PROJECT CREATED BY KRISTEN THOMPSON

DANCE CONSIDERED A SPORT

INTRODUCTION:
Sport: an activity involving physical exertion and skill in
which an individual or team competes against another
or others for entertainment. The topic has always been
up in the air whether or not dance was considered a
sport. If you know anything about dance you could
agree that it is most definitely one just by reading that
statement. The problem with this topic is those who do
not consider dance a sport dont actually dance. They
dont see the hard work and dedication that goes into it,
and just assume that its all easy and clean cut. This is
simply not the truth. You put your blood sweat and tears
into it each time you go onto a stage just like a football
player as he steps onto the field. Each routine has a
story with meaning, and you go out there and put your
all into it as if it were your last time to dance. We dance
to win like other sports, but we also dance to live and
pursue our dreams. Like other sports dance is too a
stress relief, and you are not only doing it for your team
but for yourself. I want to change what people think of
dance, for the respect of those who are dancers.
Dancers are not respected as they should be like any
other sport, especially when apart of a school or
University and I want to change that.

METHODOLOGY:
Although this problem may not appear to be a complex
one, however to those dancers across the country it is
very much seen as a problem. If dancers do the same
thing as football players or basketball players, why is it
considered a hobby? Some methods I have found on
articles performance is the basis viewed as the
relationship between the two sports. Although people
see the two as very different, they have many
similarities that may change the mind of others.
Support is offered from the context in the articles for
viewing sport and dance as the performance skill. By
skill we mean the activity is considered a generic trait of

Table of Contents
Introduction / Methodology
Methodology (continued)/ Results
Analysis/ Recommendation
References

different sport and dance levels. The levels within sport and dance include: beginner,
intermediate, and advanced performance. Just as any other sport there are different
levels that require your attention before you reach the top. Another method includes
competition between the two. Sports such as basketball and baseball play other
teams within their same level, but as do dancers. There are many competitions a
school can enter, and compete against other teams just as these sports do.

The main purpose of this model is to propose that sport and dance are considered a
domain with a body and knowledge upon the theory of performance and skill.
However most might see the two being opposite, we want to expand readers minds
to see the similarity of the two.

RESULTS:
HTTPS://INFOGR.AM/97E51022-7E74-4CE3-A7DB-BF245564E950
However this chart failed to show on this report, heres the link to check it out.

3
ANALYSIS:
In my research I have found that throughout the years starting with 2000- 2016 dance
viewed as a sport his increasingly decreased. The data was taken from a group of
people who attended a basketball game at a University. They were asked their
gender, if they were involved in dance, and if they considered dance a sport or not.
The results were as expected, that mens opinion on the subject do not believe that
dance is a sport. The highest scoring gender was women, as well as those who were
already dancers.
Throughout the years, when asked if dance were a sport or not, the answers
decreased as each year people said dance was not a sport. The only gender who
increased were those who are dancers, and women. We began to think how this
could be? As years go by generation evolves. Today and much like decades ago, the
only known sports are those in which we watch on Sunday nights, Football. If it
doesnt involve a ball, society does not believe it is a sport, and that is the sad truth.
However when the show So You Think You Can Dance first aired, and we began to
actually see what dancing was all about those of all gender and races enjoyed
watching the young dancers leap across the stage. Still not considered a sport, we
were participating in voting our favorite dancer, just as we would be rooting for our
favorite team. Not so different right?

RECOMMENDATION:
As the data shown, and many opinions have been given, the big question Is dance a
sport? has yet to be answered. However, no one has pushed this problem on anyone
I would like be the first to do so. The similarities of dance and any other sport are
more than you thought as proven. That being said, I would like to say that regardless
of the data and random opinions of those who were probably more interested in the
game than filling out a survey; dance is a sport. I believe this report gave a good
representation of that statement, and I hope you look at all the facts and help us give
dancers the respect they deserve.

REFERENCES:
The social construction of the sociology of sport: A professional project International
Review for the Sociology of Sport February 2014 49: 3-21, first published on July 17,
2012 doi:10.1177/1012690212452362
Gender and family status differences in leisure-time sports/fitness participation
International Review for the Sociology of Sport February 2014 49: 65-84, first
published on August 7, 2012 doi:10.1177/1012690212454762
Cohen, Marshall, and Roger Copeland. "What is dance." Readings In Theory And
Criticism (1983).
Chaiklin, Sharon, and Hilda Wengrower, eds. The art and science of
dance/movement therapy: Life is dance. Routledge, 2015.