Competitive Dance is a Sport | Teen Ink

Competitive Dance is a Sport

January 9, 2013
By friday BRONZE, Columbus, New Jersey
friday BRONZE, Columbus, New Jersey
1 article 0 photos 2 comments

There are few things that really get me really mad. One of them in particular, is when people say that dance is not a sport. It has been proven, and I am going to prove it to you! Consider this: according to multiple tests tested at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, dancers from Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance were ranked among professional athletes in terms of “overall athleticism.” It was a great way to prove to anyone that dancers are athletes. Twitch, third was one of the dancers placed among some amazing athletes. This, proving my point, that competitive dance is a sport. Gatorade agrees with me (and the rest of the dance population) too!

If you still don’t believe me, Dance has rules and regulations, requires skill and concentration. It is physically demanding, and it is competitive, just like any other sport out there. Dancers work restlessly for months (with no break I might add) all leading up to two minutes and thirty seconds on stage to show your best turns, tricks, and kicks to a bunch of judges who (after watching three full days of dance) couldn’t care less. This all in mind, you are trying to beat everyone else who is up against you for the better award.

Still don’t believe me? I want to see you execute 15 perfect fuettes without losing your spot and with a smile on your face the whole time. You think all dancers are prissy little ballerinas but dance is so physically demanding. “We condition every rehearsal, which includes a six minute plank, three hundred sit ups, fifty burpees, we run laps, and a lot more. We become complete athletes. I have practice for twenty hours a week in order to prepare for the competitions,” said Lauren, dancer of fourteen years and a senior in high school. As a dancer you are required to hold your own body weight and not throw it against others like other sports this can be difficult. Sometimes (even as a girl) you have to lift others twice your body weight. It takes so much strength to become a dancer.

Sport /spôrt/: (noun) an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others. Dance 100% fits the format to of sport; that alone should be enough to convince anybody that it is indeed a sport.



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on Jan. 17 2013 at 5:23 pm
letspretendimfamous BRONZE, Chesterfield, New Jersey
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OMG! yay! someone agrees with me! Dancing is awesome and competitive dancing is definitely a sport! I hate when people say it isn't!