An arched foot, an exposed collar bone, a tucked tummy and a long neck. Dancers’ bodies are constantly looked at and critiqued which leads them to never feel satisfied with what they see.
From a very young age, aspiring dancers are conditioned to stand in front of body-length mirrors in tight leotards around other individuals their age and focus on every inch of their bodies.
How it’s moving, how it looks, what’s wrong with it and what needs to be fixed; it is a constant thought.
And even though dancing is one of the oldest and most beloved art forms in all cultures of the world, there are times it can be taken to the extremes. This intensity, especially seen in ballet, can be a push-and-pull struggle for young girls to take care of their bodies under these circumstances.
While there are multiple ways that body image issues fester, ballet dancers have an increased chance of struggling with eating disorders.
Nourishing NY says, “Studies show that 10% of young girls struggle with an eating disorder (ED). This rate is much higher within the dance world, where the thin body ideal is hugely worshiped. Research has found that 35% of female ballet dancers suffer from eating disorders.”
The desire for perfection hangs heavy on ballerinas and can create a fragile relationship between their body that is producing art but is also perceived as their number one enemy.
When you are the art form being perceived it’s easy to over-critique it and do everything in your power to control it so that it’s “perfect.”
Dancing has started to begin at an earlier age, causing girls who are younger to grow up with a distorted view of their bodies compared to others.
Athletes’ bodies shift and fluctuate with time and for dancers this is presented openly in rehearsal, in costumes and on stage during a performance.
“Studies show that over 75% of dancers feel pressured to lose weight,” said Dance Nutrition. Some varying reasons they feel this way are because of the tight-fitting costumes they wear on stage, the belief that a lower body weight will help them become better dancers and because it’s easy and almost necessary to compare yourself to other dancers in the mirror.
Being aware of how your body is moving is only half of what dancers are trained to do.
Noticing how you look next to others can improve the synchronization of the dance as a whole. Also, when you are struggling with a specific move or technique following fellow dancers in the mirror helps guide your own body.
While these factors on their own aren’t’ harmful—it can sometimes be beneficial—weeks and years of training like this can lead to mental and physical comparison that leads to negative body image issues.
George Balanchine, who was the founder of the School of American Ballet, described the “Balanchine Body” as the perfect ballerina body which according to the website Ritenour Live is, “lean, with very long legs and arms, small hips, a short torso, a small ribcage, and a long neck.”
This almost too-perfect-to-be-true body can create mental health issues in young girls.
Thinking they are not only not good enough for their dances but also their teachers.
Creating an endless cycle of wanting to train and work as hard as you can but not fuel your body the way it needs to be in hopes of reaching the “perfect ballerina body.”
Body image issues in girls of all ages have been a problem for hundreds of years and the strict aspects, techniques and pressures of dance do nothing to help alleviate these negative feelings.
With time, hopefully, we can make young girls feel empowered by their bodies and the food they’re fueling it with so they can grow into strong women with a healthier relationship with food, their bodies and their peer’s bodies.
