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[dropcap]S[/dropcap]creaming fans, bright lights, and the smell of sweaty football players is how many families spend their Friday nights. No matter if it is watching in the living room at home or live at the stadium, the sport of football is one that keeps people entertained for hours on end. The thrill of the first touchdown and the disappointment of a loss from a rivaling team keep fans on the edge of their seats. Many football fans grew up watching and even playing the well known American sport. Young athletes look up and follow in the footsteps of famous players like Tom Brady. New England’s quarterback Tom Brady campaigns with the well known company Under Armor. He helps promote their clothing and sporting items through commercials and social media. Under Armor lately has been reaching out to many athletes from different sports other than football.

Recently, Under Armor signed Misty Copeland, a professional African American ballerina to launch her own sports clothing line with the goal of educating others about the strength and athletic ability of dancers. A sports brand like Under Armor is starting to acknowledge the importance of dancers being represented as true athletes.

So the real question is, should dance be recognized as a sport along side other well known sports like football?

Dancers all over do not get enough credit for that they do. According to Michelle Rotter from Star Tribune, “[The dancers] have built up their stamina enough to be able to endure 2½ minutes of all-out dancing”. This stamina is not something athletes receive over night. Drills and skills are put into training everyday. Just like other athletes, dancers run to earn stamina to be able to pour all their energy out on the dance floor. Unlike traditional sports, dancers use all their energy up in a three minute routine while other athletes maintain their energy for an hour or so period depending on the sport. Dance training is similar to those of other sports because of the repetition of skills being performed. Sports train in order to get better at a certain skill set. Football players may work of tackles and passing while dancers will work on jumps and turns.

Art or Sport?

If dance takes so much skill and endurance then why is it often considered an art?

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The performance and emotional aspect of the dancing often is why non-dancers consider this high intensity sport an art. In a New York Times article, Mr. Cavise, a former broadway dancer tells his students, “[you] have to learn before [you] can perform”. The performance piece is what the audience sees but all the hard work is not in mind when you see a  ballerina complete a beautiful pirouette or a grande jeté. Others may consider dance an art because of the non-contact aspect but dance is not the only non-contact sport out there. Most high school sports are non-contact like tennis, gymnastics. or golf. Most activities that are an art at the high school level are considered an art because of the expressionism that the activity portrays. Activities like painting or theatre can express your emotion at that given moment but rely on little to no physical activity unlike dance. The artistic side of a dancer comes out after the athlete in them works on routines for hours on end.

When thought upon high school students, many consider dance just as an entertainment while the football players rest during halftime. This is so wrong. According page 112 of the Minnesota State High School League handbook, dance team is counted as a sport during the winter season. It states that, “there are two divisions: high kick and jazz” where schools can compete in. These rules along with others lay next to and follow the guidelines of many other high school sports. The fall performance season is known as a practice season because a high school sport in the state of Minnesota cannot have two seasons of the same sex and activity. Almost 5,000 dancers in Minnesota took part in the competitive winter season in 2016 and many more in the fall season.

Health Benefits of Dance

One British BBC article shows exactly how dance can be good for everyone. Dance, specifically ballet, is known to improve in areas other than just beautiful moves on stage. Ballet can help tone and develop muscles that the normal person is not used to using on a regular basis. It can also improve your posture and position resulting in less back pain. Ballet can also be a mental exercise alongside the physical aspect. Memorizing combinations, improving spatial awareness, and knowing the counts of the music being played are a few ways that your brain is constantly working in class. This is similar was that other sports like football memorize plays and positions in order to communicate effectively.  

Many aspects of dance can also improve your overall health conditions. Stretches and intense movement can develop flexibility causing a less stiff body.  Dance is a good way to also relieve stress because the music and the movement can calm your brain and muscles. Physical exercise helps to strengthen the heart which is why dance is recommended as a treatment to those with cardiovascular diseases. Dance is also show to increase weight loss and is just as effective as activities like aerobics or running.

Ballet through the NFL

Ballet is a sport that is for everyone, even professional football players. Pittsburgh Steelers nose tackle Steve McLendon benefited from ballet more than he could imagine.

 The NFL player originally took ballet classes because he needed a few credits to complete his senior year at Troy University in Alabama. He never thought it would be something he would actually enjoy doing. McLendon enjoyed the class and his professor so much that he took part in a jazz class that same semester.

In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, McLendon states ballet is “harder than anything else I do”. Being the only male dancer and weighing in at over 300 pounds must have been intimidating for McLendon in a room of dancers who have been taking classes for years but the football player learned to keep up. His professor taught him so much in the short time McLendon was with her and helped him through an injury free football season.

In his recent years, Steve McLendon has been taking lessons on and off at the Adrenaline Barre Fitness Studio on Mount Washington. Training through ballet one to two times per week with his instructor Stephanie Kibler has helped strengthen McLendon’s body in ways football never could. 

And the Crowd Goes Wild

Dancers do not get enough recognition for all that they do. They only get less than three minutes to show what they are made of without any mistakes while other sports like football have four quarters to get it right. The strength and determination is unbelievable of what these athletes give when it comes to performing. It is not as easy as some people think to do a leap into mid-air or turn multiple times on a single foot. Just like dance, every sport has their challenges but true athletes create something beautiful out of them.

Next time, think before not calling dance a sport.

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