INTRODUCTION

The analysis of data from anthropometric measurements and medical examinations in recent years has shown a positive change regarding the height of children aged 7 to 18. However, physical fitness declines because Physical Education and sports in schools do not provide enough physical activities, which are crucial during the growth and development of young children (^{Brochado & Brochado, 2017}).

Children and teenagers need extra physical activities through which they practice appropriate physical activity and sports. In this way, the child develops the main qualities that define physical fitness: strength, speed, endurance and flexibility (^{Fernández & Alcalá, 2021}). The author emphasises that floor and equipment exercises provide a great diversity of movements, which leads to positive results for the student’s physical development (^{Oliveira, 2017}).

Rhythmic Gymnastics (RG) is one of the main sports that involve choreography with selected musical accompaniment. Whose primary purpose of the artistic component is to transfer “emotion and the idea of expression, both translated through the following three aspects: the musical accompaniment, plastic artistic image and expressivity” (^{Toledo & Antualpa, 2016}, p. 126).

Many studies highlight the benefits of this Olympic discipline. The act of following the rhythm of music promotes the individual, in addition to corporeality, the development of the ability to express themselves through their movements. Other similar sporting activities include figure skating, synchronised swimming and martial arts that require a high level of acrobatic techniques but also show creativity and artistic elements. However, rhythmic gymnastics is the closest to music among these sports due to its origins and historical background (^{Trevisan, 2016}).

Rhythmic Gymnastics was created from the idea of merging music and dance into expressive performance. The idea of RG was initially recognised and considered a sport/discipline in the Soviet Union during the 1940s, and its invention came from the idea of three prominent dancers and musicians: Jean-Georges Noverre (1722-1810), François Delsarte (1811-1871) and Rudolf Bode (1881), the latter, a student of Emile Jacques Dalcroze (important musical pedagogue), who believed that dance was a prominent means for the individual to express themselves musically (^{Leonido, 2005}).

In this sense, the characteristics of RG were very specific in relation to other bodily activities (^{Madureira, 2008a}, ^2008b, ²⁰²⁰). Rudolf Bode (1881-1971) idealises Expressive Gymnastics (EG), which later became Modern Gymnastics (GM) and which, finally, would become the RG as we know it, which incorporated certain differentiating characteristics of the other models and bodily practices in its design (^{Toepfer, 1997}). It assumes the possibility of “grouping body exercises, music, dance, expressiveness and later the manipulation of portable objects, it was, in fact, an innovation that went hand in hand with other revolutions in dance, music, arts and in education” (^{Pereira, 2019}, p. 37).

This concept links music to Eurythmy (or Dalcroze Method), developed by Dalcroze in the 1880s. In his study and creation of musical pedagogy, he believed that rhythm, physical movement and bodily processes were the three fundamental bases of musical expressiveness (^{Leandro, 2018}; ^{Leonido, 2005}, ²⁰⁰⁷).

RG is a modality and category of sport linked to music through which the body can (and should) express itself artistically. It includes a group of sports activities that “establish a very close relationship with art, making it an inexhaustible source of creativity, which generates significant aesthetic experiences, as it is indelibly linked to music and the handling of portable devices” (^{Pereira, 2019}, p. 15). In other words, for Pereira (²⁰¹⁹, p. 15) the characteristics acquired since its creation “resulted in the promotion of infinite possibilities of expression of the body. What in the eyes of the common connoisseur can be translated as simple or soft, when it comes to high-performance teams, is the result of bodily transformations resulting from excruciating efforts”.

As well pointed out by Carvalho and Silva (²⁰²⁰), Pereira (²⁰¹⁹), and Trevisan (²⁰¹⁶), we understand that as well as the cadenced execution in RG, music is structured by elements such as rhythm, tempo, dynamics, articulation, expression, phrasing that also contribute for the synchronisation of movements in exercise. This particularity in the relationship between music and sport (or physical activity) has been the object of different types of studies. Many researchers investigate how music enhances ergogenic effects among athletes; it usually involves repetitive motion activities such as running, cycling, aerobics, and so on.

Oliveira (²⁰¹⁷) asserts that there are investigations about changes in emotion and motivation when music (synchronous or asynchronous) is used during exercises. The use of music in synchronous mode can be limited to the rhythmic-temporal aspects of music used as a kind of metronome that regulates the movement patterns in question. In turn, the use of asynchronous music is commonly used to provide a background simulation without conscious synchronisation between movement patterns and the rhythm-musical environment (^{Oliveira, 2017}).

However, Trevisan (²⁰¹⁶) states that these facts refer to cyclically repeated exercises and, therefore, the musical accompaniment of sports routines invariably becomes more complex as it may have to add style, character, and dynamics at a time. The musical movement, among others, fits the athlete/performer’s choreography. Objectively that choreographic activity is clearly related to dance that supports movement and structured and planned/programmed elements, and, once again, music can play a key role in cohesion, connection and artistic context and desired result (^{Trevisan, 2016}). Like repetitive exercises, dance and sports often employ music as an essential component. In the case of dance and GR, the music is perfectly synchronised with body movements, thus structuring the series to be presented. According to RG coaches, it is customary first that the selected song is edited according to the composition of the series of rhythmic sequences of steps and movements. For ^{Oliveira (2017)}, the quality of congruence is when a musical accompaniment is composed based on an existing choreographed routine and not vice versa, as is the conventional method.

It is noteworthy, from personal experience, that previously pianists and gymnasts progressed simultaneously in the development of the performance, as the athlete’s talent through the movements performed was underlined by the interpretive and creative talent of the musician through musical arrangements composed specifically using pianistic technique resources such as glissandos, staccatos, ornaments, speeds and jumps among others. The pianist, when visualising the athletic performance, improvised instantly and simultaneously his arrangement fully integrated the musical art and the art of RG, in which varied music was included depending on the choreography.

We carried out bibliographical research in order to investigate how much music is relevant to the structuring and improvement of GR’s artistic performance.

METHOD

We decided on the methodological procedure regarding the systematic matrix bibliographic research (De-La-Torre-Ugarte-Guanilo et al., ²⁰¹¹; Depaepe et al., ²⁰¹³; Gomes & Caminha, ²⁰¹⁴; Medina & Pailaquilén, ²⁰¹⁰; Segura-Muñoz et al., ²⁰⁰²; Thomas et al., ²⁰¹²; Wright et al., ²⁰⁰⁷). Therefore, we developed a relevant theoretical framework for the central theme of the study. The bibliographical survey used the Google Academic platform through the procedures and phases detailed below.

RESULTS

We can say that both music and RG are inter and intrapersonal communicational processes, and in view of this we observe the expressiveness of ideas and feelings through the body due to the kinesthetic body intelligence.

Expression exercises can represent a strong motivation for psychomotor development, facilitating dexterity, creativity and originality in the choice and execution of various motor actions with expressive qualities (^{Pereira, 2019}; Trevisan, ²⁰¹⁶; Zhou, ²⁰²¹). All possible forms of bodily expression have a remarkable educational value, contributing to better self-knowledge in the field of gesture. Musical art involves movement in time and space (^{Zhou, 2021}).

Another important issue is that RG activities and body expression reflect their influence on the aesthetic side of students’ personality and leave their mark on early childhood psychomotor education (^{Handayani, 2020}; Nakashima et al., ²⁰¹⁸; Olga, ²⁰¹⁸; Zanlorenci et al., ²⁰²⁰). There is an enlightening view in the sense that the educational perspectives provided by RG are unique and translate into the creation of emotions rich in meaning through motor expressiveness (Menegaldo & Bortoleto, ²⁰¹⁷; Oliveira, ²⁰¹⁷; Pereira, ²⁰¹⁹; Trevisan, ²⁰¹⁶).

RG can help communication through suggestive body expression and contributes to the development of motor expressiveness. The results obtained confirm the efficiency of the proposal, conceived so that the preparation includes aspects related to expression, rhythmicity and motor musicality (Paz et al., ²⁰¹⁸; Pereira, ²⁰¹⁹). We also agree with Oktariyana (²⁰²⁰), Pereira (²⁰¹⁹) and Trevisan (²⁰¹⁶) when they present some sensitive and fundamental points for RG. They argue that the approach of varied and original artistic-motor content contributes to educating the attitude and artistic execution, developing body expressiveness, rhythmicity and motor musicality, to stimulate communication through appropriate and revealing body expression, as well as imagination of the subjects.

If we approach expressive motricity within a systematic learning process, we can favourably influence the path of spontaneous-unconscious expression to educated expressive behaviour, capable of responding effectively to the needs of communication and understanding, but also to sociocultural demands and norms (Pereira, ²⁰¹⁹; Toledo et al., ²⁰¹⁸; Trevisan, ²⁰¹⁶).

Dance and rhythmic-musical preparation should be complemented with means mainly aimed at body expression (Carvalho & Silva, ²⁰²⁰; Gantcheva et al., ²⁰²¹; Trevisan, ²⁰¹⁶; Zhou, ²⁰²¹). We recognise how much all possible forms of bodily expression have a remarkable educational value, contributing to better self-knowledge in the field of gesture (Paz et al., ²⁰¹⁸; Zhou, ²⁰²¹).

According to Menegaldo and Bortoleto (²⁰¹⁷), Oliveira (²⁰¹⁷), Pereira (²⁰¹⁹) and Trevisan (²⁰¹⁶), mastering gymnastics actions can richly contribute to the acquisition of self-awareness by developing the creativity of their own gestures and motor actions, of according to the style and specific personality of each one. Regarding the musical bond, Leandro (²⁰¹⁸) and Zhou (²⁰²¹) argue that it will be extremely valuable to educate the rhythmic sense of students and form their general musical culture, which will make them able to understand the message of the music and then transpose it through expressive body movement. However, Paz et al. (²⁰¹⁸) emphasise that in an educational environment in expressive motricity, the subject must restructure and adapt his movement in response to external temporal stimuli and in this perspective, music plays a particular role as it is a temporal art that performs the durations by organising the sounds. The author declares that music helps to stimulate the imagination, creating some emotional states and educating the ability of motor communication.

Within the scope of sports development and musical development integrated into RG, it is undoubtedly crucial to highlight the consecutive kinesis of a gymnast. Competitive activities must be musically congruent, as stated in many competition regulations; for example, the International Confederation of Rhythmic Gymnastics postulated penalties for occurrences in the presentation, such as lack of rhythm, between the athlete and the music (Menegaldo & Bortoleto, ²⁰¹⁷).

We agree with Leandro (²⁰¹⁸) when stating in RG, that musical interpretation and choreography are responsible for points that can be decisive in a dispute over a medal. The choice of music becomes one of the most important decisions in the development of performance and must highlight the athlete’s personality, talent and technicality (Paz et al., ²⁰¹⁸). The issue of congruence between auditory and visual aspects has been studied extensively in various fields. In music itself, many studies deal with the bodily gestures of RG practitioners (Leandro, ²⁰¹⁸). The author also highlights that musical performance combined with artistic gymnastics is relevant to enhance the display of heels, curves and other artistic shifts that, without music, would become boring, dull and emotionless. The quality of the alignment between music and the gymnast can affect momentum, or excitement, particularly when performing an acrobatic element. He adds that the seriousness of musical participation in sports performances that include choreographic elements extends to synchronised swimming, figure skating and martial arts. Music is indispensable in any form of competition event and has a great influence on individual attendance. RG is an artistic activity (Olympic discipline), and it is important to communicate a theme, an idea that reflects the beauty in the musical and bodily representation as a single element on display (Menegaldo & Bortoleto, ²⁰¹⁷; Paz et al., ²⁰¹⁸).

Studies carried out suggest that psychology presents empirical results proving that music provides physical and psychological effects through the study of various musical components, such as tonality, tempo, rhythm and so on (^{Zhou, 2021}). In previous studies, it has been observed that the tonality of music affects mood change, that fast music results in excitement and emotional activity, and the reverse is true for slow music (Paz et al., ²⁰¹⁸).

According to Leandro (²⁰¹⁸), fast-paced music and simple rhythmic structure produce positive results in increased blood pressure, ventilation and heart rate. In the past, researchers have proven that music has effects on endurance and emotion. The author adds that there is a growing interest in the study of music type and preference in sports activities.

The role and contribution of music in RG and its outcomes in providing ergogenic, psychological, psychophysical and psychophysiological effects have been analysed by researchers (Menegaldo & Bortoleto, ²⁰¹⁷). Furthermore, he congruence between music and dance is evident where participants correlate movement and sound (Paz et al., ²⁰¹⁸; Pereira, ²⁰¹⁹; Trevisan, ²⁰¹⁶). We also emphasise how much the RG modality comprises an activity and sport whose subtlety, vivacity and emotionality exceed that determined by the technique (Nakashima et al., ²⁰¹⁸; Paz et al., ²⁰¹⁸).

CONCLUSIONS

The function of RG is the basis of a phenomenon in musical interpretation and use. Although RG original intention came from the fusion of expression between music and movement, the development of aesthetics, interpretation and a post-modern vision in music and dance contributed to new interpretations and functions. From a musical perspective, we conclude that music, musicality and understanding of musical elements are important factors that contribute to a more coherent and congruent audiovisual performance. We emphasise that music drives the gymnast and the audience. In the school context, it was concluded that RG combined with music help in body development and expressiveness. In particular, further research should be carried out testing the perception of gymnasts, musicians and audience perspectives, with the aim of proving that the function of music is an important means of improving a gymnast’s movements, rather than an asynchronous background accompaniment. RG presents components of classical ballet showing plasticity, beauty and sensitivity to movements in addition to social inclusion.

In short, and after analysing the 15 central pieces of research, the objective of the investigation that establishes the relationship between music and rhythmic gymnastics is timeless, but in the context of the current world of rampant technological relevance, musical participation in loco (and/or alive) in public preparation and presentation will be, yes, only and only, a memory of those who lived these times and, in person, realised its immense importance and performative artistic framing much more pleasurable and ingenious, more challenging and less dependent on technological resources and more based on the magic of art, interpretation and dialogue between artistic expressions.