IS DANCE A SPORT? LET’S FIND OUT

When you look a little closer at what dancing entails, you will realize that it meets the broader definition of sports. Dancing is an activity that combines the best of both worlds: the artistic expression of traditional dance with the excitement and competition of a sport. Dancers have to condition and train their bodies so they can accomplish different sets of techniques and choreography. Dance is the only sport that requires stamina, speed, flexibility, and muscle, all of it. The physical activity and endurance needed to be a dancer should classify dance as a sport.

Here are some of the reasons why dance is also a sport:

1. Dance needs regular practice

The majority of world-class athletes didn’t achieve tremendous overnight success. They generally had to spend a lot of time practicing and doing it very consistently AND frequently. This lesson on consistency in practice applies to dance as well.

Depending on the sort of dance you’re practicing, and for what goal, you may need days or weeks to memorize and learn the choreography. These exercises aren’t always simple. Professional dance performances can be lengthy and rigorous. It will demand a significant amount of commitment.

Your dancing ability and competence develop with time, thanks to years of practice. Thankfully, it’s not too late to learn if you want to. Dancing can be fun if you have the right mentors and learning environment. 

2. It requires endurance

Dancing, like most sports, requires an extreme amount of endurance. One of the most essential qualities that distinguish great dancers from beginners is endurance. Dancers move around a lot too and they tend to repeat steps and choreographies to perfection.

To perform well on stage, dancing will demand you to practice and execute difficult moves regularly as part of your preparation. If you don’t have stamina to endure this, you’ll end always end up slumping on the floor and gasping for breath.

3. Dancers need to have the discipline

Competitive dancers are disciplined to break through barriers and accept pain because the road to the top of the competition is never easy. Be it practices, learning routines with intricate choreography, practicing to obtain technique, memorising formations, and much more. It pushes everyone to the point of sweat, sore muscles, tears, broken bones, and sometimes even the thought of quitting. In pretty much any sport, strength is key. In dance without strength, there’s no way dancers could get through an entire show.  With all the physical activity, training, and competitiveness, patience and perseverance are key. When dancers lose, they have to work hard so they can produce better results in the future. When dancers get injured, they have to be patient and treat their bodies right so they can heal faster. And when dancers lack technique and choreography, they have to practice and prepare themselves mentally and physically.

 

4. Dancing is physically challenging

Most professional routines are challenging. Maintaining specific postures and performing the dance moves can take a high degree of physical ability and effort. But hey, some people make dancing look easy, right? Well, the truth is that the easier it looks, the more difficult it is to execute. While it may appear that way to every audience, the amount of physical strain necessary to execute complicated moves is incredible. Also read : Mananging self doubt as a dancer

 

5. Dance requires sacrifice

Dance is an all year round sport.  Like all professional athletes, dancers need years and years of study to become the best they can be, a process that takes determination, drive, and a whole lot of hard work. Like any sport, dance is far from easy. But it’s what we love to do which makes all the blood, sweat, and tears worth it.