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.

While there is a growing body of research on the social aspects of older people's dance, studies focusing on emotions are rare. In this study, we use an interactionist sociological perspective to examine the role of emotions in older social dancers' experiences in Sweden. Through qualitative interviews with 29 active or previously active dancers, we found that their experiences of emotional energy and experiences of flow override concerns of age and aging. Age, however, did become significant as the age differences at dance events could bring forth feelings of alienation associated with feeling old. In addition, cultural and gendered norms of appropriate age differences between dancing partners produced shame and pride as well as feelings of being either old or young. Moreover, certain bodily experiences were interpreted in terms of age. Overall, the study contributes to the discussions of the complexity of subjective experiences of age by highlighting its emotional aspects through social partner dancing.

There is a lack of studies taking a life course perspective in the growing field of research on the social aspects of older people’s dance. This study aims to redress this negligence by exploring older people’s experiences of social dance through life by using a life course perspective. In the process of analysis, the theoretical framework was informed by the serious leisure perspective. Twenty-six qualitative interviews were conducted with older people active in dances originating from the Swedish folk park tradition. The results demonstrate how life events, historical events, social change, and individuals’ involvement affect experiences of social dance through life. The study also highlights experiences of discontinuity caused by social change, i.e. changes in the social world of folk park dance. By combining the life course perspective with assumptions from the serious leisure perspective the study contributes to research discussions about the need to contextualize the serious leisure perspective.

Perseverance has been deemed as a precondition of flow and serious leisure. Less is known about what generates perseverance in leisure activities. This chapter is aimed at exploring perseverance by focusing on social dancing among older people. The theoretical framework is primarily based on Hochschild’s and Collins’ emotion theories. Qualitative interviews with older dancers were analysed. The results suggest that both positive and negative emotions play an important role in shaping perseverance and the overall emotion of happiness in dancing. Successful interaction rituals create positive emotions and positive emotional energy. However, challenges are of importance as the negative emotions created can contribute to negative emotional energy which makes the interviewees endure hardships. The chapter contributes to research discussions about the role of emotions in leisure.

Extended working life in Sweden is discussed using the old age pension reform of 2001 and debates and policies following this reform as a starting point. Extended working life is also discussed in relation to flexible work, unpaid caregiving, employers’ attitudes toward older workers and working environment. The implications of different outcomes of an extended working life for men and women and possible health effects are considered. Several issues with gender as well as health implications have to be further analyzed and evaluated to ensure not only financial sustainability of the pension system but also equal opportunities for men as well as for women both in an extended working life and in life after retirement.

Research on dancing in later life has mainly focused on the health-promoting effects of dance, including aspects of well-being, while studies focusing on emotions are rare. The purpose of this article is therefore to contribute to research on older people's dancing through examining emotions in social dancing. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 44 older persons. The analysis shows how successful interaction rituals create positive emotions such as joy and pride and contribute to emotional energy. However, there are also unsuccessful interaction rituals which contribute to negative emotions of sadness and anger. These negative emotions can drain emotional energy, but, importantly for this study, they may also contribute to a forceful counter-energy which motivates the interviewees to try again. We discuss these patterns as emotional energy tropism and as negative emotional energy and positive emotional energy working together. The study provides insight into how and why dancing feels good as well as why older people do not give up dancing despite setbacks. Overall, the study contributes to research discussions about emotions in gray dancing as well as sociology of emotions.

Time, power and resistance arc all central sociological concepts, but only rarely have the intertwi- ning between all three been explored. Here the guest editors of the special issue of Sociologisk Forskning called "Time, power and resistance" introduce five empirical research articles. The articles all investigate time and temporality in relation to forms of power, ranging from discursive power to dominant norms and state power. The resistances vary from organised, collective resistance to subtle and discreet forms of everyday and constructive resistance. Additionally, the guest editors point towards future avenues of research in the area and show sociologically interesting links between the three concepts.

This paper explores challenges and possibilities for integrating goals of long-term sustainable development into urban planning practice, with a specific focus on local institutional conditions for sustainability transitions. The analysis is based on a qualitative single case study of a large urban development process: the development of a new city district in Hyllie in the city of Malmö, Sweden. Hyllie was branded as a flagship project for sustainable urban development, with particularly high ambitions on climate neutrality and sustainable energy consumption. Several innovative elements were initiated in the development process, for instance the “climate contract” betweenthemunicipalityandlargeenergycompanies. Inthepaper,thisclimatecontractisdiscussed as an initiative with a promising potential for sustainability transitions. In practice, however, the outcome of the development in Hyllie in terms of sustainable development is ambiguous, since the district is also framed around luxury shopping, entertainment, and an ambition to attract visitors from a long distance. The Hyllie development illustrates pre-requisites for work on sustainable development in a decentralized and market-oriented planning context. Theoretically, the analysis is inspired by the multi-level perspective (MLP) and institutional theory. The results illustrate how the development process was shaped by a complex interplay between actors with differing agendas and targets at different stages in the process. These results are applied in a general discussion of challenges and possibilities for urban planning to contribute substantially to a transition to long-term sustainable development. Overall, the analysis demonstrates the importance of considering specific local institutional conditions in strategic work for long-term sustainability.