Dancers VS Athletes
What is a dancer you may ask? With no hesitation, a dancer is an athlete. Dancers are stereotyped into seeming perfectly quaint, beautiful, and graceful. In reality that is not the case because the job of a dancer is to make their work seem effortless. Behind the scenes of a show or competition may be a mess, but when performing, a dancer is aiming to look flawless. Does this sound familiar? Each an every sport known to man aims for perfection whether it is at a home game or nationals. What most people don’t know is the amount of work needed to prepare for performances, competitions, etc.
Preparation is key. Dancers go through grueling practices and workouts just like an athlete on the football team would. One thing that separates dancers from ordinary athletes is that they are trained to gain an exceptional amount of strength in addition to flexibility. Athletes that participate in the most common sports are lacking flexibility. The way that dance is designed, you use essentially every muscle in your body, exemplifying that of an athlete. “With the evolution of dance, dancers are becoming more and more buff” (Macel) Danaë Carter, a member of Richmond Ballet says, “I see a lot more muscle tone and athleticism” further proving dance is evolving into more of a sport than an art. With further research and personal experience I have come to the realization that the aesthetics of dance is emerging into a new and improved generation of dance. For instance, technicalities of each style of dance is becoming harder and harder as time passes. (Macel) As dance progresses, I do not doubt that in the near future dancers will be considered athletes solely on their physique. When society sees the emerging dancers, it will be hard to not consider them athletes, if not superhumans!
Athletes are simply defined now as anyone who plays a sport like baseball, basketball, football, etc. so why not add dancers to that list if it is so easy to become an “athlete.” For example, Golf is considered a sport along with other activities that exhert little to no energy while playing, they are simply a team. With the underlying requirements, if you will, that deem you in the category of an athlete or not, dancers are more than capable of being categorized as an athlete.
Preparation is key. Dancers go through grueling practices and workouts just like an athlete on the football team would. One thing that separates dancers from ordinary athletes is that they are trained to gain an exceptional amount of strength in addition to flexibility. Athletes that participate in the most common sports are lacking flexibility. The way that dance is designed, you use essentially every muscle in your body, exemplifying that of an athlete. “With the evolution of dance, dancers are becoming more and more buff” (Macel) Danaë Carter, a member of Richmond Ballet says, “I see a lot more muscle tone and athleticism” further proving dance is evolving into more of a sport than an art. With further research and personal experience I have come to the realization that the aesthetics of dance is emerging into a new and improved generation of dance. For instance, technicalities of each style of dance is becoming harder and harder as time passes. (Macel) As dance progresses, I do not doubt that in the near future dancers will be considered athletes solely on their physique. When society sees the emerging dancers, it will be hard to not consider them athletes, if not superhumans!
Athletes are simply defined now as anyone who plays a sport like baseball, basketball, football, etc. so why not add dancers to that list if it is so easy to become an “athlete.” For example, Golf is considered a sport along with other activities that exhert little to no energy while playing, they are simply a team. With the underlying requirements, if you will, that deem you in the category of an athlete or not, dancers are more than capable of being categorized as an athlete.