Is Dance a Sport?
Johanna Goldberg
Issue date: 3/5/03 Section: Sports and Wellness
| |
|
Dance has all the elements of a sport: physical endurance, coordination, practice, discipline, and even, in some cases, competition. Yet many, if not most, dancers define dance as something distinctly different from a typical athletic activity.
"Dance is not a sport, it is an art," opines sophomore dance major Andrea Becker. "It is more different than any sport there is . . . it tests your endurance . . . your body is an instrument."
Still, there are many dance forms that must be taken into account. How can dance not be a sport when ice dancing is an Olympic event? Additionally, the International DanceSport Federation, or IDSF, considers competitive ballroom dancing to be "one of the most graceful sports" there is; they are working to include "DanceSport" into the Olympics. Closer to home, the Goucher Dance Team performs at athletic events. If cheerleading can be considered a sport, can't dancing in this context be considered one as well?
The issue is centered on the meaning of the word "sport." According to an American Heritage Dictionary definition, "sport" is: "An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively." Using this definition, competitive dance is, indeed, a sport. This definition, however, ignores the art and self-expression that Becker so firmly believes in.
Junior dance and English major Kathryn Holmes concurs with Becker. "I think it [dance] goes beyond the athleticism of sport because of its emotional and artistic intent. People don't realize the level of physical skill required because of the artistic level, and because they are not watching for that [physicality], but for grace and ease."
Sophomore Leah Rybolt also thinks of dance as an art, "Because it's not about winning or competing, it's about expression and form. It is physical but that doesn't make it a sport." Arnessa Jeffery, a senior dance and communications major, adds, "I think dance is a physical act that does require hand/eye coordination, but you have to put your body to a certain time rhythm - I think that's what makes it an art form."
Sophomores Christina Abel and Dana Byers see dance as both a sport and an art form. Says Abel, "It's an art, but it's definitely physically demanding like a sport and you have to practice and it's physically draining. So yeah, I'd say it's both an art and a sport, kind of like cheerleading." Byers states, "I do think dancing is a sport. I mean there are dance teams and everything. But it is also an art form, and many people appreciate it for the beauty of it, not the competition. It can definitely be as physically demanding as other sports!"
Jonathan Jackson, Jesse Ball DuPont Visiting Scholar of English and dance, views the issue thus: "I think for some dance can be a sport and for some it can't. It depends on the cultural context and the values of the people who are doing and making the dancing."