There has been a long debate over decades about whether dance is a sport or not.

The definition of a sport from www.dictionary.com is as follows, “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.”

Dance certainly has a competitive nature, especially if there is competition. It is ranked, and dancers are placed just as in other sporting competitions, in first, second and third place. There is no argument that dance is an athletic activity requiring physical prowess.

Some will claim that it is an art, and simply that. It is both. It can be entertaining, captivating, and extremely skilled, like many other art forms.

But calling it just an artform discounts the amount of effort that dancers put into a performance.

There is no debate about whether dance has athleticism. Dancers can spend anywhere from 7-20 hours a week, in strenuous practice, similar to a track-and-field, basketball, or baseball conditioning.

Dance is also an activity that is predominantly female. Females in sport across the board have historically been given less recognition in comparison to their male counterparts. There is a greater pay gap between men and women athletes. We hear about men’s basketball, football, golf, hockey and more all the time. How much do we hear about women’s accomplishments, in the media? Close to none. Traditional sports offer scholarships and more opportunities if students are tracked into these specific programs. If we see dance as an art, then things immediately change. Students who participate in these things are not given as much money to do what they enjoy, for something that is so similar in effort.

These are things that can be fixed but it starts with giving athletes more recognition where it is deserved. Dance should be given more attention, more than it currently does. It should be encouraged, and not only among women, but men too. And it should be celebrated, like other sports are when trophies, or awards are won.