Dancer's Athletic Side

1189 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Dance as an art essay

Albert Einstein once said “Dancers are the athletes of God.” Dancers deserve to have the title of athlete, to start, take a look at the definition of an athlete “a person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength.” While dancing requires great artistry, artistry is just one aspect of dance, because it clearly has an athletic side as well. Dancer’s athletic side is not seen by many because of the reality of what people see on stage, but is what is seen on stage all of it? The amount of passion and dedication dancers have leads to countless hours at the studio every week. With the many genres of dance to choose from, each involves athleticism one way or another. The many different options make it easier for a dancer to branch out and explore new ways of fulfilling their dreams. Dancers need to stop being underestimated by everyone, they need everyone to see them as athletes and artists. The world only sees a small fraction of a dancer’s life. While a performance on a stage may look flawless, the amount of work put into making it look like that is completely underappreciated. A pretty, perfect ballerina with a pink tutu, twirling with her arms above her head; ladylike hair with a Barbie-like face—these are the stereotypical images of dancers that come to most people’s minds. The real image is a sweaty dancer with ripped shoes, broken toes, blood coming out of her tights, and that’s really what dance is. People don’t see this, because dancers are so highly trained to mask this intensity, to make everything appear absolutely effortless. (Berkey) The intense level of covering up what really goes on behind the scenes makes dance appears as an activity that does not require the amount o... ... middle of paper ... ...re appreciation because dancers are athletes, according to the definition of athlete. Works Cited "Barre Work in Ballet." Answers.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2014. . Bergeron, Victoria, and Sara Luzuriaga. "Artist or Athlete? The Reality of Dance at Andover." . N.p., 21 Feb. 2014. Web. 19 May 2014. . Bryant, Janine. "Dancers as Athletes." The Dance Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2014. . "Dancers as Athletes." . N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2014. . "Dictionary.com - The world's favorite online English dictionary!." Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2014. .

Show More
Related

  • Romantic Ballet

    3140 Words  | 7 Pages

    Ballet has been an art form since the late fifteenth century, but society did not truly see the impact of ballet until the nineteenth century. Modern day thinkers possess the idea that ballet began with tutus and pointe shoes, but it wasn’t until the nineteenth century that this opinion was observed. Ballet has come a long way. It has survived the turmoil of many wars and has changed itself by accepting new ideas and impressing the audience with its unique stylistic views.

    Read More

  • How Mark Morris Changed Dance

    1207 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dance is an ever evolving form of art; in much the same way that one can categorize and differentiate between eras and styles of architecture one can also do so with dance. These eras at times have sharp delineations separating them from their antecedents, other times the distinction is far more subtle. Traditional forms of dance were challenged by choreographers attempting to expand the breadth and increase the depth of performance; preeminent among such visionaries was Seattle born dancer and choreographer Mark Morris. Mark Morris' began as one of the millions of hopeful individuals attempting to simply make a career in dance; he not only succeeded but managed to have a lasting effect on the entire landscape of dance.

    Read More

  • The Major Themes in Russell Freedman's Martha Graham, a Dancer’s Life

    906 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin with, Martha’s desperate effort was one of her strong strengths. When Martha began dance, many people murmured that Martha would fail because she was “quite a few years above the average age of all the other girls in the school” (28), “dumpy, [and] unprepossessing” (28). However, she astonished her dance teachers and others “with her determination to learn and her quick mastery of difficult exercises, gestures, and steps” (30). Martha usually spent her time on the studio alone all day and night, seeking for unique, exotic, and alluring movements of her own. Ted Shawn, Mar...

    Read More

  • Gymnastics Argumentative Essay

    965 Words  | 2 Pages

    By universal definition, "sport" is listed as "an activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively." Football, basketball, baseball, soccer and other primary activities have always been concretely defined as sports in society. However, one of the most physically demanding activities is constantly forgotten when it comes to the realm of sports- dance. Dance requires a tremendous amount of training and creates an aura of competition in which people compete to be the best, win, and take home the trophy- just like in traditionally accepted sports. These sports, however, do not possess an element of psychological health threats that some competitive dancers unfortunately must account for due to the emphasis placed on physical appearance.

    Read More

  • College Essay Dance

    466 Words  | 1 Pages

    Ballet is an athletic art form that utilizes muscle control, flexibility, and physical strength. It requires extreme discipline from the dancers and takes an extreme amount of mental concentration. This discipline causes dancers to have success throughout life and specifically in academic studies. There are many ways that dance can affect the success of a person’s life; however, there are two in specific that make dancers generally more successful. To begin, ballet causes dancers to be self-motivated workers; dancers cannot rely on others to push them to be better, but must have the drive within themselves.

    Read More

  • Free Admissions Essay - The Dance of Life

    623 Words  | 2 Pages

    For the dancer, music and choreography are paramount. The music guides the dancer, and the moves express the music. However, the dance has to start from somewhere.

    Read More

  • The Pressures of Dancers

    3179 Words  | 7 Pages

    The typical idea of a dancer is that they are tall, slender, full of energy, and lucky because they dance with all of the “stars”. Much of this is true, however, what many people do not think of are the many hardships that a dancer goes through in order to achieve their high status in the dance world. It takes much hard work and determination along with good direction to become a dancer. However, nothing good comes without a price. Dancers often times have many pressures put on them which can lead to physical and emotional damages. These damages occur through the pressures from the media, parents, teammates, and the stereotype that society has placed on dancers.

    Read More

  • Reality Television and the Dance World

    795 Words  | 2 Pages

    A great deal of the world possesses a vague sense of the existence of the dance world, but they do not know much past that. The assistance of reality television shows, such as Dance Moms, So You Think You Can Dance, and Dancing with the Stars, present the inner workings of the dance community to the general public. Unfortunately, the publicity can change how society perceives the dance world. Reality television affected the dance world by contributing an air of commercialism to it, influencing younger dancers to suppose the main focus should be in the eye-popping tricks rather than artistry, and it drives audiences focus on the glitzy costumes and dazzling on stage performances rather than exhibit the sweat, blood, and tears that go into putting together the final product.

    Read More

  • Dance Persuasive Speech

    672 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although, dance requires some natural skill it also requires dedication. Natural ability and talent will only get dancers so far. Dancers must work hard and persevere. Dancers give years of their lives plus their sweat, tears and sometimes blood to have the honor and pleasure of performing on stage. Dance takes dedication, commitment and passion from the dancer. The only one who can stop you from reaching your dance goals is you! Practice, persistence and determination pay off. Dancers that dedicate themselves countless hours every day, week, and month to become more confident and have more toned dedication and skill. So clearly, there is a question in people's minds about whether dance is a sport or an art. The dance community consists of many different factions and styles. You can dance at a club for fun, as a hobby, as a serious passion, or you can dance as a career. To be able to dance well, one needs to have flexibility, strength, stamina, endurance, and a love for what they do. I can see why people think that dance is not a sport. I know we make it look easy, but as many people don’t know, it’s really quite difficult. When you really take a look and see how many things football and dance have in common, you will see that dance truly is a sport. Dancers work just as hard as any football player in the United States. To conclude my thoughts my favorite quote in the world, “If dance were any

    Read More

  • Dance Persuasive Research Paper

    236 Words  | 1 Pages

    Even though other dancers may disagree that dancing shouldn’t have to be fun, the journey to achieve fame is the only mentality to reach self-betterment for some people. Dance is a sport and some believe that we should treat it how most competitive sports are like. Similar to the competitive world of sports, many athletes train and practice to strive for one goal and that is to capture the gold medal. The only way a person can get better is if an individual goes through the thick and thin direction and having an attitude of becoming the best. On the other hand, those who choose dance as their career depend on the occupation financially. Professional dancers are constantly reminded that performing arts is also a business that dancers make a

    Read More

  • Cinderella Stage Analysis

    753 Words  | 2 Pages

    After I began to learn to dance ballet, I found out that these elegant movements actually require a lot of strength, flexibility of the bodies and brain’s participation to make it looked elegant. The dancers’ movements in the performance were so fluent and elegant and it is not hard to imagine how hard they had practiced, stretched and use the strengths to do all the ballet poses with their bodies look longer and longer. Their expressions also impressed me a lot. By looking at their expressions, the audience can easily understand the scenes and blend into the story. The performers actually not only are required to have good dancing skills but also are required to have some talents to be actors. Moreover, they also have to be good at expressing their feelings on the

    Read More

  • The Sport Dance

    1979 Words  | 4 Pages

    Recognizing dance excellence in the competition world. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2013, from Federation of Dance Competition website: http://www.fdcdance.org/

    Read More

  • Reaching For Dreams - A Ballet

    669 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout this book, Kuklin observes the life of a dancer. The typical day of a professional ballerina at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre consists of waking up around seven to be at rehearsal in plenty of time to warm-up. In dance warming up your muscles is the most important device to do before beginning, as it helps you stay clear of any possible injuries. After warming up Jennifer, the choreographer, teaches them the dance and makes sure that every move “flows” with the body of the person dancing it. She claims that “the dancers must be comfortable with the shapes that they dance.” After hours of strenuous practice the dancers receive a five-minute break to cool off and grab a bite to eat.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay Dance

    1010 Words  | 3 Pages

    This first section is based on what dance is. Dance is defined differently by different people. Some people define it as a sport and some people define it as an art. Some people do dance for different reasons. Some people do dance as a sport, others do it as therapy, and others just do it recreationally. According to an article named When will Dancers Be Considered Atheletes, Dance can be done competitively. Dance is extremely beneficial for several reasons. According to When will Dancers be considered athletes, football players found that they had strengthened their ankles and feet, had increased agility, and were less likely to get hurt because of muscle strength after practicing a form of dance named ballet ( Dancers: Artists or Athletes?).

    Read More

  • Why Is Dance A Dance Essay

    1602 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many people will insist that dance is not a sport, but they are wrong. Dance, though also an art, is an intense sport, especially ballet. Sports are physically demanding, require a commitment, involve being fit and active, and are competitive and enjoyable. Ballet fits every single criterion above. A professional ballerina attends class every day, including tests of flexibility, gracefulness, and strength. Ballerinas are also continually rehearsing for their performances, which involve stressful costume changes. Nevertheless, dancers love it. Indeed, ballet should be considered a sport by all. Ballet is an old art and intense discipline that has endured for hundreds of years with a long, complex, and remarkable history including famous men and women remembered to this day.

    Read More

More about Dancer's Athletic Side

Open Document