Is Dance a Sport?

“Is Dance a Sport” is an article written by The Quimdecim that is found at http://media.www.thequindecim.com/media/storage/paper618/news/2003/03/05/SportsAndWellness/Is.Dance.A.Sport-385715.shtml. This article faces the question of whether dance is a sport or an art. In the article dance students at Goucher College discuss whether they think dance is a sport or not. Because dance fits so well in both categories, art and sport, it is seems that dance can be considered as both an art and a sport. Dancing is often times done in a competitive manor, as shown in dance studios where they compete in dance competitions, this aspect of dancing is very easily argued as a sport. Though on the other hand, dancing is not just about perfecting, it is also about performing and entertaining the audience, this aspect of dancing is all about the arts.
In the heat of this discussion, between the dance students at Goucher College, the dictionary definition of a sport was brought up. The dictionary says that a sport is "an activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively." If it is to be argued that dancing is merely a sport, because it is physical and has rules, are there not plenty of other activities that should quality as a sport? Professional ball players get paid for being exceptionally skilled at memorizing plays, learning rules, and executing all the things they have learned. Art, when defined, is “the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, or what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.” Although dance is a physical art, it fits into this definition of art just as much as is does the definition of a sport, if not more. When watching a dance performance it is really boring to watch the dancer perform his/her routine technically perfect with no expression, instead generally the audience likes to see an expressive, beautiful performance, such as the definition of art.
As it was said earlier if it is to be argued that dancing is merely a sport, because it is physical and has rules, are there not plenty of other activities that should quality as a sport? No one ever questions’ whether playing an instrument is a sport. After all there is a lot of competition involved between musicians, and for most instruments it is very physical. While playing the oboe, for example, it is very easy to run out of breath, especially while playing for an extended period of time. As far as rules are concerned, there are certain guild lines that musicians have to follow as well. This being said though, if someone would say that music is a sport there would probably be a heated argument! The same goes for dancing, although dancing is a physical activity it is nearly impossible to argue that dancing is not an art.