Being a Dancer at My School
I go to a private school in the U.S. and it amazing. At my school, we
have a giant campus,
delicious food in the lunchroom, and many, many sports teams. Another thing about my school
is that athletes are often seen as “the best of us” as a student body. This seems great, right?
The only issue is that an athlete is someone who competes in a sport and out of that category,
the sports that are recognized are mostly ball sports. The only non-ball sport acknowledged is
track and field. Do you see the issue? I do. I am a dancer and consider myself an athlete.
As stated in the Merriam Webster Dictionary , an athlete is “a person who is trained or skilled in
exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina.” Nowhere in
this definition does it say, “you must play a ball sport or be in a sport played by the school, to be an an athlete.”
delicious food in the lunchroom, and many, many sports teams. Another thing about my school
is that athletes are often seen as “the best of us” as a student body. This seems great, right?
The only issue is that an athlete is someone who competes in a sport and out of that category,
the sports that are recognized are mostly ball sports. The only non-ball sport acknowledged is
track and field. Do you see the issue? I do. I am a dancer and consider myself an athlete.
As stated in the Merriam Webster Dictionary , an athlete is “a person who is trained or skilled in
exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina.” Nowhere in
this definition does it say, “you must play a ball sport or be in a sport played by the school, to be an an athlete.”
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In physical education, we play ball sports, run, work out, and do one
week of salsa
out of the whole year of physical education. The teachers explained that this is
because they needed something to put on the calendar to fill up one week and
one of our teachers can salsa dance. The salsa dance is almost everybody's least
favorite part of PE but its my favorite. This is because it feels like there are
actually skills being taught at or below my skill level.
out of the whole year of physical education. The teachers explained that this is
because they needed something to put on the calendar to fill up one week and
one of our teachers can salsa dance. The salsa dance is almost everybody's least
favorite part of PE but its my favorite. This is because it feels like there are
actually skills being taught at or below my skill level.
I agree, dancing is just as rigorous and demanding as competitive ball sports. You'll end up with a lot more graceđŸ¤—
ReplyDeleteHi Anna- I like how passionate you are about dance and how you point out that Salsa is a unit in between units, but we should actually have a dance unit. I do a small sport too and I completely agree with you that a ball sport isn't what makes you athletic. What kind of dance do you think they should have in PE?
ReplyDelete-slim celery
Hi, Anna. This post was very well written, and I can relate. As you know, I do circus, (among other things, such as dance), and it's very difficult for people to understand that it actually gives you a workout, which I don't get. I hope this gets read by those people! -Mickey Mouse
ReplyDeleteDear Anna,
ReplyDeleteI loved the tone of this blog post. You seemed like you truly believe what you are saying(as do I)but you said it in a nice tone that did not criticize anyone directly. I admire this because I to do dance and sometimes feel that I can be somewhat critical of the teachers and staff like it is their fault that dance is not considered a sport at our school.
Beautiful job,
Han Cloclo2.0
hi anna it was good that you showed what it feels like to be a dancer in a world dominated by balls sports it is always good to learn about other athletes and to shed light on the fact that they work as hard as any athlete .
ReplyDeleteDear Anna,
ReplyDeleteI really like your blog because I myself play three ball sports and I used to do dance so I agree with you, dance is just as hard and sometimes even harder then any sport but nobody cares enough to notice. Did you ever play a ball sport?
Sincerely,
LoveAndGelato
Dear Anna,
ReplyDeleteI liked how you described you feelings towards the fact that dance is also a sport. One question I have for you is; If you could teach your class dance for a month, how would you go about engaging them, because as you said, "dance is almost everybody's least favorite part of PE."
Sincerely,
Purplesealsonpluto
Dear Anna,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post! I am friends with a lot of dancers (you might be one, I don't know :), so I often hear a lot about dancing and how hard-core it actually is. Like you, I also think it should be considered a sport. What is your favorite type of dance?
Thanks,
Soccer4life4415
Hi Anna,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed how you talked about how dance is often not considered a sport. I think dance is very creative and takes time to master. I agree that they should include more sports such as, dance, gymnastics, climbing, and martial arts at school. What is your favorite type of dance and why?
Thanks,
minionsrule!12