Living in a house with mostly girls; cheerleading, dance, makeup, hair, etc. was always a huge priority. You always found yourself in not one but with several dance classes every year and at least one tumble/cheer class. Why are they so different? I've done both dance and cheer over the last few years and I think I've finally figured out the differences.

1. Dance is graceful, elegant and pretty much everything cheer isn't.

Dance is slower, a mix of sharp and loose movements, and simply, dancing. Cheerleading is sharp movements, very loud and has girls flying in the air everywhere.

2. Dance and cheer require different muscle strength.

If you've ever seen a dancer's legs or a cheerleader's legs, you can instantly tell the difference. A dancer has muscular legs; however, it's mainly in their calves. Whereas, if you look at a cheerleader's legs, she has way more muscle in hers and probably bigger thighs and calves from stunting.

3. You can always tell and dancer from a cheerleader.

How? A dancer is more quiet, more down to earth and not as spastic. Cheerleaders are known for being loud, bubbly and pretty much all over the place.

4. Dance requires longer and more practices.

No, I'm not saying that cheerleaders don't practice as much, but they can generally get by with practicing two to three times a week for no more than three hours. Dance practices last forever because you have to learn so many steps, go through it multiple times, and repeat.

5. Dance classes or drill teams can range from 20-30+ girls while most cheer squads only have about no more than 20.

So, being a dancer you have to learn placement and timing to keep from running into one another. Or being a cheerleader, you have to get the timing right to keep from looking like a complete idiot in front of everyone

As you can see, though they're both very similar (especially to some people), dance and cheer are very different. From the movements, to practice, to how many girls there are. It all varies.