It's played for the HQ dance (8)
I believe the answer is:
baseball
'it's played for' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'hq dance' is the wordplay.
'hq' becomes 'base' (HQ is headquarters).
'dance' becomes 'ball' (ball is a kind of dance).
'base'+'ball'='BASEBALL'
'the' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for baseball that I've seen before include "Game played in sable alb?" , "Summer sport of US" , "Lea blabs about the sport" , "Predominantly North American game" , "Game played on a diamond" .)