Examining Conceptualizations of Dance in Ontario University Athletic Contexts

Abstract

This research examined perceptions surrounding dance as a sport, art, or combination of both in Ontario universities. Competitive dancers, dance coaches, and athletic department staff in postsecondary participated in online surveys and interviews to share their individual beliefs, knowledge, and understandings about competitive dance and the ways dancers can occupy spaces as artists and athletes. Perceptions of dance from each group of key informants proved to be dependent on a range of factors within universities and across individual participants. Most participants stated they viewed dance as both an art and a sport but demonstrated tension in how dancers occupied spaces as legitimate athletes within various institutions. While participants indicated openness to the idea of dance as a sport and dancers as athletes, the ways in which this was actually attainable at the university-level was hindered by various institutional and systemic barriers.