Dancing through life in a changing world: life course, historical time and serious leisure

Abstract

There is a lack of studies taking a life course perspective in the growing field of research on the social aspects of older people's dance. This study aims to redress this negligence by exploring older people's experiences of social dance through life by using a life course perspective. In the process of analysis, the theoretical framework was informed by the serious leisure perspective. Twenty-six qualitative interviews were conducted with older people active in dances originating from the Swedish folk park tradition. The results demonstrate how life events, historical events, social change, and individuals' involvement affect experiences of social dance through life. The study also highlights experiences of discontinuity caused by social change, i.e. changes in the social world of folk park dance. By combining the life course perspective with assumptions from the serious leisure perspective the study contributes to research discussions about the need to contextualize the serious leisure perspective. RÉSUMÉPeu d'études tiennent compte du parcours de vie dans le domaine croissant de la recherche sur les aspects sociaux de la danse chez les personnes âgées. Cette étude vise à remédier à cette négligence en explorant l'expérience qu'ont les personnes âgées avec la danse sociale tout au long de leur vie et à la lumière de leur parcours de vie. Le cadre théorique du processus d'analyse a été éclairé par la perspective du sport amateur. Vingt-six entretiens en profondeur ont été menés avec des personnes âgées qui dansent en perpétuation de la tradition de danse folklorique suédoise dans les parcs. Les résultats montrent comment les aléas de la vie, les événements historiques, les changements sociaux et la participation de chacun influent sur l'expérience qu'ont les gens de la danse sociale tout au long de la vie. L'étude met également en lumière la discontinuité causée par les changements sociaux, c'est-à-dire les changements dans le monde de la danse folklorique dans les parcs. En ajoutant la perspective du parcours de vie aux idées reçues sur les loisirs pratiqués avec sérieux, l'étude contribue aux discussions tenues dans le cadre de la recherche sur la nécessité de mettre en contexte la perspective des loisirs pratiqués avec sérieux ARTICLE HISTORY

Dancing My Age: Emotions, Interactions, and Bodily Sensations

“…The data material was collected in 2016 by four researchers participating in 14 different dance events, conducting qualitative interviews with 44 dancers and/or organizers of dance events for the older people and analyzing documents on the various dances. Various parts of the material have previously been analyzed, i.e., the organizing of dance for older people (Krekula et al, 2017 ), emotions and the interaction of emotional energies (Alfredsson-Olsson and Heikkinen, 2019 ; Heikkinen and Alfredsson-Olsson, 2020 ), temporality in senior dance (Krekula, 2020 ), and dancing through life (Heikkinen, 2021 ).…”

“…This study is based on the interviews with older persons involved in social dancing, i.e., the dancing by “going out” at public dance venues (see also Heikkinen, 2021 ). The interviewees were recruited in connection with participant observations at various dance events.…”

“…The study involved 29 interviewees, of which 26 were still engaged in social dance while 3 had quit recently. All participants had experiences of social dance in terms of partner dancing, a few had also visited a senior disco (for further information on types of dances for older people in Sweden, see Heikkinen, 2021 ). The age span was 53–82 years with a median age of 72.…”

Maintaining Active Lifestyle Through Pickleball: A Qualitative Exploration of Older Pickleball Players

“…When individuals pursue serious leisure, it requires devotion which comes with the acquisition and expression of special skills as well as knowledge. Research into serious leisure has continued to evolve, and recent scholarly explorations of serious leisure have included a variety of activities such as bridge (Punch et al, 2022), bird watching (Lee et al, 2021), board games, swimming (Kim et al, 2022), running (Zhou et al, 2021), yoga (Liu et al, 2022), trekking, dancing (Heikkinen, 2021), and volunteering (Hallmann et al, 2023). Another study of pickleball players examined the links between pickleball participation, social capital, and happiness (Kim et al, 2021).…”