The first time I stepped in a dance studio when I was seven, what I saw immediately captivated me. I was sitting on the floor watching the one of my friend’s dance and at the end of the class, I knew I wanted to dance. That summer, I started dance classes. My life was changed. I danced for five years and those were some of the best years of my childhood. It was a vigorous activity that I did every week. I would consider dancing a sport.

Dancing is a sport because it requires the same techniques that an athlete needs to play a sport. Dancing requires skill, flexibility, agility, and stamina. Everyone can dance, but to dance well, you need to be strong and be properly trained. Like in football or basketball, or any sport for that matter, you have to learn the basics of the game and then learn how to become a better athlete and competitor.  

Dancing also requires a certain mentality that is needed, just like an athlete. A football player must memorize and know all of the plays like the back of his hand, and a dancer must remember all of the steps in the routine. If there is a fault in any of the memorization, the dancer/athlete fails, but also the group/team can then fail too. Knowing the plays and routines is essential to both and puts a lot of pressure mentally on the athletes. Dancers must perform their routine flawlessly and in synch with not only the music, but also to the other dancers. If one dancer is out of synch, then the entire routine is compromised. This pressure also comes into sports. An athlete must play to his or her potential and if they don’t, then their team fails or loses the game.

Dancing is extremely competitive in nature just like in any other sport. In the competitions, there are winners and losers and trophies won. The teams practice for long hours every day getting their routines perfect and dancers work hard for their trophies. They practice hard just like any other athlete and practice until they have perfected their craft.  

Dance is a way of life. It is a passion and love for everyone who does it. When being in a sport, there must be a true love for the sport and this is exactly what dancers do. They rely on their bodies and mentalities to perform and they are a form of art and entertainment for others to watch.  

Dancers can also receive serious injuries from their routines. They can tear muscles and ligaments and break bones like other athletes and some have to stop dancing if their injury is bad enough. Dancers are always leaping and doing acrobatic techniques that can lead to injury and their endurance to push through the soreness and stress of the regime is just like an athlete.

Looking on my years spent dancing, I wish I had continued with it. It was a fun way to express myself and challenged me mentally and physically in ways that I had never known. It is a cutthroat industry and dancers have the same stamina, strength, agility, flexibility, and performance that any competitive athlete has. Therefore, dancing is a sport and always will be.