Jazz Vs Cheerleading

Dance began as a form of communication and storytelling. Thousands of years ago dancing served as a way for people to tell a story and helped distract themselves of the hardships they faced. Furthermore, dance was a form of storytelling through communication, which then turned into using storytelling through dance as entertainment. According to the History World, many dancers during the BC time danced in front of only a few people to get a story across. That later turned into hundreds of thousands of people as dance was used by many. Today, dance is also a form of entertainment and storytelling, but in a modern sense. However, today perfection and technique are stressed more than they were in the past. Yet, the passion for dance has not changed. Many dancers who share this passion also have many of the same qualities. Among a discourse community of trained dancers, one expects to find individuals who are healthy and active athletes, expect perfection from themselves through competition, and religiously attend dance performances.

Most people overlook cheerleading as a sport unless they were once a cheerleader or know a cheerleader personally. Many people do not realize that most all sports are equal. People do not realize the similarities cheerleading have with basketball. Many people do not think cheerleading is a real sport, yet cheerleading and basketball have a lot of similarities like workout ethics, competitions, professional league and scholarship.

According to Joe Hatton, the author of the article, “Sports Beat - The sport of cheerleading: It’s more than just pompoms and smiles,” cheerleading is a sport because it requires strength, balance, and coordination. The major claim of the article is “cheerleading is a sport - plain and simple - and cheerleaders are true athletes” (Hatton C-04). The article offers the following arguments in support of the claim. Hatton claims because cheerleaders are athletes, cheerleading is a sport. Hatton also says cheerleading is a sport because of the competitive aspects. We believe cheerleading is not a sport, because not all cheerleaders compete. Most cheerleaders rarely, if ever, show athleticism. Cheerleading

From kindergarten until high school, I was a member of the Jean Wolfmeyer School of Dance. Up to 5 days per week, I would be at the dance studio taking classes, rehearsing for shows, and helping out in the less advanced classes. Regardless of skill level, Jean never hesitated to speak the brutally honest truth about students’ performances and she never settled for anything less than perfection. Jean would often preach that she is only the instruction manual and she cannot make us good dancers, we had to do that for ourselves. However, it was not her critique or teaching alone that motivated dancers to perform well, it was her relentless work ethic and commitment to her studio. As a 70 year-old women, Jean held classes as much as 7 days per

The sport of cheerleading has been around for a long time; since 1884 in fact! In the beginning, cheer was a sport dominated by college men. Since, women have taken over, and in 1967 the first ranked college cheer competition was held. Both school and competitive cheerleading offer many rewarding opportunities. Though they are a part of the same sport, the two types of squads are actually quite diverse. School cheer is undeniably a worthwhile and respectable sport, but competitive teams often provide a more challenging approach, and are more suited to experienced cheerleaders.

When it comes to cheerleading, most of us will readily agree that it is not a real sport. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of why not. Whereas some are convinced that cheerleading doesn’t meet necessary qualifications to officially be a sport, others maintain that it does have qualities deeming it to be a sport. This is because the competition level in high school and college exceeds the expectation of those other sports that put in the time, hard work and effort to win a championship or tournament. Many don’t consider the cheerleaders that get tossed in the air, have extensive acrobatic skills, and the strength to carry their teammates on their shoulders or even in their hands in the competitions. They don’t get the credit they deserve or are recognized appropriately enough for the sport they compete in, earning them the respect of being the athletes they are in the sport they’re apart of, therefore I’m in favor of cheerleading being considered a sport.

Whether cheerleading is considered a sport has become a very controversial topic over the past few years. Due to lack of education of the sport, it is very frowned upon by other athletes. Other athletes seem to feel that cheerleading isn't difficult and requires minimum to no effort. These accusations can be very hurtful when coming from a cheerleader’s perspective. Based on their strength and skill, the amount of practicing and maintaining health, the number of injuries, and its competitive aspect, cheerleading should be considered a sport. The talent that these young men and women have is phenomenal. The performance of their skills looks extremely flawless but no one truly knows what goes on behind the pretty stunts and synchronized

Harker, Brian. “Louis Armstrong, Eccentric Dance, and the Evolution of Jazz on the Eve of Swing.” Journal of the American Musicological Society, University of California Press Journals, 1 Apr. 2008, jams.ucpress.edu/content/61/1/67. Accessed 13 Apr. 2017.

Dance is a unique sport because it combines the grit and sweat of sporting events, such as track and field, with the style and extravagance of a fashion show (D.Fowler, 2000).

The first intercollegiate American Football game was played between Princeton university and Rutgers University in 1869, and cheerleading began in the 1880s with Princeton's all-male pep club. In 1923, women were allowed to become cheerleaders at the University of Minnesota, and during the 1920s, cheerleaders added acrobatics to the cheers (Being a Cheerleader). The first Cheerleading National Championship was held in 1982, hosted by the Universal Cheerleaders Association, and since then there have been many cheerleading competitions and events worldwide (History of Cheerleading). Cheerleading takes physical strength, coordination, and teamwork, and in 2009, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that it is legally classified as a contact sport (ESPN). Yet, despite these things, many people do not consider it to be a sport. They give many reasons it is not a sport, but despite these claims, cheerleading takes a lot of hard work, and should be considered a sport.

Alyssa Roengik a former cheerleader of University of Florida argues that cheerleading is not

Cheerleading is a sport and this is why. Cheerleading was invented on November 2, 189. campbell was the very first person to make organized cheering. Campbell cheers are still used in today society. The first to do it was Minnnesota.

The definition of a sport is ¨an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of competitive nature¨ (Dictionary.com). Cheerleading meets the requirements of a sport because they need skills like tumbling, balance, and strength, and they are very physical with stunts and tumbling. Cheer is also competitive because you have to have a perfect routine in order to win the trophy. Cheerleading meets all the athletic specifications which are: must involve physical activity, has to be competition, have to be rules, and skills have to be involved (Cheer Debate: Is Cheerleading a Sport?). Cheerleaders work hard and they don't get the recognition that they deserve because they work very hard and get very strong in order to do what they love doing.

When thinking of a specific type of dance, the vast majorities of the time people generally relate and direct the art form to a certain type of culture or race. As times develop and cultures start to merge, people tend to try and get to understand other diversities. This happens especially when we look at various forms of dance, where the people of origin are no longer the only ones who strictly perform it. Shown in the movies “Save the Last Dance” and “Take the Lead” both show a great deal of racial status and stereotypes involving dance, where the minorities try their best to fit in. Proving themselves by showing how they can adapt to other cultures by the flow and movement of their bodies. Both show a great understanding on how people of different races can be brought together by something most people can relate to, dance. To what extent does race inform the dancing as portrayed in the films “Save the Last Dance” (2001) and “Take the Lead” (2006)? To support the following argument stated above, there are several sources that will be implemented throughout the essay found within the dance community (journals, articles and books).

Growing up as a child, children, including myself participated in extra curricular activities. For young boys, they mostly joined sports teams such as Football, Basketball, Baseball and Soccer.Young girls joined recreational cheerleading or dancing. Most cheerleaders would end up cheerleading for their school teams or if you were a dancer you continued on at a dance studio. It was rare that one girl did both extremes of dancing and cheerleading. It was either one or the other. Why not both you might ask? Although dancing and cheerleading have some much in common, such as the timing, persistent accuracy of body moment and use of music; there are many different aspects that make them unlike each other. Cheerleading involves a lot of cheering and use of the voice, dancing requires no voices at all. In most genres of dancing, although it is important to be on point with timing and movement; the body moves at a gentle and smooth flowing pace. Cheerleading is the complete opposite; their move is stiff and to the point, making it clear for their audience to see the switch in positions. Although cheerleading and dancing are often combined as the same category of sport and can often as well be combined together in a routine, they are have very different styles of movement, purpose and audiences.