The greatest art is understanding that dance is amongst the most demanding sports in the world.
Dance has the definition of ‘moving rhythmically to music typically following a set sequence of steps.’ People often forget about the physical side of it and the pressure that dancers put upon themselves to hold a high standard. Yes- it is an ‘art’ but it is also so much more than that.
Firstly, dancers don’t just focus on one aspect of the sport like footballers might do (as their aim is to score as many goals as possible), dancers must be trained in multiple different genres from street dance to ballroom to jazz– in which some may even crossover with each other. This means they work on strength, flexibility and mental capacity all at once.
Dancers’ bodies are the sport, the way they train and move to perform puts a strain on them physically and mentally. A dancer will be concentrated on not sickling their foot or not dropping their leg out of the air as well as remembering the rest of their routine. The way in which they bend their bodies focuses on specific muscles to help retain their strength.
A clear example of this can be seen through the hit American TV show “Dance Moms” where children of just six years-old were training at every spare minute they had under one of the strictest coaches in the sporting world, just to succeed and become the level of professional standard. Through the show, although in the reality genre, you can see the stress that it puts on these young children and the competitive aspect that there is to be the best. Maddie Ziegler , a dancer on the show, quoted how she was “stressed at 11 years old” which just ‘shouldn’t happen.’
Although dance can be seen as a sport due to all the pressure put physically on their bodies and their minds, dance is also a way of expression and entertainment.
Anton Du Beke, a professional ballroom and Latin dancer, recently appeared at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. The Strictly judge believes dance is for performance yet can have some sporting aspects within it: “Most dance is performance based for example, classical ballet or musical theatre. Ballroom dancing or Latin American dancing is competitive so there is a competitive aspect to it therefore it does fall between sport as we know it.
“It was always adjudicated and judged to create the sport in a traditional sense…
“There was a period when British ballroom dancing was introduced into the world games as an exhibition sport, but it didn’t get in as a full sport yet, it might do in the future.
“… yet dance as a full sport is within conversations.”
The way that dance conveys a story with expressions and imagination does allow it so be seen as an art because of the way the messages can be spread to the audiences. It is used as a form of escapism and to disconnect from real life. For example, when people book to watch a show, they do it as a form of entertainment and to forget about what is happening in their lives for a few hours. Sport can also be seen as a form of entertainment as it keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering who will win, yet it doesn’t give you the same sense of relaxation that dance gives too.
Overall, it is clear to see that dance should be taken seriously in the sporting world due to its aspects of competition and how demanding it truly is on the people who participate. Yet, it doesn’t fit into the definition of a ‘sport’ as we know it which remains a big debate to this day.
