Efeitos da dança tradicionalista gaúcha no desempenho de habilidades motoras fundamentais de escolares no município de Pedro Osório-RS

Abstract

Several studies have investigated the effects of different motor activities on the performance of fundamental motor skills, such as team sports, individual sports, physical education classes, and martial arts, among others. This study investigated whether the practice of traditional Gaúcho dances influences the performance of fundamental motor skills in children from the municipality of Pedro Osório – RS. The study included 23 schoolchildren of both sexes, aged between 8 and 10 years and 11 months, divided into two groups: Dance Group (n=12), composed of regular practitioners of traditional Gaúcho dance, and Control Group (n=11), composed of children who did not participate in other motor activities besides school physical education classes. The design was cross-sectional, with a quantitative approach. Motor skills were assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development–3 (TGMD-3), being also evaluated the children’s weekly routine, the family's socioeconomic class, and screen time exposure. The results did not indicate statistically significant differences in motor performance between the groups. The hypothesis that traditional Gaúcho dance would contribute to better motor performance was not confirmed, possibly due to the good performance of the control group, which participants also attended private school and lived in a small town with good opportunities for motor activity. It was concluded that, in this specific context, the practice of traditional dance did not show an additional effect on the performance of fundamental motor skills. Future studies with larger samples and in different urban settings are recommended.