Is Dance a Sport?

What makes a sport? Is it the amount of skill, the talent, or the element of competition? Many people tend not to classify dance as a real sport because they don't see that it has these characteristics. I believe that dance should be seen as a sport, even if others might not agree.

People who dance are constantly training their muscles to control their bodies. If they don't have the proper training or stretch the right muscles correctly, it will be a great deal harder for them to have control, which could lead to serious injuries. Dancers dedicate the majority of their time to practice, just like any other sport would. On average, a dancer usually trains for three to eight hours a day, depending on what style they are working on. This is very similar to how often a football or soccer player would train for a game, so why is it that dance isn't considered a sport when people who participate in it go through the same amount of time and dedication as others?

Some people also do not tend to consider dance a sport because it's a female-dominated form of art expression. The argument that there is no direct competition between two or more teams is not reliable as competitive dance exists: competitive dance is when multiple dance teams from different studios compete against each other. So, despite dance having similar training hours and being able to compete just like any other sport, a lot of people still do not consider it as a sport.

To all of the people in the performance arts industry, just because someone tells you that what you do isn't an “actual” sport, you shouldn't take it to heart. You have the passion, and you work just as hard as anyone else would.

Photo Courtesy of Babe Saba on Pexels.