Stepputat Kendra, Kienreich Wolfgang, Dick Christopher S.
2019
With this article, we present the ongoing research project “Tango Danceability of Music in European Perspective” and the transdisciplinary research design it is built upon. Three main aspects of tango argentino are in focus—the music, the dance, and the people—in order to understand what is considered danceable in tango music. The study of all three parts involves computer-aided analysis approaches, and the results are examined within ethnochoreological and ethnomusicological frameworks. Two approaches are illustrated in detail to show initial results of the research model. Network analysis based on the collection of online tango event data and quantitative evaluation of data gathered by an online survey showed significant results, corroborating the hypothesis of gatekeeping effects in the shaping of musical preferences. The experiment design includes incorporation of motion capture technology into dance research. We demonstrate certain advantages of transdisciplinary approaches in the study of Intangible Cultural Heritage, in contrast to conventional studies based on methods from just one academic discipline.