Ballroom Dance: Linking Serious Leisure to Successful Aging.
OBJECTIVE
This study explored ballroom dance as serious leisure and successful aging in a sample of community-dwelling older adults.


METHODS
Qualitative procedures were used to explore stories of ballroom dance and successful aging.


RESULTS
Participants described positive successful aging and active leisure engagement. Three themes emerged from thematic analyses: (a) Ballroom Dance as Serious Leisure: Its Dimensions; (b) Ballroom Dance: Its Link to Successful Aging; (c) The Affinity: We Love to Dance!.


CONCLUSION
The participants' ballroom dance revealed serious leisure characteristics in conjunction with their successful aging. They loved to dance, self-identified as ballroom dancers, and orchestrated their dance activities within its social world. Future research should examine the relation of successful aging to the social world of ballroom dance.
['Stevens-Ratchford|Regena G|RG|']
D000368:Aged D000369:Aged, 80 and over D000375:Aging D003615:Dancing D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D036301:Qualitative Research
ballroom dance serious leisure successful aging engagement with life physical activity