Contemporary dance as being and becoming in the age of aging

Cecilia Ferm Almqvist

doi:10.3384/rela.2000-7426.2257

Abstract

This article takes experiences from a contemporary multi-artistic dance project as a starting-point. The aim is to describe and explore how such a project can offer possibilities for being and becoming among elderly amateur dancers, based on a phenomenological way of thinking. The phenomenon of the investigation is self-conceptualization. The multi-artistic process and context is defined as an adult educational situation. To come close to the lived experiences of the dancers, the rehearsals as well as the performance were observed, and documented. Six of the participants were also interviewed. The material was analyzed in a hermeneutical phenomenological manner, and de Beauvoir’s thinking regarding aging, was used as a theoretical lens. The results show how the self-images of the participants change throughout the project. The dance activities seem to give the elderly possibilities to remain themselves, even if they become different. They learn to know themselves, each other and the world.

Highlights

The right to express oneself and take part in cultural activities throughout one’s life is expressed in different documents regarding human rights and law texts
The rehearsals were led by the choreographer Charlotta Öfverholm, and consisted of warming up, choreography and improvisation, as well as preparing
Most of the amateur dancers had participated in initial workshops a year earlier (Andersson & Ferm Almqvist, 2021) and thereby knew the format and Charlotta Öfverholm’s way of designing activities

Summary

Introduction

The right to express oneself and take part in cultural activities throughout one’s life is expressed in different documents regarding human rights and law texts. The last step included finding quotations from both the participants and de Beauvoir that showed the different sides of the phenomenon in concrete ways and illuminate how an artistic dance project can help to challenge existing structures and policies related to adult education, as well as offering suggestions for what life-long learning could be.

Results

Conclusion