There is no doubt that when the word “dance” comes up, the word “art” is usually associated with it. However, there are so many different types of dance today and I don’t think they all fit the bill. I, myself, haven’t danced since my mom put me in a kiddie ballet class back in the day and, if I’m remembering correctly, I refused to return. I think this is how most kids get their start in dance (maybe without the refusing to return part). Their moms sign them up for the tots class, they go and either like it or don’t, and their moms either continue signing them up or don’t (sometimes the mom’s signing-up and the kid’s desire to return don’t correlate). For those who continue this routine season after season, there’s a good chance you’ll be in it for the long haul. When high school, comes around, you can either choose to participate in the high school dance team, or find other outlets for your dancing. I think this is where the biggest distinction between art and sport originates.
Dancing on a large team that involves a choreographer and dancing individually, self-choreographing, are two very different things. A large group of dancers can undoubtedly portray a certain emotion, but I think the most artistic part about this portrayal is the choreography. The choreographer is the artist and the dancers are his or her tools. With a solo dance that has been choreographed by the dancer, the dancer has full control over what she does with her body and what emotions she’s expressing.
When you add competition to the equation, I think dance moves even further away from being an art form. Here, like in other sports, skill and technicalities can play a larger role than trying to communicate or represent an emotion or feeling. This is probably because the goal in a competition is to win, not to genuinely demonstrate the use of the body to represent emotions. The distinction between dance as an art and dance as a sport has nothing to do with amount of practice or skill level, because these are important in both sports and arts, but rather how you exhibit them. Sports focus on perfecting and repeating skills from practice and arts focus on using these skills to communicate.
So, you can join the high school (or college) dance team, where competition and group choreography create a sport out of dance, or you can do your own thing and turn your dance into an art. You don’t have to choose just one and there’s no right or wrong way to go, obviously. Whether a sport, an art, or a little bit of both, dance can be entertaining for the dancer and for the audience. It all just depends upon what you want to gain from your dancing.