| Summary: | The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between older women and contemporary dance in a choreographic project. I explore in what sense the participation in the project is of artistic value to these women and also what happens in the meeting between me as a researcher, the project itself and the women. The background of this study is a personal interest in age, body and dance as well as an ambition to change normative ideas about the dancer body through action. With a globally ageing population, I have an interest in highlighting an aging female body as a resource in the context of contemporary dance. The study is conducted on the basis of post-qualitative research and decolonizing methodology. The artistic practice is leading and is based on the experiences of the women who participate in the project. As a researcher, my participation in the practice is necessary. By articulating and visualizing the marginality of older women, dance discourses are deconstructed. With improvisation as a performative choreographic practice, transformative learning emerges among participants. The findings of the study show that older women are resourceful and have the capacity for change through dance. This can be achieved in interaction with others and can then be an artistic experience. The artistic and pedagogical values which are experienced by the women in relation to contemporary dance are self-determination, trust and a sense of community. Both individual and collective struggle emerge among me and the women as a force of action. I argue that age norms and bodily ideals in contemporary dance can be challenged by giving older women access to contemporary dance. By articulating and visualizing the experiences of a marginalized group, the meaning of the concepts of dance, body and age are deconstructed and new insights are created which challenge and broaden normative ideas about dance and the dancer body.
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