Dancing until the End of Time: Emotions and Interactions among Swedish Social Dancers Aged 80 and Above

An emerging area of research focuses on the social dimensions of dance in older people’s everyday life. This research concerns primarily the meanings of dance, but also exemplifies a range of emotions at play. However, only a few studies have focused on emotions per se, and those that do, involve mostly younger seniors. This means that very little is currently known about the emotional experiences of dance in everyday life among the oldest old. The aim of this study is to explore emotions among dancing older adults aged 80 and above. Qualitative interviews were conducted with eight individuals practising dance in Sweden. By adopting a theoretical framework from the sociology of emotions and insights from the serious leisure perspective, the study investigates emotional experiences of dancing, including experiences related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study reveals an emotional richness in dance crowned by passion and flow, which contributes to perseverance and continuation of dance. Furthermore, stoicism in terms of emotional restrictiveness emerges as one way of facing adversities. The study contributes to ageing research by highlighting the range of emotional experiences of dancing among the oldest old, thereby contributing to a new imaginary of advanced age.