Persuasive Essay: Why Dance Is A Sport

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.

“ And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” said by Friedrich Nietzsche. Although many will argue that competitive dancing should be considered an art over a sport, I have a different opinion. Though I do believe that dancing has many qualities that would consider it an art, I still believe that there are even more qualities that should make it considered a sport. Keep in mind that i'm talking about competitive dance, not just a couple classes throughout the week. Competitive dancers go to competitions with a judging system that ensures objectivity, fairness, and transparency. Dancers also require good stamina, speed, flexibility, and muscle. Dance also requires a very strong level of discipline and strength.

Have you ever watched the Nutcracker as a ballet? Or seen a professional dancer dance? You probably thought of some of the things that they did were effortless. The truth is, it isn’t what you think. Dancers go through pain, stress, and shoes (Seriously!) to do what they do. There are a lot of people that think that dancing is easy, and I am here to set that straight. Let me start off by talking about the pain.

Many people consider activities such as, football, baseball, volleyball, and track to be a sport. The qualities that tend to make these activities considered sports are, running, tackling, hitting a ball, participating in relays, and so much more. Not mentioned in this list of sports is dance. People tend to believe that dance is nothing more than moving your body to some music, it is also very mentally engaging as well as being a physically demanding activity. The question that many might ask: Why is dance not classified as a sport? Dancers that compete in competitive situations do not get off as easily as people may think. These dancers require countless hours of exercising, training, and stretching, just as much, if not more, than other sports. To perfect the art of dancing comes with years of training and dedication. With this explanation of the art of dancing, it can be concluded that dance is in fact a sport.

With such an atypical style, dance can be found in various forms. Dance can be entertainment, tradition, recreation, a competitive event, or even a simple act of joy. So should dance be classified as a sport....or what? Many people believe that dance is a "cute" activity that is "fun" but shouldn't be taken seriously. Why is this? Dance has been around for generations, but, as it seems, dance is still a thing of the past, that hasn't caught up with modern trends. Although dance may be considered old-fashioned - should dance be excluded

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?

What do you think makes people better at the activity that they are doing such as constantly improving their agility and strength? Dance should be considered a sport. First, dancers put in as much stamina and sweat that football players do. Also, you are still competing against other companies for the win so it is still competitive. Lastly, it helps your agility as well as any other sport and gets you in good shape, again, like any other sport. Here is some proof.

Is dance a sport? A sport is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment, dance is just that, but others consider it an art or even just a halftime show. Dance teams in high schools do not get funded as much as other sports and they get very little to no recognition at school or even on big sports channels. Dance meets the requirements to even be an Olympic sport. Dance should be considered a sport as much as other athletics.

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.

Dance is a sport. A big part of competitive dance is the facial expressions on our faces and how much work it takes to compete. Dance is definitely an art because you tap into the audience's emotions and use facial expressions to tell a story. Dance is also a sport because to be able to dance or dance well you need flexibility,strength,stamina,balance,endurance,and you need to love what you do,Dance is definitely a sport for all you put in.

“Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion.” This quote by Martha Graham, an American modern dancer and choreographer, is one of my favorite quotes about dancing. Blissfully gliding across the stage, leaping through the air, and moving with such fierceness that you can actually feel the music reverberating throughout your body are all things that dancers feel on a daily basis. I can tell you firsthand that these are some of the best feelings in the world. I’ve been dancing for about eight years now, while I am currently taking 5 classes, with a total of 4.25 hours each week, spread over 4 days. I take one hour of each ballet, jazz, and performance, 45 minutes of tap, and ½ hour of conditioning.

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 definition of sport is, “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment”- dictionary.com. Yet most people do not consider dance a sport. Dancing takes just as much work and effort as any other sport does, so why is it not considered a real sport?

Overload is needed in order for physiological adaptions to occur and therefore the dance class alone may not facilitate such changes” (Laban). This shows how important it is for dancers to get extra training outside of just dance classes. The body gets used to the same type of movement so then the body is maintaining the same strength and therefore the dancer isn’t gaining anything from just taking class. That’s why weight training is important because it works other muscles hard the same muscles they worked while dancing but works them harder which makes it easier for the dancer to perform some skills that most likely weren’t as easy as it was for them before exercising. Smart dancers know their limits and can push themselves to that point in order to be the best.

Even if you are not the most advanced dancer you still need to try just as hard, maybe even harder. If you put full effort into it, you will be successful, That goes for every sport.