From Balls and Hoops to Coconuts and Tambourines: Protagonisms and Paradoxes of European Coach Ilona Peuker on Brazilian Floors

Abstract

This research analyzes the role of the Hungarian immigrant coach Ilona Peuker as a protagonist in the development of Rhythmic Gymnastics (RG), also called Modern Gymnastics, in Brazil (1953 to 1995), especially regarding her role as a gymnastics coach, coach developer and in the establishment of relationships between European and Brazilian cultures. We draw on oral histories conducted as part of two studies by the authors and documentary research based on Ilona’s website and the personal collection of the interviewees. We identify that she had a fundamental role for the introduction, dissemination, and international projection of the Brazilian RG, teaching gymnastics classes at the university, and courses in different regions of Brazil, in addition to coaching athletes and coaches of RG of international projection. Her legacy in this sport still echoes today, not only in RG routines but also in Gymnastics for All choreographies, with a paradoxical and multicultural protagonism, evidenced in her choice to use elements of Brazilian culture to develop the rhythm and to compose the choreographies, such as tambourines (typical of samba beat) and dried coconuts (typical of tropical plant life) - an original style that enchanted audiences in Brazil and Europe due to the ‘Brazilness’ in Gymnastics.