Is Dance a Sport

OR WHAT?Dance is a unique sport because it combines the grit and sweat of sporting events, such as track and field, with the style and extravagance of a fashion show (D.Fowler, 2000). With such an atypical style, dance can be found in various forms. Dance can be entertainment, tradition, recreation, a competitive event, or even a simple act of joy. So should dance be classified as a sport....or what? Many people believe that dance is a "cute" activity that is "fun" but shouldn't be taken seriously. Why is this? Dance has been around for generations, but, as it seems, dance is still a thing of the past, that hasn't caught up with modern trends. Although dance may be considered old-fashioned - should dance be excluded from being classified a sport?After surveying a group of fifty of my peers on their perception of dance as a sport [View Appendix 1 - survey template], I found the following results. Forty-seven out of the Fifty people surveyed have been involved in a dance of some type. Most of those who had had danced at school for educational purposes. The debate of whether dance should be an Olympic sport or not was a fairly even split between Agree and Disagree. Thirty-seven of the people surveyed agreed that dance is classified as a sport. [View appendix 2,3,4]. These responses are close to what I had expected. I knew that most people would have been involved in dance because of school Heath & Physical Education. However I thought that there would be far more people who believed dance is NOT a sport. Some opinions linked with appendix 2 (Is dance a sport?) were as follows...YES, especially ballet, tap etc., because it is hard work.I personally disagree with this statement because I don't believe that ballet, tap and other types of stage dances should be considered a sport just because they are 'hard work'. An activity cannot be classified as a sport simply because it involves physical exertion. Stage dances, I bel...