When you think of an athlete, usually you would think of sports such as football, soccer, baseball or basketball. However, athletes can come in many different forms outside of these stereotypical sports. The argument of whether dance is considered a sport or not has been going on for many years but it is clear that dance is and should be considered a sport.
Many people are passionate in saying that dance is just a “hobby” or an “art form,” not considering that the same amount of dedication and skill, which is needed in other sports, is also required. While dance is an art form, there is a physical aspect of dance that must be taken into consideration which makes it a sport.
PHYSICAL: In the majority of sports, athletes strive towards building muscular strength and endurance. Muscular strength tends to be overlooked as a necessity for dance since it is often believed that being able to be flexible is the only expectation, which is not true. While having muscular strength is crucial to dance, in order to succeed they are also required to have looser muscles. This is so that they are able to move their bodies in specific ways and be flexible enough to do the given choreography to the best of their ability. Dance is both physically and mentally demanding. Like athletes, dancers are required to train for long hours to develop the physical attributes. Similarly, specifically competitive dance demands a high level of physical conditioning which further builds and maintains cardiovascular endurance. This endurance is important for things like lifts, sharper/stronger movements, and the ability to dance the routine with high level energy.
MENTAL: When dancers are younger, it is often emphasized that one small mistake decreases any chance of winning the competition; ultimately becoming mentally exhausting and leaving a lot of pressure on dancers, making dance not only difficult physically but also mentally a sport. People often tend to underestimate that dance with the same amount of effort and energy as other sports. Often starting at a young age, dancers train for long hours to develop the needed strength, endurance, and flexibility. In order to achieve these skills, discipline and consistency is extremely important. Dance revolves around the memorization of complex routines and movements while staying focused. Rather than making a decision in the moment in the middle of a game, dancers are required to spend hours memorizing and perfecting routines to perform. It takes time to perfect and memorize each of the dances, often causing dancers to spend hours in the studio. This requires a high level of concentration to be able stay on task while rehearsing or performing. Therefore, the mental aspects of dance like the discipline, focus, memory, and emotional expression make dance a sport.
Dancers push through hundreds of hours of rehearsals to perform and show off what they work so hard at. The world needs to acknowledge that dancers work just as hard as other athletes and deserve to be taken seriously.
