Dance Fusion: Should It Be A Sport?

By Haley Hart 

During the 2000-2001 school year at MBHS, Morro Bay’s very own dance team was born. “Dance Fusion” became a staple at both our pep rallies and football games. But even though this school now has over 2 decades of dance under its belt, throughout those years it has only ever been considered an extracurricular. This is because to be considered a sport, you have to be recognized by CIF or the “California Interscholastic Federation.” 

Other sports at Morro Bay High School that aren’t classified as extracurriculars rather than sports include cheerleading, surf, and boys beach volleyball. What this means for the individuals that participate in these “clubs” as well as the members of Dance Fusion, is that they cannot get PE credits for their hard work like the majority of athletes at MBHS can. But should they? Well, according to the dancers themselves, abso-freakin-lutely!

Sophomore Bridget O’Leary, who has been a member since her freshman year, says “of course we should be recognized as a sport, some could even argue we work more than regular sports, we practice year round!” Likewise, senior Stiffany Plenario, had this to say, “we practice basically the whole school year, we even have summer practices, it’s a huge commitment.”

Even non-dancers shared this sentiment. Sophomore Sammy Nishihama said, “yes they could be, and should be, considered a sport. They practice more than most sports. Yeah, they don’t go to competitions, but they perform, that’s even scarier than competing.”

Some of the dancers even shared that they have done other sports, basketball, soccer, softball, and none even come close to being as physically demanding as dance. One dancer shared, “there’s this unique kind of pressure with dance that other sports just don’t have, because dance is, at the end of the day, a performance. Because dance, as well as cheerleading, are both considered entertainment they’re not taken as seriously as they should be. All sports can be considered performance art if you really think about it. So why are those sports recognized, but dance is not?”