompson 1,2Joshua Bamford Joshua Bamford 1,2
  • 1 Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain (CoE MMBB), University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Central Finland, Finland
  • 2 Department of Music, Art and Culture Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Central Finland, Finland

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Understanding collective behaviour in both biological and social contexts, such as human interactions on dance floors, is a growing field of interest. Spatiotemporal dynamics of collective behaviour have previously been modelled, for instance, with swarmalators, which are dynamical units that exhibit both swarming behaviour and synchronisation, combining spatial movement and entrainment. In our current study, we have expanded the swarmalator concept to encompass gaze direction as a representation of visual attention. We employ the newly developed directional swarmalator model for simulating the complex spatiotemporal dynamics observed on dance floors. Our model aims to reflect the complex dynamics of collective movement, as well as rhythmic synchronisation and gaze alignment. It establishes a quantitative framework to dissect how individuals on dance floors self-organise and generate emergent patterns in response to both musical stimuli and visual perception of other dancers. The inclusion of gaze direction allows for the simulation of realistic scenarios on dance floors, mirroring the dynamic interplay of human movement in rhythm-driven environments. The model is initially tested against motion capture recordings of two groups dancing in a silent disco, however it is theoretically adaptable to a variety of scenarios, including varying group sizes, adjustable degrees of auditory and visual coupling, as well as modifiable interaction ranges, making it a generic tool for exploring collective behaviour in musical settings. The development of the directional swarmalator model contributes to understanding social dynamics in shared music and dance experiences.

    Keywords: Dance & movement, Interaction, complex dynamics, Swarmalators, entrainment

    Received: 09 Dec 2024; Accepted: 20 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Toiviainen, Thompson and Bamford. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Petri Toiviainen, Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain (CoE MMBB), University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, 40014, Central Finland, Finland

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.