The development of gymnastics and nation state went hand in hand at the end of the 19th century in Denmark because the farmer culture needed a body cultural education platform to educate the people (Korsgaard 2001). Modernity and industrialisation didn’t abolish the Danish gymnastic culture but instead helped the voluntary organisations prosper as the post war welfare systems secured the survival of voluntary organisations with economic support and legislation. But since the millennium neoliberal state management principals have had great influence, also in Denmark.
Internationalisation and individualisation constantly challenge the development of the nation state (Kaspersen 2013) and have crucial unintended consequences for sport and gymnastic culture. In this paper, gymnastic culture is analysed using Norbert Elias’ process sociological perspective (Elias 1994) with the aim to understand the development of one of the oldest body cultures in Denmark. By presenting a historical case, “K. A. Knudsen and the State Gymnastic Institute”, and a current case, “Move for life”, we aim to illustrate how gymnastics is a survival unit which in collaboration with the state attempts to establish and mold independent citizens with the competencies and qualifications that are in keeping with the spirit of the age. Gymnastic culture and the state are viewed as interdependent (Elias 1994), but gymnastic culture has a relative autonomy (Thing and Ottesen 2010) and can independently contribute with new and creative actions to survive. Currently, the non-governmental sport and gymnastics organisations are expected to take co-responsibility for societal challenges such as poor health and unemployment, and this is often framed as a new issue. The question is whether this issue is indeed new or whether the collaboration between the voluntary organisations and the state has always been inherent? The past must be understood in order to more precisely explain the present and to highlight the development perspectives of the future of gymnastic culture.