A question I stumble upon frequently, and I'd like to think no. My reasons? There is nothing worse than watching a 'dancer' who is so insistent on portraying his/her physical limits, and their physical limits only. Without that 'spark' and expression, you're nothing more than an athlete. Want to see tricks and the push of physical boundaries? Then there are plenty of gymnasts which are more than happy to thrill you.

There is so much more to dance, and as an art is surely about communicating with an audiences emotions, whether that be through grace, character or rhythm. A dancer with the ability to project and connect, erupting whatever that may be in an audience member; in my opinion, that's real talent in the dance field. Yes, tricks and abnormal amounts of flexibility's wonderful, but after a while.. yawn fest. The true beauty of dance is the energy and its transmission. Narrowly eliminating the wonders of dance by labelling it as a sport only promotes the art to adapt an ugly nature, that of competition.

And competing for what? Physical ability? Again, go and watch a gymnast. They surely deserve to maintain the nature of their sport, why take that away from them and convert it upon dance? Or will it be a case of judging how beautiful and expressive a dancer can be? Not entirely poossible. With the existance of various dance styles, the beauty can, at times, be in the eye of the beholder. What is great is the appreciation people gain from the atmosphere so many of these styles create. Especially as a contemporary dancer, I myself am excited by the artistic energy that runs through the dancers and the piece as a whole. How is a narrowminded judgemental view of dance more enjoyable?

Dance is one of the most wonderful artistic outlets. It is inspiring, exciting and by all means pleasurable; it makes you feel great and should be enjoyed by all. Sure, promoting dance to keep fit especially within younger generations is simply fantastic, but in turn introduces why we dance; to feel good. Turn it into a battle, you lose out on the power it gives back to those watching and puts one hell of a downer on the whole inspirational experience. Trust me, the nastiness that already exists within the field reagrding certain genres due to competition, is enough to wipe the smile off of anyone's face (meow). Where dance is concerned, keep competitive and artistic qualities seperate, both are great but in their own right.