Oldest dancer in the history of the Joinville Festival shines on stage At 98 years old, Dona Maura Baccaro won over the audience when she took to the stage at the 43rd edition of the Joinville Dance Festival (SC), considered the biggest event of its kind in the world. Recognized by the organization as the oldest dancer to compete in the festival's history, she transformed the performance into a moment of inspiration. A member of the group 'Jovens de Coração', from São José dos Campos (SP), the dancer came to the state to compete in a category aimed at seniors. The tap dance performance guaranteed the team 1st place in the Free Choreographic Dance modality, subgenre 60+ at the 40+ Festival on Wednesday (22). "Step by step I got to where I am. Step by step, and I consider myself very happy," he said. ?Click and follow the g1 SC channel on WhatsApp Oldest dancer competing at the Joinville festival Disclosure ? Recognized by the Guinness Book as the largest in the world, the Joinville festival impresses with its grandeur and diversity of styles. This year's edition should receive more than 400 thousand spectators throughout the program and had 16 thousand registrants from different parts of the world. The event began on Monday (20) and will continue until August 1, with a program that includes the Competitive Exhibition, gala night, open stages, fair, in addition to the 40+ festival, with space for adult dancers and groups made up of participants over 40 and 60 years old. Image shows presentation by the group 'Jovens de Coração', winner of one of the categories at the 40+ Festival Disclosure Dancer has been part of the group for 3 years Dona Maura approached the group from São Paulo after attending a performance and receiving an invitation from choreographer Aline Carneiro, 3 years ago, when the dancer was 95 years old. Since then, she hasn't stopped dancing: “She [choreographer] told me, 'your place isn't here, it's up there on the stage'. Then I started acquiring that taste and it grew,” she says. VIDEOS: most watched g1 SC in the last 7 days