dance - a sport or an art?

okay, so I've been doing this bloggy thing for about a month or so. and i can't seem to get any readers. so i decided - maybe i need a topic for each post, to make it more organized. my past posts have just been randomocity ... about what's going on in my life, my new favorite song, fashion, my polyvore, blahblahblah. and as much as I like telling people about what's going on in my life, I'm pretty sure you don't care that much. and plus, a controversal topic brings in more readers, and i like to hear other people's opinions on things. therefore, the topic for today is ....

Dance - an Art or a Sport?

sport - (n) an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often a competitive nature.

I have been a dancer for about 10 years, and have trained in ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, hip hop, contemporary, lyrical, and pretty much any other genre you can think of. and get this straight - we train and work as hard as any athlete. it looks easy, which makes it so much harder. tell me, what baseball player do you know who can achieve those leaps? or fouette turns?

and have you ever seen an overweight ballerina? i sure haven't. some people say "well, ballerinas don't eat. they're all anorexic." which is so far from the truth. I am mainly a ballerina, and lemme tell you, there is no way i could live without food, much less dance without food. and who says there aren't anorexic basketball players? cheerleaders? soccer players...? how could dancers be so physically fit and strong if they did not work just as hard as athletes? we're not talking about your high school dance team here, which, for some people is the only exposure to dance they've ever seen.
in the definition of sport, it also mentions sports often have a competitive nature, which is so true with dance. even if you don't do competitive dance, there is always competition going on with who's the "best" dancer, who can do a tour jete, etc.

art - the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.

as much as I firmly believe that dance is a sport, I also believe it is very much an art. It is definately a way to express yourself ... for example take this piece from last summer's season of So You Think You Can Dance by the great genius Mia Michaels.

what makes dance different from sports, is a volleyball game could never give a message that strong.

dance is also one of the most beautiful things in the world. there is no athlete who is as beautiful and graceful as a dancer.

to a person who has never set foot in a pointe shoe, this may look so effortless. but do you know what pointe shoes are made of? they are not the same as soft, leather ballet slippers. you think that dancers can just magically balance on their toes, right? wrong. pointe shoes all contain a box at the front which are made from a very hard material, almost like wood. thus the many injuries and pain a ballerina faces. to work on pointe, you must build up so much ankle strength, which is why if a person who has never stepped in a pointe shoe before tried to dance with them on, the results would be disastrous.

So, what do you think? Is dance a sport or an art?