Motor and Morphological Characteristics of Female University Students and the Efficiency of Performing Folk Dances

The aim of the paper was to determine the relation between the motor abilities and morphological characteristics on one hand, and the successfulness in doing folk dances on the other, that is, to prove whether it is possible to anticipate the rate of success in the practical part of the subject Dances by the means of assessing some of the motor and morphological features. 113 third-year students of the Faculty of Kinesiology, Zagreb University, who had passed the exam of the subject Dances, were measured by 15 motor tests and 4 anthropometric measurements. Three competent experts estimated the efficiency of performing folk dances. Regression analysis has shown a statistically significant multiple correlation of the predictor variables with all five criterion variables. The relationship between success in dance performance and motor abilities was defined by the following independent variables: drumming with feet and hands (MKRBNR), drumming without the rhythm (MKRBUB) for the evaluation of rhythm, side steps with a 360o turn (MAGKUS360) for coordination, Sargent test (MFESVM) for explosive strength, and touch-toe with feet spread (MFLPRR) for flexibility. The relationship between the success in dance performance and morphological characteristics was defined by body weight (TTEŽINA), body height (TVISINA) and total body fat (KG/MASTI).