Some think of dancing as merely an art form and not something as physically demanding as a sport.
As someone who’s dedicated thousands of hours to dancing, I can safely say it is just as demanding and strenuous as any other sport. Nevertheless, the perception that it requires less effort than a typical sport has led many to believe that it is lesser than athletics.
For example, Carlmont’s dance team is listed under the arts category, and those who participate in it do not receive sports credits, unlike other team sports.
However, dancers have many capabilities and qualities that rival professional athletes.Â
Physical and mental fortitude is often underestimated in a dancer. Many professional dancers train from six to eight hours per day, comparable to the training of a professional athlete.
This training consists of intense conditioning, technique training, and specific exercises that hone their flexibility and strength to their full potential. These activities take as much energy and strength as some professional sports.
Like athletes in other sports, dancers also start training from a very young age, sometimes taking their first class at two years old. Learning how to dance requires a significant amount of time and effort as the techniques and experience you need cannot be picked up within a year or even a few years.
People also see dancing as less competitive than other sports as the performance aspect is highly emphasized, but this is not the case. There are hundreds of dance competitions worldwide, one of which is the Youth American Grand Prix, which attracts over 12,000 dancers worldwide and is held annually in 28 different regions. The performers there compete for scholarships and contracts to renowned companies and schools, similar to how athletes are scouted in other sports to join teams.
Some may argue that the judging of dance is too subjective and the judge’s opinions weigh too heavily on the final score, but that also does not make dance an invalid sport.
In fact, many other sports have similar performance qualities to dance. In the Olympics alone, gymnastics and figure skating are both considered sports, each consisting of a dance-like performance to music, either on ice or a floor with a routine. Judges also score these sports.
The scoring criteria for dance competitions are extremely similar to figure skating. They both have a “performance” and “interpretation of music” category in their scoring system, where the judges look for the performer’s quality of movement in regards to the music.
Additionally, they also have a “technique” section, where performers are judged on their accuracy in their routine and precision in their movements.Â
For example, if a dancer stumbles in their turn or their feet are not pointed properly, they would get marked down, no matter how moving or outstanding their emotional performance was.
This gives the audience and judges a measurable and objective standpoint towards dance competition results, similar to figure skating.
It’s time to start taking dance seriously as a physically demanding activity. It is time to treat dancers with respect. The first thing that must be done to accomplish this is to consider dance as a sport.
