Essay on Athletic Benefits of Dance

Dance began as a form of communication and storytelling. Thousands of years ago dancing served as a way for people to tell a story and helped distract themselves of the hardships they faced. Furthermore, dance was a form of storytelling through communication, which then turned into using storytelling through dance as entertainment. According to the History World, many dancers during the BC time danced in front of only a few people to get a story across. That later turned into hundreds of thousands of people as dance was used by many. Today, dance is also a form of entertainment and storytelling, but in a modern sense. However, today perfection and technique are stressed more than they were in the past. Yet, the passion for dance has not changed. Many dancers who share this passion also have many of the same qualities. Among a discourse community of trained dancers, one expects to find individuals who are healthy and active athletes, expect perfection from themselves through competition, and religiously attend dance performances.

Dance is one of the major things that defines my identity and it is an interest that had become so meaningful, that without it my application would be incomplete. This has been able to shape me throughout the years, from discipline and maturity all the way yo leadership and teamwork. I find dance as an art work, that it is easy to make mistakes and fall, you just have to learn from those mistakes and get up twice as strong as from where you started. Dance is to look above and beyond and just let everything fall into place without hesitation.

From kindergarten until high school, I was a member of the Jean Wolfmeyer School of Dance. Up to 5 days per week, I would be at the dance studio taking classes, rehearsing for shows, and helping out in the less advanced classes. Regardless of skill level, Jean never hesitated to speak the brutally honest truth about students’ performances and she never settled for anything less than perfection. Jean would often preach that she is only the instruction manual and she cannot make us good dancers, we had to do that for ourselves. However, it was not her critique or teaching alone that motivated dancers to perform well, it was her relentless work ethic and commitment to her studio. As a 70 year-old women, Jean held classes as much as 7 days per

Dance is a unique sport because it combines the grit and sweat of sporting events, such as track and field, with the style and extravagance of a fashion show (D.Fowler, 2000).

Dance demands the same physical skills that are required in other sports. Flexibility, strength, and endurance are key characteristics that most dancers need to posses. As with other “athletes,” most dancers are not born with these abilities but must establish them through practice and repetitive training. Similar to traditional sports practices, dance rehearsals are extensive and require diligence, dedication, and patience from the dancers as they will have to repeat exercises and stretches to perfect their technique and stay on

a) Many ask, “How can dance be a sport? You can't judge on time and the scoring is subjective!” Just like figure skaters, competitive dancers are judged on many criteria: technique, posture, timing, line, hold, poise, togetherness, expression, presentation, power, and foot or leg action. Dancers have a lot on their minds while performing. They are constantly asking themselves, am I extending correctly? Is my technique right? Is my head facing the right direction?

Being committed to competitive dance for 15 years has immensely impacted my life, as I have not only progressed technically and performance-wise, but I have been given numerous opportunities for self growth and development. Dancing has shaped me into a well-rounded, confident individual who is able to prioritize responsibilities, cooperate and collaborate with others, and exhibit strong leadership skills. Involvement in any extra curricular can aid one in developing a true passion, and through dance, I have been fortunate to find my passion.

Some may argue that dance is an art and not a sport. Yet, it has the same characteristics as a sport does.

Have you ever heard dance talked about on the big sports channels announcing that a team won the regionals competition, or that they are advancing to Nationals? No, because many do not think about the competitive aspect of dance, they only think about the stereotypical ballerinas. Usually the only accounts of dance that people witness is at halftime during a game. Dance does not have a weekly event scheduled for it like soccer, basketball, or other high school or college sports teams, which is another reason why many don't see it as a sport. The only events that dance has is big competitions that usually happen on the weekends. In dance, you can compete against large groups, duets, or even soloist. They also do not think about the time and hard work that is put into the sport. Dance requires strength, endurance, and coordination. It takes a lot of practice to be a strong dancer, just as it would in any other

Dance is one of the most beautiful, expressive forms of art known to mankind. It expresses joy, love, sorrow, anger, and the list truly goes on for all the possible emotions that it can convey. Dance not only can express how one feels, but it can tell a story or even be used to praise a higher power. Dance has intricately played an important role to every culture over the course of time. Two forms of dance that have not only stood against the test of time but have influenced the development of other various styles of dance is none other than Classical Ballet and Modern Dance.

Ever wondered what it would be like to leap through life, twirl right through, as if the world has completely stopped around you? To be able to pause everything in a silence that allows you to hear your own heartbeat? The silence on stage as you perform is a sense of peace within your inner body that is being channeled through a movement of effortless motion. In European history, dance was considered to be a way of celebration for many cultures. Although it was said that dance did require physical agility, dancers were never considered athletes because the movement was not taken seriously. Dance did not become popular in a more skillful way until later on. The debate of dance as a sport is very

The benefits of dancing as a physical exercise are well researched, widely understood, and as a fitness, mobility and weight management tool, it is a multi-million dollar industry. Less studied and acknowledged are the benefits on our mental functioning, self-awareness, psychological well-being, self-confidence, self-expressions, concentration, social skills, etc.

What is dance? Dance is defined as lively movement using one’s body with or without music. Dancing means to feel someone existence to feel vitality, joy, and most importantly to feel alive. Anyone can define dancing as whatever they would like, but how is dance useful to our lives? Whether you are a ballerina from birth or if you are newly introduced to the art of dance, everyone can dance some way, shape, or form. Dance therapy provides psychological and physical benefits. It helps connect body and mind as one giving support to become rooted and balanced. In order to be centered and grounded while moving your body, a dancer must be in tuned with the center of gravity in relation to the earth. Dance therapy is also a great way for people

It makes you work harder and go above and beyond giving one-hundred and ten percent every single class, so when you dance in front of the judges they will only have positive feedback to give. At the age of seven, I was just a little girl when I was asked to join my studios dance competition team. Not knowing what this team was all about at such a young age, I accepted the challenge to join such a strong team, who ended up becoming family, made of all ages that the only thing that connected us together is our love for dance. With all of the nights where I just wanted to break down and quit the team, I realized that I would not be letting myself down, but the others around me. The reasons I kept on dancing through all those rough patches in my life is because I was taught from my teachers that if you give up on yourself and just not give the amount of energy you once did before you are damaging your teammates. Realizing that throughout life you will always have to work with someone or for someone you might disagree with. But when you feel like giving up, you give up on that person as well, leaving them abandoned. Leaving someone high and dry is not what a person should do in life because you would never want to

First, dancing is one of my favorites hobbies. For centuries, dance manuals and other writings have lauded the health benefits of dancing, usually as physical exercise. We've