Is competitive dance a sport?

By: Kelsie D

I think many people compare non contact sports to contact sports, but it is a bit more complicated. Many people suggest sports such as hockey and football are the hardest sports to play because of the strength and agility needed. I do not disagree, yet I do not think other sports should be shot down. Competitive dance is a sport that does not necessarily require agility and arm muscle for contact, but it does require extreme leg strength, flexibility, grace, agility, power, coordination, balance, and control. It is also very mentally challenging because you have to learn new routines, and even change the routine if a person is gone, and still remember it under pressure.

Sport /spôrt/: (noun) an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others. Another definition I found on Dictionary.com said a sport is “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature”.

In competitive dance, a team of at least five people competes against each other to win best overall dance. Both definitions of the term “sport” do not state that it would not be a sport if it is judged. Consider looking at the judges like you would look at the referees of a volleyball game. They judge whether you made a correct or incorrect move, then call it out. The main difference is that judges write it down on paper instead of calling it right there. The team with the highest score wins.

Regardless of what you think about this unfortunately very controversial topic, before you are so quick to dismiss dance, maybe you should attend practice with a dancer. It is a lot more than kicking in a straight line, and even that is easier said than done. For example, all kicks have to be above your waist, or they don’t count. You need at least 55 kicks to count, therefore, if someone messes up the kicks, those do not count. If you have less than 55 kicks above your waist at the same time, your team is disqualified and is not allowed to participate in the awards ceremony at the end of the competition. Last year, the Spirit In Motion Competitive Dance Team had 80 kicks in their routine. Try butt kicking for a minute, perform three split jumps, which is extending your legs out towards your sides at the same time (arms should be in a V above your legs and the objective is to reach a horizontal line with both legs at your sides), then kick 80 times, making sure your legs are above your waist. The dance team goes through their routine full out multiple times after learning the steps and conditioning. There are also many rules to follow, such as: if you lose a bobby pin from your hair while you are dancing, you get deducted points!

When one person is gone for a performance, it affects the whole team. Everything needs to be altered so it does not look like a person is missing. The Dance Team even changed their song and multiple moves last year mid-season, giving them an equivalent of a five hour practice time to remember and perfect the new dance to compete that weekend.

Competitive dance is a challenging sport, but I hope to see more people going out for it! We have the best times bonding at the competitions! I hope to see competitive dance grow and be recognized as a sport, or an activity involving physical exertion in which a team or individual competes against each other.