In 1908, a new sport was inducted into the Olympics: walking. Racewalking, to be particular. The whole discipline is highly controversial, and many debate how this could possibly be considered a sport—and how the competitors could be considered athletes.
But just as the lines between running and racewalking blur, our definition of what a sport is has become unclear. The actual definition of a sport is “physical activity engaged in for pleasure.” However, sports far surpass just “physical activity.” Football, hockey, and basketball are all characterized by their aggressive and strength-based conduct. Players require strength training, cardio, and nutrition in order to maximize their performance. These sports are generally what we tend to restrict our definition to.
The thing is, these limitations exclude activities such as dance, which is equally as strenuous. “You have to have a certain amount
of strength and […] stamina,” said Charlotte Labadie, ‘27, a ballerina for Ashley Ballet Arts Academy. “You have to condition and build up strength.” Ballet in particular takes commitment, discipline, and decades to conquer. In fact, dancers spend on average 3-4 years of intense training to go en pointe. “I started dancing when I was just 4 years old,” explains Ms. Gilhousen, the head JV coach for Minnetonka Dance. But the procedures taken to succeed in any extreme sport are matched in dance, including a few additional elements such as flexibility, presence, and composure.
In order to achieve these, dancers must endure “hours of stretching,” as Gilhousen reflects from her own experience. She notes that “people see [dance] as different.” It is generally considered more of an art form, as if that contradicts its athleticism. “It’s a sport and an art,” Labadie concludes. “You could go by both the name ‘artist’ and ‘athlete.’” Although it is an art form and entertains audiences in both the auditorium and the bleachers, this fact does not detract from the “physical labor it takes to be a dancer,” which “rivals other […] athletes,” as Gilhousen observes. “It’s core strength, it’s leg strength. […] It’s a lot of work.”
Many theorize that dance is sometimes not considered a sport because it is a female-dominated activity. But this completely disregards the amount of work and training that is put into it. The beautiful exterior may fool you—dance is grueling, and just as challenging as any other sport. It has long been known that women’s sports are marginalized and overlooked. This gender inequity is ever present—even now, for any sport to be added to the Olympics, it must be practiced by men in 75 countries, and by women in only 40. This means that there is a persistent gender gap with regards to the availability of any given sport. It also prevents sports such as cheer and dance from appearing on the world stage for competition, even as figure skating and gymnastics do.
Though our definition of sports may have become severely morphed and adjusted to fit mostly male-dominated competitions, it is important to remember that athleticism goes far beyond that. “[Sports are] something you train for and work for,” Gilhousen comments. “[Being an] athlete’s almost […] a mindset.” And, really, is racewalking any more demanding than ballet?
