1.'Sport' is not a compliment and 'art' not an insult; the question is not whether dance 'deserves' to be called a sport, but rather whether it is accurate to call dance a sport.
2.Dance is a creative, expressive art form without winners and losers and not defined by crass comparisons. Many people, including myself, do a lot of dance without ever taking part in a competition. To define dance as a competitive sport neglects their contributions, and demeans the art form as a whole.
3.Conventional sports like basketball and athletics have simple, non-subjective winning criteria - 'number of baskets scored' or 'time to run race' or 'distance javelin thrown'. Dance competitions are won or lost based on subjective judges decisions.
4.At the highest levels dance is not performed in its competitive form. A dancer might aspire to dance a lead role with the royal ballet, or to dance professionally for a big artist's music video, neither of which involve judges and medals; they are non-competitive. That competitions exist for performers at a lower level is inconsequential; one might as well say spelling is a sport because spelling bees exist.
5.A definition of 'sport' that included dance would be so broad as to be almost meaningless. For example if you adopt the Merriam-Webster definition of a sport as a "physical activity engaged in for pleasure" then writing, singing, and restoring classic cars would all meet that definition.
6.Many schools in the US are legally obligated to spend equal amounts on Boys' and Girls' sports, following legal action finding the latter are chronically underfunded in a discriminatory manner. If activities like cheerleading and dancing are included in the definition of sports it would shift the sport funding balance, unjustly depriving women of access to conventional sports.
7.Dictionaries and word definitions are descriptive, not prescriptive. The true meaning of words is socially defined; for example, words like 'blogosphere' may not be in the dictionary, but it is imbued with meaning because we have a shared understanding of what it means. The applicability of the word 'sport' to dance depends not on what some dictionary says, but on whether the shared understanding of those communicating is that dance is a sport. This shared understanding is not obliged to allow for bright-line definitions. The average person on the street doesn't consider dance to be a sport, so it isn't a sport.
8.'Dancesport' is a ridiculous neologism and people who use it deserve to be trolled. The assertion that dance is a sport is incompatible with this imperative, and hence must not be true.
"At the highest levels dance is not performed in its competitive form. A dancer might aspire to dance a lead role with the royal ballet, or to dance professionally for a big artist's music video, neither of which involve judges and medals; they are non-competitive. That competitions exist for performers at a lower level is inconsequential; one might as well say spelling is a sport because spelling bees exist."
Ahem, Can I say idiot? Look up UDA dance nationals. They work as hard as football players, basketball players, and all other athletes players do. During the competition season, practices can go from 20-30 hours a week! They sweat, they go through pain, they compete, they work hard. Do you think that it is easy to dance? It takes flexibility, balance, and a TON of strength. Try getting a group to dance and perform The University of Minnesota's 2012 National winning jazz routine. Not easy. There are competitions all over the world thank you very much. They can be intense, competitive, and best of all, fun! There are in fact trophies and medals and ribbons. Cash prizes too! And if you ask someone on the street if dance is a sport and they say no, they have no clue about how hard dancers work to have perfection and excellence. In conclusion, you are very wrong, along with other stereotypes that say dance isn't a sport.
popcorn1122 (if you ever see this)
I think what the author meant was, most if not all professional dancers who are recognized are the ones who dance on broadway, shows, royal ballets, and music videos.
sassywings
Not to argue that those people are recognized as dancers. However, the people I recognize by name for their dance would be those doing it competitively. Many people know the names of dancers on COMPETITIVE shows like ^^The UDA dance Nationals. Also ones from “So you think you can dance.” And “Dancing with the stars”
I also know Missy Copeland by name because she is famous for being the first African American ballet dancer. The author may believe those who are proffessional dancers/ highest level dancers are the ones in music videos, royal ballets, shows, Broadway are the ones best recognized. However many people also or better remember those with the best routines, most turns or first dancers to achieve a specific move, etc. Much like how people recognize those who are professional football players, baseball players, etc. That achieve similar accomplishments in their sport.
