Happiness and Perseverance: The Interplay of Emotional Energies in Gray Dancing

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.