DDance is known as an artistic element to express emotions. The long reigning argument of if dance is a sport always starts controversy.
The two columnists, Anniston Miller and Savannah Williams, debate if dance is a sport. Miller is arguing against dance as a sport, while Williams is arguing in favor of dance being a sport.
Dance is Decorative
By Anniston Miller
Dance has been widely known as an artistic way of expressing one’s emotions. According to the Dictionary, 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.” This definition could be argued to include dance, but in most cases, it’s extremely challenging to become a competitive dancer and verse other dance teams, ruling out the “competitive nature” in a sport.
Also, the scoring for dance versus other sports is super different. Yes, in both areas you win with the highest score, but for sports, you start at 0 points and have to score goals, while in dance, they deduct points from 100.
Many dancers have actually claimed that dance is not a sport. According to Alice Conry, “I’ve grown to feel that dance shouldn’t be considered a sport… I think dance should be considered an art before anything else.” This shows that dance is not known for its athleticism or exercise, but as a way to paint a picture and show a story.
Art is known as a way to show feelings and spill all your thoughts onto a canvas, or in this case, a stage. For example, the dance “Swan Lake”. This show is made to say that love, trust, betrayal, and identity are all timeless. This form of art allows one to tell a story without speaking.
In conclusion, dance is not a sport, but rather a form of art.
Dance Doesn’t Just Require Artistry, But Also Athleticism.
By Savannah Williams
People have many opinions about dance, and often people express those opinions by saying dance isn’t a sport. According to Rosemary Cabanban, “In elementary school, when people asked me what sports I play and I told them that I danced, they looked a bit puzzled. Apparently, my response was inadequate. As I have been told many times since then: Dance is not a sport”.
Dance is known for a way for people to express themselves in any way, shape, or form. But athleticism is also required to execute these feelings in dancing well. This athleticism element is used as much as you think. Often dancers do turns, and tricks included in their dance routine to make it more elevated. Without any strength, it is quite hard to execute these tricks into a routine. Strength plays a huge role in being athletic; football players lift to become stronger to benefit their performance in their sport. This not only applies to football or any other known sport but also dance.
Strength isn’t the only requirement in dance, but stamina is also an important element. It is known that dancers create and perform routines. These routines are usually between 2:45-4:30 minutes long, as stated by Squirrel Trench Audio. More often than not, dancers don’t get a break, but rather they dance for the whole time. Dance drains stamina quickly with all of the movement in the body and impressive tricks incorporated into the routines. This is very similar to other practices people describe as sports such as basketball, softball, football, soccer, and many other sports as well.
To continue, dance is very competitive. These dance routines are often entered into dance competitions, where dancers compete to win awards such as trophies and titles. In order to win it’s not just about how skilled you are, but also how much competitive nature dancers have. Sometimes this applies pressure to a dancer, but it’s also based on how well they can manage this. Pressure, though, is something that happens in every other sport as well.
Overall, dance is largely similar to other sports more than you think. Dance also fits the definition of a “sport” as it requires many elements of athleticism such as strength, stamina, and competitiveness.
