Today, Tuft's University held their ballroom competition... which went fantastically. In the end, we ended up walking away with ribbons, a smile on our faces, and sore muscles... everywhere.
The thing I notice about dance is that no one seems to take is seriously. We call competitive ballroom dancing, "dancesport," but the first comment one usually gets is, "Ballroom isn't really a sport."
... really? Really? How do you define sport? A physically draining activity that challenges your ability to perform a task or a skill that you have learned and practiced ad nauseam in order to score points? You have coaches and team that you rely on for support to win? You gain a sense of accomplishment when you win, but strive to improve when you lose?
Interestingly enough, in ballroom we physically exert ourselves to the point of falling down, doing skills and moves we've practiced for months or years, to win points and place against other couples. We have large teams of dancers all working and practicing together. In short, it's the same thing. Ballroom=sport.
I'll give you this: ballroom is less manly than football or basketball. Then again, how manly can those activities be? I see more ass-slaps and homoeroticism during a game/match than in a trashy teen-fanfic story. Perhaps they are more mainstream, or even more heterosexual. But that doesn't make them better at all.
Side note: Contrary to popular belief, there are many straight ballroom dancers. Are there a plethora of homos? Yes... but not an overwhelming majority.
Ballroom is also a fantastic way to lose weight. I apparently burn anywhere from 250-500 calories an hour. How can you beat that? I get to lose weight like crazy doing something I love to do, which is actually a lot of fun? Win-win, really.
To anyone who thinks this isn't a difficult sport: Do a few laps of quickstep at 50+ BPM and tell me that's not genuine fatigue. If you make it halfway around the floor, then color me impressed.
Interesting article on this: http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/dec/25/ballroom_dancing_gaining_favor_next_potential_olym/
Enjoy. Deep down, we all just want to feel a little glamorous sometime.
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