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Men do more than moving on the dance floor. Apparently, they also attract lovers and fend off any potential rival, a new study suggests.

The research was done by Dr. Nick Neave (psychologist), Dr. Nick Caplan (University academics), from the University of Northumbria and Johannes Hvnekopp and Bernard Fink, from the Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Gvttingen, Germany. The results were published in the American Journal of Human Biology.

The study claims that men's dance quality is linked to the strength of their hand grip, and men also check out other men for a probable rival. This research was done with the help of 3-D motion-capture technology and biomechanical analyses, and focused on discovering how many clues a man gives about his physical strength and fitness through his dance moves. The researchers found that a man can assess his rival's strength just by watching his moves on the dance floor.

The scientists enlisted 30 males who were between 19 and 37 years of age and taped them while they danced to a basic rhythm. Along with that, they were also taken through fitness tests, which included finding out the strength of both their upper and lower body. These films were then put through 3-D motion-capture technology, where these men were changed to virtual characters and their appearances were hidden.

The researchers observed that individuals from both the sexes linked a person's hand grip strength to the perception of their dance quality, and the same was identified with the movement of their upper body and arms. There is a popular belief that men exude signals while dancing with the opposite sex in what is similar to animal mating displays, however, now it would seem that a heterosexual male also uses these signals to ward off any probable rivals.

"Rated dance quality was positively associated with actual grip strength and these clues of upper-body strength were most accurately picked up by male observers. This ability to discern upper-body strength is principally because men are looking for cues of 'formidability' in other males. Upper-body strength is highly related to fighting ability as it reflects the ability to do damage, especially in intra-sexual conflicts. The ability to gauge strength before potential conflicts is sensible, especially to other males," Dr. Neave said in a news release.