The term “sport” has varying definitions. The Oxford Dictionary describes the word as “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.” Based on this definition, dance should be considered a sport. Let’s break down this definition piece by piece.
Dancers put an extreme amount of pressure on their bodies which can sometimes lead to exhaustion and injury just like any other physical activity. The most common dance injuries are hip, foot, ankle and knee injuries in addition to stress fractures and the possibility of arthritis, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Although injury usually stems from overuse of joints and muscles, this emphasizes just how much time dancers spend training.
A professional dancer can spend about seven hours a day, six days a week dancing, according to Channel 4 News. A college dance team preparing for Nationals, such as St John’s University Dance Team, practices several hours a day on top of schoolwork and other performances for athletic teams. Dancers need extensive training because of skills the sport requires—they need to cultivate strength, flexibility, balance and stamina.
A regular dance routine averages between two and 10 minutes of nonstop movements depending on the song or how the music is cut. These times aren’t a hard and fast rule, and many times there are many dances within a concert or competition. Even though they usually are shorter bursts of stamina, the effort put into dance is often equivalent to sprinting over a short distance.
Dance can also be an extremely competitive sport. Many studios allow dancers to compete in groups or solo acts from a young age and require extensive training. What some don’t always understand is that just because not every dancer competes, it doesn’t mean that dance can’t still be a competitive sport. Any performer develops the same skill set and undergoes the same rigorous training as a competitive dancer would.
Recently, breaking was added to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, according to NBC Sports. Breaking is a popular style of dance that’s usually a freestyle involving lots of footwork and great acrobatic techniques like head spins. NBC Sports also explains that the World DanceSport Federation is recognized by the International Olympic Committee.
There is also competitive dance at the collegiate level. The Universal Dance Association sponsors the National Dance Team Championship for the best teams all over the world to compete. While most of these dance teams perform at other athletic events, they also prepare to compete every winter in Florida to be aired on Varsity TV.
Many TV shows also showcase dance’s athleticism and fun spirit. Most notably, “World of Dance” allows individuals and teams to compete for prize money and the title, performing death-defying stunts and nailing their own style. “So You Think You Can Dance” boasts a cash prize and a role in an upcoming performance for the winning dancer.
Overall, these shows highlight one of the reasons why dance is not always thought about as a sport. The biggest argument against dance being a sport is that dance is an art form meant solely to entertain.
Some dancers perform in front of audiences to tell stories, inspire people and create change just like other artists do. The Lamron even includes dance performances in Arts and Entertainment instead of Sports, however, Geneseo doesn’t have a competitive dance team on campus.
Although dancers are artists, that does not negate the incredible athleticism required to be a competitive dancer or a performer. There may be very different ideas and values that separate art from a sport, but they still overlap.
Watching a dance performance or a dance competition is still entertainment, while dance can be a sport or an art form depending on the dancer, that doesn’t mean that dance can only be classified as one or the other.