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EVALUATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF ARTISTIC 
ABILITIES OF 7-8-YEAR-OLD RHYTHMIC GYMNASTS 
 
 
Giurka Gantcheva
1
, Yulia Borysova
2
, Nina Kovalenko
3  
 
1
National Sports Academy Vassil Levski, Sofia, Bulgaria 
2
Prydniprovsk State Academy of Physical Culture and Sport, Department of Gymnastics, 
Dnipro, Ukraine 
3
Prydniprovsk State Academy of Physical Culture and Sport, Department of Foreign 
Languages, Dnipro, Ukraine 
 
Original article 
Abstract 
A competitive composition in rhythmic gymnastics is a small performance that has its own 
storyline. That is what judges E1 and E2 evaluate. Judges’ penalties for unsatisfactory 
artistry can be up to 5 or 6 points. In the works of scientists, the issues of artistry education 
for 7-8-year-old gymnasts are hardly ever addressed. To develop a methodology for the 
development of artistic abilities of 7-8-year-old female gymnasts. Theoretical analysis and 
synthesis of scientific and methodological literature; questionnaire (survey of coaches); 
pedagogical observation, experiment, testing: expert assessments; mathematical statistics. 
The study involved 20 7-8-year-old female gymnasts who have engaged in rhythmic 
gymnastics for 2 to 3 year and have category 2 qualification. An analysis of scientific and 
methodological literature shows the need to intensify research into the development of the 
aesthetic component in the training of female athletes in rhythmic gymnastics. On the basis of 
our questionnaire, it has been determined that it is necessary to develop artistic abilities of 
young female gymnasts by using elements of facial gymnastics, performance and 
improvisation. Introduction of a methodology for shaping the artistic abilities of female 
gymnasts in the educational and training process of the experimental group subsequently led 
to an increase in the female gymnasts’ marks for their competitive routine by 1.3 ± 0.12 
points (p <0.05). The improvement rate in artistry in the experimental group was 18.4%, and 
in the control group 8% (p <0.05). 
 
Keywords: rhythmic gymnastics, artistic abilities, 7-8 years.
 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
Rhythmic gymnastics is a complex 
young sport; it is a combination of arts and 
sports and includes gymnastic, acrobatic 
and dance exercises performed with 
apparatus to music (Borysova Yu., 
Yeromina O., 2015; Gantcheva G., 2018). 
In this sport, female athletes compete in 
the individual event or in the group event. 
One of the components that judges  
 
 
 
 
evaluate especially strictly is the artistry of 
their routine. A competitive gymnastics 
routine is a short performance with its own 
storyline. This is exactly what judges E1 
and E2 evaluate (FIG, 2016). Penalties for 
unsatisfactory artistry can be up to 5-6 
points (Borysova Yu., Mokhova I., 2017). 
The modern system of training female 
athletes in rhythmic gymnastics aims, first 

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of all, to teach a large volume of complex 
and extremely complex elements that must 
be mastered by very young female athletes. 
As a result, female gymnasts tend to 
display only technically correct 
performance of their competitive routine, 
ignoring the storyline and the imagery of 
the routine (Averkovich E.P., 1989; Viner-
Usmanova I.A., Kryuchek E.S., 
Medvedeva E.M., Terekhina R.N., 2014). 
This is why the question of developing a 
methodology to teach young female 
gymnasts artistry is relevant and requires 
detailed studying. 
The issue of performing skills and 
artistry in rhythmic gymnastics was 
investigated by Borisenko S.I., 2000; 
Goncharenko L.V., 1987; Gorbacheva 
ZH.S., 2000; Gorshkova E.V., 2003; 
Kabaeva A.M., Plekhanova M. E., 2009; 
Karavackaya N.A., 2002; Karpenko L.A., 
1994; Viner-Usmanova IA, 2014. The 
authors identified the main components of 
artistry assessment, namely: plasticity, 
expressiveness, acting, etc. An analysis of 
literature shows that authors mainly pay 
attention to the study of how to correctly 
develop physical qualities, but not enough 
to the artistry of a composition. 
In competitions, female gymnasts are 
required to perform their competitive 
routines perfectly: technically, artistically, 
musically and expressively. This task is 
very difficult for gymnasts in junior 
categories. Female gymnasts need to 
coordinate the simultaneous execution of 
balance, turns, jumps and work with an 
apparatus while connecting with the 
emotional component of their routine and 
the music. In scientific literature, the issues 
of artistic education for young female 
gymnasts are almost non-existent. Purpose 
of the study is to develop methods to 
develop artistic abilities in 7-8-year- old 
female gymnasts. 
 
METHODS 
 
We analysed 27 sources that 
addressed the distinctive features of 
educational and training process in 
preliminary basic training in rhythmic 
gymnastics as well as formation of 
expressiveness in 7-8-year-old girls with 
the help of various means of dramatic art.  
We also looked at scientific articles, 
dissertation abstracts and educational and 
methodical aids that focus on the 
development of expressiveness in sports 
and ballet. 
In order to create methods to develop 
artistic abilities in 7-8-year-old female 
gymnasts we used information from 
c o a c h e s – p r a c t i t i o n e r s a n d d a t a f r o m 
scientific and methodical literature. 
We used a survey to learn more about 
the specificity of displaying artistic 
abilities and their control in gymnasts. 
Another aim of our survey was to learn 
about the distinctive features of the 
educational and training process in 
preliminary basic training. 
10 coaches of artistic gymnastics who 
work in The Specialized Sports School of 
the Olympic Reserve for Children and 
Adolescents (SCASSOR), Dnipro City, 
and in the Sports School for Children and 
Adolescents (CASS), Kamenskoye City, 
took part in the questionnaire. The coaches 
were given a questionnaire with seven 
multiple choice questions. Their answers 
provided us with information on how 
coaches view the process of developing 
artistry in 7-8-year-old female gymnasts. 
This information was necessary to devise a 
methodology for the development of 
artistic abilities in young female gymnasts 
by highly qualified coaches. 
The object of pedagogical observation 
were female gymnasts who attend 
rhythmic gymnastics training at the 
communal non-compulsory educational 
institution, The Specialised Sports School 
of the Olympic Reserve for Children and 
Adolescents (COSEI SCASSOR), Dnieper 
City Council (DCC), Dnipro City. 2 groups 
of 7-8-year-old female gymnasts (10 girls 
in each) were observed on multiple 
occasions. When evaluating the results of 
our observations, we took into account 

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both the positive and the negative aspects 
of the coachs’ and athletes’ activities. 
When selecting the groups for observation, 
the following requirements had to be met: 
1) all gymnasts had to have about the same 
level of fitness; 2) the same choreographer 
worked with them; 3) their parents and 
trainers had to give their consent for the 
study.  
During the observation, the following 
aspects were recorded: means and methods 
of developing artistic abilities that were 
used in classes; the ratio of the volume and 
intensity of the load in a class; quality and 
quantity of tasks that female gymnasts 
performed during a class. The results of 
observations during classes and within the 
period of competitive activity, after a 
mathematical analysis, showed the 
effectiveness of classes and disadvantages 
in their content, forms of organization and 
methodology. 
In the course of the study, a 
pedagogical experiment was conducted on 
t h e b a s i s o f t h e C O S E I S C A S S O R i n 
rhythmic gymnastics of DCC, Dnipro City, 
from September 2018 to November 2019. 
The experiment involved 7-8-year-old 
girls, engaged in rhythmic gymnastics at 
the stage of initial basic training at the 
Sports School for Children and 
Adolescents (CASS). All gymnasts had 
almost the same level of preparedness (p > 
0 .05). The girls (n = 20) were divided into 
two groups: control group (n = 10) and 
experimental group (n = 10). The exercises 
for the development of artistry were added 
to the training program of the gymnasts in 
the experimental group. 
The main objective of the experiment 
was to test the effectiveness of the 
methodology by using  a set of exercises 
and music games in order to develop 
artistic abilities in young female gymnasts. 
By using pedagogical testing, we 
determined the level of artistic abilities in 
7-8-year-old female gymnasts. For this, we 
used Viner-Usmanova’s method, 2014, 
which comprises gymnastic compositions 
with musical accompaniment. In her 
training program for highly qualified 
athletes Viner-Usmanova highlights the 
main components of artistic abilities, 
namely: classical choreography, dancing, 
plasticity, elements of rhythmic 
gymnastics, musical rhythm, elements of 
circus skills and theatrical arts. Female 
gymnasts should master these components. 
Control over the artistic components is 
learned with the help of improvisation to 
music. Gymnasts need to express the 
music by their facial expressions, body 
movements as well as emotions. 
Pedagogical testing was carried out by 
marking the improvised performances to 
children music. The gymnasts in our study 
had to improvise for 1 minute. Assessment 
according to the criteria presented in Table 
1, in points, was carried out by relevant 
experts. The members of the experts’ 
group that assessed the level of artistic 
development were the same at the 
beginning and at the end of our experiment 
(Table 1). 
In the practical part of our research, 
we used the method of expert assessments. 
Namely, processes or actions (phenomena) 
were evaluated by qualified experts and 
competent coaches (10 experts who are 
children or youth coaches at the 
Specialised Sports School of the Olympic 
Reserve), who evaluated  gymnasts’ 
performances. Then we calculated the 
degree of agreement among their opinions. 
The experts evaluated the quality of 
gymnasts' competitive program 
performances, giving marks to each 
gymnast from 0 to 10 points, with a step of 
0.5 points for each composition. It was 
necessary to determine the degree of 
agreement of expert opinions on the 
criteria of artistry for each composition. In 
our study, the Kendall coefficient of 
concordance was used to process the 
experts’ results and their consistency. It is 
a certain number from 0 to 1 that 
characterizes the degree of consistency of 
expert opinions (in the form of ranks) 
according to a set of criteria. The 
concordance coefficient range is 0 <W <1, 

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with 0 for complete inconsistency and 1 
for complete unanimity.  
Empirical data were processed with 
generally accepted methods of 
mathematical statistics: average value, 
average error, average quadratic deviation, 
Student's criterion, coefficient of 
concordance. 
The study was conducted at the 
Higher Educational Institution of 
Specialized Children and Adolescents 
Sports School of the Olympic Reserve for 
Rhythmic Gymnastics, Children's Sports 
School of Dnipro in the period from 
September 2018 to November 2019. The 
study involved 20 gymnasts aged 7-8 
years, who had been engaged in rhythmic 
gymnastics for 2-3 years and had category 
2 qualification. The athletes were divided 
into a control group (n = 10) and an 
experimental group (n = 10). Classes were 
held 5 times a week for 90 minutes. The 
research methods were in accordance with 
the ethical standards of the Helsinki 
Declaration. Before and after the 
experiment, we conducted control tests 
with gymnasts to assess their progress in 
the development of artistic abilities. 
 
 
Table 1 
Criteria for scoring artistry (Viner-Usmanova I.A.). 
 
№ Criteria Score in points 
1 Complete expression of the image corresponding to the 
nature of the given musical composition
9.5-10.0 
2 Expression of the image for most of the dance 8.5-9.0 
Facial expressions partially do not correspond to the 
image set by the nature of the music
7,5-8,0 
Stiffness in some movements 6.5-7.0 
3 Episodic expression of the image while performing the 
dance 
5.5-6.0 
Unnatural facial expressions in several parts of the dance 
so that the artistic image is distorted
4.5-5.0 
Stiffness of movement in several parts of the dance 3.5-4.0 
4 Stiffness of body movements when recreating an image in 
accordance with the nature of the musical composition
2.5-3.0 
Facial expressions do not correspond to the image of the 
given musical composition 
1.5-2.0 
Movement partially or completely fails to corresponds to 
the given character of the music
0.5-1.0 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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40%
50%
10%
5‐6 years
7‐8 years
9‐10 years
 
 
Figure 1. Answers to the question “From what age do you think it is necessary to train 
gymnasts to perform the composition expressively?” 
 
 
Figure 2. The distribution of gymnasts in the control and the experimental group according to 
the level of artistic abilities at the initial stage of the study. Notes: 1 - low level, 2 - medium 
level, 3 – upper medium level, 4 – high level. 
 
Table 2 
Methods to develop artistic abilities in young female gymnasts. 
 
Training class Control group Experimental group
Before the class - facial gymnastics 
Choreography + +
Main part + +
Exercises for general and 
special physical training 
+ + plus an outdoor action-
oriented game according to the 
schedule
Final part 
 
+ + plus a music game according 
to the schedule 
Note.  +  is the fulfillment of tasks in accordance with the schedule of sports training for preliminary basic 
training.  
 

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Figure 3. Distribution of female gymnasts in the control and the experimental group 
according to the level of development of artistic abilities after the pedagogical experiment. 
Notes: 1 - low level, 2 - medium level, 3 – upper medium level, 4 – high level. 
 
 
RESULTS 
 
In the first stage, interviews were 
conducted with specialists who had 
practical experience with basic training. 
The survey helped to determine the 
relevance of the research, potential 
problems and ways to solve them. 10 
coaches, teachers of rhythmic gymnastics, 
were included in the survey. The 
questionnaire was used to obtain the 
following information: 1) to identify their 
level of education and work experience, 
and determining their main goals in each 
stage of the preparation; 2) to identify the 
optimal means and methods for the 
development of artistic abilities in 
gymnasts. 
First of all, we identified the 
professional level of coaches: 6 coaches 
were first category coaches which means 
that they had experience with athletes 
participating in the national championships 
and above; and 4 coaches were second 
category, i.e., they had experience in 
training athletes participating in regional 
championships. Most of them (90%) had 
direct experience working with 7-8-year-
old female gymnasts. Most of them (60%) 
had trained gymnasts for more than 20 
years. 
When determining the optimal means 
and methods for developing artistic 
abilities in female gymnasts, the opinions  
 
 
 
diverged on the question: “From what age 
do you think it is necessary to train 
gymnasts to perform the composition 
expressively?” 50% said that from the age 
of 5-6, 40% of coaches believed that these 
skills should be developed from the age of 
7 - 8 and only 10% from the age of 9-10 
(Figure 1). The information obtained will 
be helpful in devising a method for the 
development of artistry in both 5-6 year-
old girls as well as those over the age of 10 
in the future.  
An article by Eliana de Toledo and 
Kizzy Antualpa clearly shows that there is 
a tendency toward a greater role of the 
aesthetic component. The aesthetic 
principle of rhythmic gymnastics in 
competition rules is considered not only an 
additional element, but also a basic 
element of the discipline’s structure that 
directly affects the sports results. Sport 
technique and its improvements contribute 
greatly to the realisation of the aesthetic 
program. 
It brings rhythmic gymnastics back to 
the origins of this sport. Unfortunately, 
from the very beginning, the training 
system promoted mastering the technical 
elements with less emphasis on the 
aesthetic component. It is thus necessary to 
pay attention to this component when 
training gymnasts aged 7-8 in order to 

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further correct the imbalance between the 
technical and the aesthetic components. 
Unambiguously, respondents believed 
that it was necessary to use improvisation 
to develop artistry, but their opinions 
differed on how much time should be spent 
on it. 60% believed that 5-7 minutes in 
each class is enough time to teach the 
expressiveness of the exercise, 30% 
thought that it was necessary to devote at 
least 10-20 minutes, and only 10% 
believed that the whole class should be 
dedicated to this.  
The question of how to develop 
artistry was open-ended. The respondents 
listed their own means that they used to 
develop artistry in athletes: improvisation, 
outdoor games, listening and discussing 
musical compositions, visiting opera and a 
ballet theatre. 
On the basis of our survey, we 
concluded that the development of artistic 
abilities needs to be paid a lot of attention 
and that special sets of exercises, games, 
improvisations and other means should be 
used. 
In rhythmic gymnastics, artistry is 
characterized as a meaningfully expedient 
and emotionally rich performance of 
competitive compositions and the ability of 
female gymnasts to perform gymnastic 
exercises in this way. All indicators of 
artistic abilities, that is, expressing the 
image in a large part of the exercise; the 
correspondence of facial expressions and 
movements to the image and the given 
character of the music, were evaluated 
while female athletes performed an 
arbitrary competitive composition without 
an object. Compositions were evaluated by 
judges. The control and the experimental 
group were compared at the beginning and 
at the end of this experiment. The 
reliability of differences in the results was 
evaluated using Student’s t-test. The 
control group followed the standard 
program for sports schools for rhythmic 
gymnastics and the experimental group 
followed the program for sports schools for 
rhythmic gymnastics with the addition of 
the newly developed methodology. 
We found that gymnasts from both 
groups displayed their emotions in order to 
attract the attention of spectators and 
judges. The judges, however, saw such 
performances as primitively artistic and 
made large deductions from 3.0 to 6.0 
points accordingly. A partial mismatch in 
the mimic, inability to maintain the given 
rhythm and the nature of music as well as 
insufficient number of correct body 
movements to express the music of the 
composition were also considered as 
deficiencies in their performances (Fig. 2). 
In the initial stage of the study, not all 
gymnasts in the control and the 
experimental group were able to perform 
the prescribed composition at a fairly high 
level. The average score in both groups 
ranged from 6.6 ± 0.056 to 6.85 ± 0.06. 
Such a fitness level will not be sufficient to 
perform at a higher-level competitions in 
the future. Therefore, it is necessary to 
develop a methodology to develop artistic 
abilities in these young girls. 
Thus, in order to improve the artistry 
in the experimental group, we developed 
our own methods for teaching artistic 
abilities. The methods were introduced in 
the training process according to the 
schedule below (Table 2). 
The schedule was devised on the basis 
of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Program for 
Children and Adolescents Sports School. 
Our methods for the development of 
artistic abilities dictated the use of facial 
gymnastics before choreography lessons 
and mobile and music games in the final 
part of each lesson. Thus, each training 
session (120 min.) began with mimic 
gymnastics that led to the activation of 
facial muscles. Coaches were given mimic 
gymnastics exercises to teach since they 
develop not only the facial muscles but 
also teach athletes how to appropriately 
express their emotions. All variations in 
the movements of arms, legs, head, eyes 
and even eyebrows characterize nine basic 
moods that a female gymnast should be 

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able to skilfully express by means of facial 
expressions. These nine moods include 
love, joy, sadness, heroism, anger, 
surprise, fear, disgust and calmness. 
Our study used several sets of 
exercises, such as a set of exercises for the 
development of facial muscles (lower jaw 
movement from side to side; forward, back 
and slow down; inflate the cheeks, first one 
then the other; eyebrow movements up and 
down, and other exercises) and a set of 
exercises called "Masks". This exercise 
requires that athletes depict masks 
expressing joy, fear, delight and other 
emotions. During one musical phrase, they 
hold the mask, during the next they rest. 
Gradually the rate of occurrence and 
disappearance of masks increases. The 
ultimate goal is a quick transition from one 
mask to another. 
Mimic gymnastics was performed 
before each training class and was 
followed by a lesson in choreography in 
accordance with the lesson plan. 
 Next, young athletes performed tasks 
that were part of their special technical 
training and solved problems set for each 
specific training session. In the final part, 
the young gymnasts engaged in outdoor 
games, music games and exercises for 
recovery and flexibility . They understood 
the reasons for most of the musical and 
motor exercises, that is, that they 
increased, refined and deepened their 
perceptions of music. Also, the gymnasts 
were asked to communicate with gestures, 
imagining that they were separated from 
each other by glass through which sounds 
could not penetrate. For example, they 
were offered a sentence: “You have 
forgotten to put on a hat, and it’s very cold 
outside,” or “Bring me a glass of water, I 
want to drink,” or the gymnast herself 
invented her own message for the others. 
A t t h e e n d o f o u r e x p e r i m e n t , w e 
a d j u s t e d t h e i n d i c a t o r s o f f e m a l e 
gymnasts’ artistic abilities. The results of 
show positive changes in these indicators 
(Fig. 3). 
In the experimental group at the 
beginning of our study, artistic abilities of 
our gymnasts were rated 6.66 ± 0.05 
points, and at the end of the study 7.88 ± 
0.20. In the control group, however, there 
was no significant increase: in the first 
stage of the study, the indicator was 6.85 ± 
0.06, and in the second stage 7.40 ± 0.07 
points. The improvement rate in the 
artistry of the experimental group was 
18.4%, and of the control group only 8%, 
which is significantly lower (p <0.01). In 
the control group, there is some natural 
increase, though, due to the regular 
choreographic training. 
Comparing the average indicators of 
artistry in the studied groups before and 
after our pedagogical experiment, we 
found that artistic abilities of female 
gymnasts in the experimental group, where 
the newly developed methodology for 
developing artistic abilities in young 
gymnasts was introduced, is effective and 
can be used in the educational process of 
7-8-year-old female gymnasts. 
We observed a competition before and 
after the experiment. We analysed the E1 
and E2 team grades that reflect the artistry 
in competitive compositions. It was 
determined that before the experiment, the 
reductions for artistry in the control group 
were 3.2 ± 0.42 points, and in the 
experimental group 3.4 ± 0.37 points. 
After the experiment, the reductions in 
the control and the experimental group 
decreased to the level of 3.0 ± 0.38 points 
and 2.1 ± 0.19 points respectively. This 
helped the female gymnasts in the 
experimental group to perform better at the 
Ukrainian competition in rhythmic 
gymnastics “Kroha” in Nikopol and 
become the champions and the prize 
winners. 
Thus, the introduction of facial 
exercises, music games and special sets of 
exercises positively affected the 
development of artistic abilities and can be 
recommended for implementation in the 
educational process of training children 
and adolescents in rhythmic gymnastics. 

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DISCUSSION 
 
In many aesthetic sports, the artistic 
component of athletes' performances is 
evaluated. Studies by Maja Bučar Pajek, 
Marjeta Kovač, Jernej Pajek and Bojan 
Leskošek, 2014, showed that in women's 
gymnastics, artistry is evaluated on the 
basis of such components as inappropriate 
gesture and facial expressions, insufficient 
artistry of performance, low confidence 
and insufficient variation in rhythm. 
Reductions range from 0.1 to 0.3 points, 
and the final artistic deduction is included 
in the final grade E. Thus, to create the 
required impression, coaches need to move 
away from their personal concept of beauty 
and follow the definition in the Code of 
Points or study the main components of 
beauty, which have a long tradition in the 
arts. For this purpose, our methodology 
provides choreographic exercises and 
musical games.  
At the time of the birth of rhythmic 
gymnastics, French teacher Francois 
Delsarte developed a doctrine latter called 
Delsarte System of Expression. He devoted 
his life to discovering the laws that govern 
the human body movement when it 
expresses a particular feeling. He can be 
called the founder of the science of body 
expressiveness. F. Delsarte declared: “Art 
is the knowledge of those external methods 
by which life, soul and mind are revealed 
to a man — the ability to control them and 
freely guide them. Art is finding a sign 
corresponding to the essence.” (S. 
Volkonsky, 2012). Facial gymnastics used 
in our technique, aims precisely to do this, 
that is, help gymnasts learn how to control 
their face. 
A spectator accurately reads the 
energy, the purity of the lines and the 
emotional performance of a female 
gymnast. This was proved in scientific 
research by I. Čuk, 2015, which found that 
despite the fact that each spectator had 
their own criteria, points increased or 
decreased in accordance with the quality of 
gymnasts' performances. The experiment 
with the audience as a judge showed 
sufficient reliability of such refereeing and 
its compliance with the results of official 
judges. It once again confirms that artistry, 
comprehensibility and conformity of 
actions are an important component of 
gymnast’s performance, and that this 
component must be developed from the 
initial stage of training female athletes. 
Exercises for facial expressions that are 
trained using mimic gymnastics and 
narrative outdoor games, help gymnasts 
form the appropriate expressive 
representations.  
Music, and therefore its interpretation 
by a female gymnast, is a very important 
element in the gymnast’s performance 
(FIG, 2016). At the same time, strict 
harmony between the character and rhythm 
of the music, the nature of the exercise and 
its movements is necessary. By displaying 
this harmony with their body language, the 
athletes convey their thoughts and feelings 
to the audience (Eliana Toledo, Mateus 
Oliveira, Maria Letícia Scarabelim, Bianca 
Assumpção, 2018). Music is so important 
in the composition that changes associated 
with it in the rules of the competition occur 
every four years at the end of each 
Olympic cycle and make significant 
changes to the discipline. Therefore, 
during the training period, it is necessary to 
teach young athletes to hear and feel 
music. They need to know the basics of 
musical literacy (Viner-Usmanova, I.A., 
2014). Our methodology uses musical and 
outdoor games to achieve this. 
In her research, Rumba O., 2006, 
2013, proved that certain aesthetic 
requirements are imposed on athletes in 
rhythmic gymnastics, namely, the culture 
of movement, musicality, expressiveness 
and artistry of performance. The author 
proved the effectiveness of choreographic 
training to improve performing skills and 
increasing the “aesthetic” component. That 
is why our methods included a full lesson 
in choreography, and each lesson 
corresponded to the tasks that were set. 

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Thus, the developed methodology 
includes the most effective mechanisms to 
date for the development of artistic 
abilities of 7-8-year-old female gymnasts 
and can be used in any training program 
for female gymnasts. 
 
CONCLUSIONS 
 
Our analysis of the scientific and 
methodological literature shows that there 
is a need to intensify research on how to 
further develop the aesthetic component in 
the training of female athletes in rhythmic 
gymnastics. 
 On the basis of our questionnaire, it 
was determined that it is necessary to pay a 
lot of attention to the artistic abilities of 
female gymnasts starting from age 7-8, and 
using specific clusters of exercises, games 
and improvisation. 
The introduction of these methods in 
the educational and training process of the 
experimental group helped gymnasts gain 
additional 1.3 ± 0.12 (p <0.05) points for 
their competitive composition. Moreover, 
the improvement rate in the artistry in the 
experimental group was 18.4%, and in the 
control group only 8% (p <0.05). 
 
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Corresponding author: 
 
Giurka Gantcheva 
National Sports Academy Vassil Levski – 
Gymnastics 
Academ. Stefan Mladenov str. 21 
Sofia 1700 
Bulgaria 
Tel +35988811106 
Email: giurka@abv.bg 
 
Article received: 22.5.2020 
Article accepted: 26.10.2020 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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