Rhythmic gymnastics is one of the most elegant gymnastics disciplines, combining dance, gymnastics and ballet. Gymnasts use hand-held apparatuses, including the ball, rope and clubs, and perform choreographed routines in front of a judging panel. Although the first World Championships didn't take place until 1963, the fundamentals of the sport can be traced back to ancient Egypt.
Origins
According to the International Gymnastics Federation, the discipline of rhythmic gymnastics grew out of the ideas of I. G. Noverre , Francois Delsarte and R. Bode in the late 19th century. They believed in movement expression -- using the body as a form of expression -- although forms of this elegant gymnastics discipline can be traced right back to ancient Egypt and then to early classical ballet.
Development
In the 1880s, Emile-Jacques Dalcroze, a Swiss composer, began to develop what he called Eurhythmics, dance and movement to music, while George Demeny was developing his own form of rhythmic gymnastics in France. Various other versions of the sport came together in around 1900 in the Swedish School of Rhythmic Gymnastics. A competitive structure formed around the end of the World War II.
Competitions
As a competitive discipline, rhythmic gymnastics started in the former Soviet Union and remains popular in former Soviet states and throughout Eastern Europe. The International Gymnastics Federation recognized rhythmic gymnastics as a new discipline in 1961. The first World Individual Championships took place in 1963 in Hungary. It was a small event, with just 10 European countries taking part.
Olympic Sport
In 1956, hand-held exercises appeared in the Artistic Event in the Olympics, with gymnasts performing a group exercise with ropes. However, hand-held apparatuses soon disappeared from the artistic gymnastics program. Individual rhythmic gymnastics was featured as its own event in at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, and team competition was added at the 1996 Atlanta Games. At the Olympic level, rhythmic gymnastics includes only female athletes, who may compete once they enter their 16th year.
Champions
Ludmila Savinkova of the Soviet Union became the first world champion in 1963. After a boycott by many Eastern European countries, the first Olympic champion in the all-round individual event was Lori Fung of Canada in 1984. The winners of the first Olympic team event were Spain at the 1996 Games, followed by three consecutive gold-medal performances by Russia in 2000, 2004 and 2008.
Men's Rhythmic Gymnastics
The popularity of men's rhythmic gymnastics has grown in recent years. It is not yet recognized as a discipline by the International Gymnastics Federation, but in 2003 Japan hosted the first World Championships. It is similar to its female equivalent but places more focus on strength and martial arts than flexibility. Although competitions for the sport are mainly in Asian countries, the World Championships in 2005 attracted competitors from Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Korea, Russia and the United States.
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