My Sport - Winter

Dance is about hearing the music and feeling the movements. It is about really knowing and executing sharp or flowing motions depending on the style of dance. Being flexible and having great balance are also helpful when practicing and performing and can really improve the overall visual of the style you are showing off. There are many different styles of dance, these including hip hop, jazz, contemporary, tap, ballet, modern, and lyrical. The style of dance you choose to do will usually lead with different genres of music, different types of movements, and different speeds of movements.

Fitness Components

For health related fitness components, you could argue that all of the five are important in dance: cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition. The three that I feel are the most important for dancing competitively are cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance, and flexibility. Cardiovascular fitness is important because while you are dancing, you are moving nonstop and they can be faster or slow motions that can require stamina and good respiratory health. Muscular endurance is also an important aspect because dances are generally 2-3 minutes long, and being able to execute moves to their fullest extent is a big part of a good performance, especially during competitions. Becoming tired halfway through the dance and performing the second half less full out can severely affect the show. Flexibility is also a large part of dance, but one that has different levels. Being flexible can enhance your movements and make them look more appealing, but also being not as flexible would not make it look horrible. Depending on the movement, however, it can change how 'well done' the motion looks altogether.

For skill related fitness components, again they are all arguably part of dance, but the three that stand out the most to me are power, balance, and coordination. Power is important to execute the moves completely full out and with a lot of force to make them look sharper and complete. Balance is a skill that is one of the most important in dance. You need to use it when you are turning or kicking or some other motion where you may not have both feet on the ground or where you are not completely upright. Being able to use your core, especially during turns, to keep your balance will make a huge difference. You pretty much would not be able to dance at all if you had no balance as most moves require balance of some sort. Lastly, coordination is important because learning the steps and styles and motions of the dances comes from watching and then doing. Different parts of your body will also be doing many different things at the same time, and you will have to memorize these to perform well.