Home » Visual & Performing Arts » Dance » Dance as Competition?

Dance as Competition?

© Karen Dito

My earliest dance experiences were with ballet in Mrs. Reuther’s living room dance studio. Dance was a means of personal expression for me even back then. It made me feel good and that is why I continued to do it. Later, after Mrs. Reuther bought a studio and later still when Leslie Fields (my true ballet mentor) took over the studio, this feeling of satisfaction for dance remained with me. My studio was never involved in any dance competitions and to tell the truth, I never even knew they existed until much later. I learned the Royal Academy of Dance methodology. Participating in competitions did not match the spirit of my school.

Most people have a competitive side to them and most people like to win. I believe this is why people enjoy sports – watching and playing – because you can enjoy the feeling of being part of a team all working towards the same goal. I have nothing against this at all and enjoy watching baseball for just this reason. But is dance a sport? Some people think it is.

Click here to read about the International DanceSport Federation’s attempt to get ballroom dance recognized as an Olympic sport and the roadblocks they have encountered:

http://www.eijkhout.net/rad/dance_other/...

Just the term “dancesport” is telling. Did the ballroom dancers have to change the name to make it sound more like a sport? I would venture the answer is yes. I know many people think ballroom dancing is similar to ice dancing and this might be so. I also realize that ballroom dancing is a form of dance known for competitions, much more so than other dance styles. But the question still remains: do we want dance to be a sport? Where do we draw the line between sport and art?

When I flip through Dance Teacher magazine, I am bombarded with page after page of information on competitions for children and young adults. These advertisements show girls wearing heavy stage make-up and gaudy sequined costumes, ecstatically celebrating their victory. I suppose the main reason this makes me sad is that I want my students to enjoy dance for reasons different than winning a competition. Ideally, I want my students to participate in dance because it’s a form of expression, a way to create something, a way to communicate ideas to others. It is supposed to be fun. It is a lot of hard work but rewarding because of the challenges it presents.

The copyright of the article Dance as Competition? in Dance is owned by . Permission to republish Dance as Competition? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.