Photo credit: Jenna Pewarchie

Ballet, contemporary, modern, tap, hip hop, and jazz. All of these types and styles of dance are different yet all allude to the same question. Is dance a sport?

Some studios are competitively focused, meaning that they regularly go and travel to competitions. Competition studios teach hip hop, jazz, tap, contemporary. Noncompetition studios focus on ballet. If ballet studios do compete, they go to YAGP, Youth American Grand Prix, one of the biggest ballet competitions in the United States. 

Although, the definition of a sport is “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.” According to Lexico, by technical definition dance isn’t a sport unless you compete. 

Also, many professional dancers pursue a degree in art.  It is a creative art form because you are making a story or just a fun show with only your body and face. Dancers don’t need words or lines to tell what the story is, just like an abstract painting making you piece it together and put your own twist on. 

While it may not be a sport, it is a challenging physical activity that needs hours of dedication. If you are dedicated then you will practice at least 10 hours a week. The amount of time could vary if you are performing in a show. Usually, you are working towards a larger goal of performing multiple shows that are normally an hour to three hours long. Which is why some people may believe that it is a sport.

Competitive dance has rigorous competitions that are up to 10 hours long. You compete and dance in your age group then can win awards in the category that you performed in. Then your dance studio can win overall awards. 

Throughout the years I have been dancing, I believe that dance is less of a sport and more of an art.