With the word "body type", most would think of "fat, skinny, tall, short" kind.
Or perhaps, "pear, apple, hourglass", or "endomorph, ectomorph, mesomorph (if you are into gym work and weights)".
According to Hiroko Yamazaki's book "How to play sports", there are 4 types, in terms of natural tendencies of body usages.
And the types are evident and can be determined by how you naturally stand.
Forward-weighted type A, and rear-weighted type B. Each can be also subcategorized to "inner-weighted (1)" or "outer-weighted (2)".
A1 and B2 types use the body in "cross" manner, and A2 and B1 types use the body in "parallel" manner.
They are not about shapes, but rather, how you are wired and how you tend to use your body, and prefer particular ways of moving. Think the type is something like right-handed or left-handed. Your body does have preference, correct?
Based on types, how you hold your body axis at which points (type A with solar plexus, knees and feet, type B with neck, hips and feet), and which parts of your body can be more easily moved (for type A neck/shoulders, hips; for type B, solar plexus/ribcage, knees) also differ. Interesting.
How you stand is a big deal in tango dancing. There are many sayings regarding aesthetics.
But you'd also notice, by watching many tango or other dancers, one rule does not fit all.
People's natural body usages are different. You may need to accept the differences, and adopt the aesthetics to usages.
We may have been trying too much to adopt usages to aesthetics.
For example, leg turnout and L-position of feet is generally recommended as an aesthetically good position for tango followers. It does work with many people.
But you also encounter body types that are nearly incompatible with the turnout.
Then, do you try to "correct" it, against your body type? Or, would you rather learn to look like using turn out, while not forcing yourself too much going against your body's natural build?
Going against natural body type increases the risk of injury. Also, a body moving with maximum efficiency looks far better than a body with forced moves and looks.
Knowing your own body type helps to make the choice.
I checked myself. I am type B1 "rear-and inner-weighted", so a "parallel".
Actually, using 2-inch Cuban heels has helped me to compensate for my natural tendency of rear-weighted in tango dancing. For tango, a leader needs to go forward mostly. Rear-weighted means I need extra split second to shift weight to forward from my natural position in order to go forward. The delay can be minimized by my shoes.
Use of "right and left" axes is intuitively easy for parallel types, but explanations may need to be modified for cross types.
Model/tight roping kind of walk is one of the walk styles fitting tango aesthetics. But as a parallel type, more straight kind of walk is my body's natural motions.
See? knowing own body type is helpful.
The author Hiroko Yamazaki was competing in Rhythmic Gymnastics in LA Olympics on 1984 as a representative athlete of Japan and placed on 8th. After her retirement from active gymnastics, she remained in coaching position, and led Japanese Rhythmic Gymnastics team to medal-competing position since 2015.
She was even confessing in her book that she had given "correct for a type but wrong for another type" advices on gymnastics, with mixed results. After learning this body typing and adopting advices considering what advice works better on what body types, her coaching improved. She knows what she is talking about.
In medical research, personalized medicine has become common concept, and its practice is catching up. Maybe fine-tuned sports coaching based on personal body type is in the same trend.
