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Dance has been a part of human culture for centuries. Over the course of time, dance has taken many different forms ranging from ballroom dancing to dance-floor grinding. Even though dancing encompasses so many different moves, a team of evolutionary biologists set out to examine which moves might be the most attractive. Based on their findings, the researchers claim that if a man wants to catch a women's eye on the dance floor, he should focus on swaying his hips.

The research team from Northumbria University and the University of Gottingen enlisted the help of 30 male volunteers. The men were asked to dance for 30 seconds to a core drum beat while being recorded. The researchers did not instruct them on how to dance. The video clips, which were taken with a motion-captured system, were analyzed so that the team can group dance movements into different body regions. The regions were central body (neck and torso), legs (knees, hips and ankles) and arms (shoulders, elbows and wrists).

Within each section, the team also "measured the degree and type of movement at each joint - speed, size, and variety of movements like bending, twisting and tilting," the Washington Post reported.

The researchers then recruited 37 female participants to watch the clips and rate the performances on a seven-point scale. In order to control for facial attractiveness, body shape and even perceived socioeconomic status, the women all watched "featureless, gender neutral" avatars and not the actual men.

Women tended to give higher scores to the avatars that danced with greater movements in their head, neck and torso. Men who danced with faster leg movements on the right side also earned higher scores. Movement of the left leg, however, tended to be ranked lower. The researchers found found that arm movements did not correlate to attractiveness level at all.

The study, "Male dance moves that catch a woman's eye," can be accessed here.