BY ISABELLA BEELER

A lot of people have argued if dance is a sport or not. That angers many dancers. People think dance is easy instead of challenging. Some people consider it to be just an art. Some people, including me, think it is both.

Some people may just consider it an art. The arts are a variety of human activities that involve creative or imaginative talent, beauty, emotional power, or intellectual ideas. I think it is an art. You create a story with your moves. You can give a message through dancing. Your moves paint a picture. It is pretty and you use emotion with dance. Dance is basically a musical art, too.

While it is an art, it is also a sport. Sports are human activities that involve physical activity and skill as the main focus, it also includes competition or working together. You work with your dance team just like sports teams do. You can dance with others. Beside solos, the other dance options are duos, trios, and groups. Dance also has the option to compete and earn awards. Dance’s main focus is to have fun and express yourself, but also to learn new skills if you take classes and/or compete. Dance also provides an opportunity for exercise because it is a physical activity.

Dance also has many styles similar to how there are multiple sports. Styles include jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical, contemporary, musical theater, hip hop, modern, acro, and many more. Ballet is the foundation of all dance styles. In ballet you need to have graceful and precise movements. Jazz is where you do sharp movements with lots of energy. Lyrical and contemporary are like those two styles, except with a lot of emotion and breath. Lyrical has more technique. Tap is when you make music with your feet and tap the floor with precise sounds. Musical Theater is where you dance to songs from musicals and lip sync and/or have a lot of personality. Hip Hop is a vibrant form of dance that combines a variety of freestyle movements. It is energetic and influenced by other dance styles. Modern is a grounded style of dance that focuses on free interpretations of your emotions. It is fluid and more natural for the body and can be highly personalized. Acro is like another sport called gymnastics. All of these styles take time to master like sports.

I believe that dance is a sport and an art. It has components of both. Dance is beautiful, expresses emotion, and tells a story. That shows that dance is an art. Dance is also a physical activity, teaches you new skills, and may require you to work with others. It also has a lot of different styles that take time to master. That proves that dance is also a sport.