Breakdancing a sport? – The facts
1. Breakdancing is a form of dance since at least 30 years. It was recently renamed ‘breaking’ to be exploited as sport.
2. Ballroom dancing has been renamed ‘dancesport’ with the same commercial intention. Water dancing and ice dancing have been renamed too.
3. Dance is one of the major arts since Antiquity, together with theater, music, poetry, or literature. Arts and sports are based on totally different principles.
4. Competitive spirit is marginal in the arts, what is central is the quest for beauty and expression. There is no quest for beauty or expression in sports.
5. There are dance competitions, but the great majority of dancers refuse to take part. Even there, dance remains artistic, it is not transformed to sport.
6. In sports, results are measurable, spectators see who is the winner. If you have to have a committee to evaluate, their criteria are dubious.
7. Artists are paid to perform, athletes are not paid to compete (they get bonuses if they win, in some countries).
8. Each sport has a democratic structure from the base up: athletes, clubs, federations, confederations. Champions rise to the top through tiered competitions. There are no such structures in the arts.
9. All dances are equal, all dancers are equal, audiences decide whom they prefer. There are no champions, no ranking systems, no national anthems played.
10. Sports is a multi-billion dollar industry, it can easily invade any art, especially dance, the most neglected of the arts. It can corrupt dancers. It can also convince public opinion that cannibalizing dance is a clean game.
11. If the International Olympic Committee wants to mimic “So You Think You Can Dance” and the “Eurovision Contest” they should at least: (a) not deceive the public by renaming and disguising dances (b) pay a fee to all dancers (c) let spectators vote (d) find measurable criteria to evaluate performances.
12. The International Dance Council CID opposes the sportification of dance. UNESCO should throw its weight about this, protecting artists and safeguarding the Arts as part of Culture.
Games, leave the Arts alone!
Prof. Dr. Alkis Raftis
President
- The International Dance Council CID is the official global organization for Dance.
- Its members are the most prominent federations, schools, companies and individuals in more than 180 countries.
- CID was founded in 1973 within the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, where it is based.
- CID is official partner of UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
International Dance Council CID Conseil International de la Danse
CID, UNESCO, 1 rue Miollis, FR-75732 Paris, France
Tel. +33 1 4568 4953 WhatsApp: +33 6 1155 3111
www.CID-world.org https://lnkd.in/eWAsB6g
ExecSec@CID-world.org
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