The debate between art and athleticism

By Hannah Stroh

Editorial Assistant

Ballet has long been acclaimed as one of the purest forms of artistic expression, but as its athletic demands intensify, the question arises: is ballet an art, a sport, or a fusion of both? With dancers pushing the limits of strength, flexibility, and endurance, the line between artistic performance and athletic competition blurs, challenging how we define the discipline.

Ballerinas in Winterdance performing the Blue Dance. Photo courtesy of Audrey Stroh.

“No, I don’t think it’s a sport, I say this because I think that it is an art form despite the fact that it requires you to be athletic, but there needs to be more than just taking athleticism to be considered a sport,” iU prep student says in the iHoot newspaper article. 

Many believe ballet is strictly an art form because of its delicate and graceful movements of the wrists, fingers and the way you point your toes when seen on stage. What people don't see is the amount of physical strength and discipline ballet requires to perfect this intricate form of dance. 

“An easy way to tell that ballet is a sport is to look at a dancer’s feet, specifically the women since they go on pointe. I will tell you this, you will never see any other athlete in any sports with feet as mangled as dancer’s feet,” Nathan Travis says in the iHoot newspaper article. 

Strong muscles are required in order to do pointe work to carry your weight whilst dancing on pointe. Some may say “It looks easy” when in reality the job of a ballerina is to make it look easy. What they don't see is the hard work that goes into ballet to get to that level of difficulty. 

Art and sport can be confused since both consist of practice, discipline, and rehearsals to improve skills and master their craft through dedication. The definition of a sport is a form of activity that improves endurance, muscular strength and power. 

“How some sports are played on a team or individual, ballet has solo and core group opportunities for performing as well. Everything is rehearsed, as if they are going over a game plan. Being a team, their performance is only as good as everyone else’s performance. Everyone has to be in sync when turning or another movement, if not it can throw everyone off or create an injury,” article Ballet Arizona said. 

Dance has many of the same aspects a sport does, requiring hard work, preparation and practice. To put a piece together, you have to work on the timing of the music, the movements and in a group, learn to be together, meaning you have to know your music and counts. 

“Many people don’t realize how much strength is required in dance. Dancers spend hours training their legs, core, and upper body to perform powerful leaps, turns, and floor work. These strength building exercises provide boys with the muscle development they need to succeed in other sports,” Hillary White from NAN'S School of Dance said.