To the Editor:

The definition of sport is anything with physical activity or physical exertion and skill, usually played on a team or with teammates.

The definition of dance is moving rhythmically to music, following a set of steps.

So why isn’t dance considered a sport? It is harder than it looks.

Did you know top competitive teams practice for 20 hours a week to perfect their dances? Now does it seem more legit?

I think dance is most definitely a sport. Dancers work just as hard as football players. Some football teams even take ballet for balance.

We practice daily, compete, and are on teams. So the question is: Why don’t people think it’s a sport?

I get why some people say it’s not a sport. We don’t run; we don’t dribble or even hit a ball. We use emotions and our legs to express our feelings.

People look at dance like we jump around doing weird positions with our arms, but there’s more to it. For example, we perform in front of hundreds of people and judges, hoping not to make a mistake. We go through discomfort and pain to be perfect and to be flexible and maintain our splits.

“Dancers are athletes of God,” said Albert Einstein. Some people consider dancers artists because you have to be able to interpret music and perform for an audience.

Young kids should know dance is a sport. Nobody can explain something until they actually try it.

Boys especially, who play baseball, football, and basketball, may think dance is for babies. But, in reality, while they are trying to get a ball in a hoop, we are strengthening and stretching. We work just as hard. Right now, of the kids who go to school from ages 8 to fifteen, 34,592,000 of them dance. That’s a lot.

I, myself, am a dancer. I dance on the competition team at Tina Marie’s Dance Academy.

A few weeks ago, my friend and I were talking and he said, “Do you want to hang out after school?”

I said, “No, I can’t. I have dance.”

His response was, “Come on! Dance isn’t even a sport.”

This annoyed me. One of my very close friends even said it wasn’t a sport.

It is.

I thought in my head: Would you like to come and join me on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.? Most responses would probably be no.

“Practice makes perfect”: everybody knows that quote, especially dancers. We take it to heart. We practice and practice and practice.

Sometimes perfect isn’t good enough; you have to do better. We push ourselves and train and go through pain, just like football players and basketball players. So tell me, again, why isn’t dance a sport?

Christina Buckey

Altamont