The “Spontaneous 40” of Lisbon: A Dance Experience for Mature Participants

Abstract

The present work in the form of a case study aims to identify the contribution of the dance performance “Spontaneous 40” through the personal perception of two ordinary male and five ordinary female citizens, part of a total group of 40, all over 40 years old, who, voluntarily and without any previous experience, participated in the laboratory of Madrid choreographer “La Ribot” at the “Teatro Camões” in Lisbon within the cycle of performance art called “Like You and Me.” This cycle was programmed by the art director of the theater, Mark Deputter, contradicting the idea that art has little to do with people's daily lives, and advocating the replacement of trained and disciplined bodies of classical ballet dancers on stage with the differentiated bodies of ordinary people: some small, big, fat, thin, young, or old. The Spontaneous 40 is a creative and interdisciplinary work in an artistic, cultural, and educational forum that explores the body, laughter, sounds, objects as background music, and poetic visual richness. Following a qualitative methodology, an open questionnaire was used for data collection. The data were subjected to content analysis to phenomenological grounds. The data were then subjected to a content analysis. The results of this study revealed that the unanimated adult becomes alive through dance, reconciling him- or herself with his body, with him- or herself and with others, and exploring his or her creative background and allowing him or her to build self-images of life with more energy, elegance, and creativity, away from the stereotype of aging in our present Portuguese society.