Throughout all my years of dancing... this has always been a debate that I have gotten into...
Is dancing a sport or not?
First of all, lets define sport. According to dictionary.com, a sport is "an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc."
My opinion is based on a certain kind of dancing. I am talking about Ballet, jazz, and modern. The kind of dancing that you have to do almost every day of the week to stay in shape. The kind of dancing that professionals do and are able to live off of. I think that this kind of dancing is a sport, not just an artistic activity. Now, before you freak out, listen to my reasons...
1. Dancing is one of the most hardcore activities out there. I saw this quote on a bumper sticker once, and it describes exactly what I mean, "If dancing were any easier, it would be called football." People always seem to underestimate how much work goes in to being a dancer and how admirable it really is. Dancers have to keep in shape all the time, and they work muscles that most of the other sports have never heard of. So, the "physical prowess," as it says in the definition is definitely there.
2. According to the definition, a sport also has to have a certain amount of skill. Dancing definitely requires that as well. In order to be successful, dancers must have a certain level of skill and they had to have gone through a certain level of training, so skill is a given for dancers.
3. The third qualification is that a sport is usually somewhat competitive. Dancing can be competitive in two ways. One being that there is a lot of competition inside of the companies between the dancers. Dancers can be ruthless when they want to. Also, there is competition dancing, where you can take dances and perform against others to try and win. So, it's not like there is no competition in dancing.
So, according to the definition on Dictionary.com, dancing is a sport. Most people just think of it as an art, but I think it can go in both categories. It is beautiful to watch and physically strenuous at the same time!!! But yeah, it's definitely a sport.
Blog Post #11 - One More to Go!
7 years ago
Hah, im so glad you wrote about this. I personally dont consider dance to be a sport because its an art form, but obviously its harder than most sports. I have two reasons.
ReplyDeleteThe first reason i think it isnt a sport is because in sports your allowed to show your sweat, aches, and pains. Whereas in dance, no one cares if your'e dancing pointe on a broken toe, you still have to make it look effortless and easy. the audience shouldnt be able to tell that your exhausted and sore and that your feet are bleeding. I have never seen a soccer player try to conceal an injury, but we have to do it all the time (and smile the whole time too).
My number 2 reason is that dance is expressive-- it can tell a story, portray an emotion, or evoke an emotion from the audience. It can also make a point. While sports can evoke excited or disappointed emotions from the onlookers, they cannot make a point, cannot tell a story, and cannot portray an emotion. I personally dont think we have to consider dancing to be a sport because all dancers know how hard it is, we dont need to call it a sport to understand the determination, dedication, and strenuous work that goes into it.
ReplyDeleteI know how intense dancing is (considering that I do it myself), so I consider it a sport. However, with your logic, you cannot help but agree that competetive lumberjacking is a sport as well. It makes me giggle when I find it on ESPN2.
ReplyDelete