How “ballerina bodies” effect dancers

Dance is a way for people to express themselves with emotion that cannot be conveyed through words. I started dancing at a young age and it has grown to be something I love and a time I look forward to. Dance also can promote body issues and self-worth. However young dancers, I included, have found that tight clothes and long mirrors can increase issues with body image.  

There are many types of dance that show different emotions and tell different stories. Dance can be a way to love your body. In my personal experience, the dance community was a positive space where I could be myself. When I was young I had a hard time expressing myself because I was shy and could not talk to people. Even though that has changed, dance is still a way to get things off my chest when I cannot put them into words. I also enjoyed the friendly competition of dance. I was always pushing myself to do a double pirouette or a calypso. These accomplishments made me love my body and the things I could do. But even though I considered myself a good dancer, I always felt pressure for a “ballerina body”. 

I’d like to preface that anyone who does ballet has a ballerina body. Dance today has evolved in a sense that dance contains all shapes and sizes. However, I feel there will always be a stigma around the body shape of a ballerina. The stereotypical body type of a ballerina is thin with no curves, no fat and no shape. This body type has been encouraged since the beginning for professional dance. George Balanchine founded the New York City Ballet, the first professional ballet company in the United States. Balanchine stated that the shape of a ballerina should be a line. This harmful idea influenced dancers around the world to not eat and push themselves to have the “perfect” body. Body image issues continue to be prevalent in the dance world as young dancers feel the need to meet Balanchine’s standards of being a line. The image of skinny and tall ballerinas has affected the way I dance for my entire life.  

Around 12 or 13 years old I learned that I did not have a stereotypical dancer’s body. For a long time I thought I just was not as graceful or could not hold my turns as long as the other girls. Things changed after I realized what stood apart from me and the other dancers. My body is not and will never be George Balanchine’s definition of a perfect dancer. The mirrors, the leotards, it all made it impossible for me to dance as best as I could. It wasn’t because I was incapable. It was because I could not think about anything other then how I looked in the mirror compared to the other dancers. This took a toll on my life and became an obsession. Every day I thought about how I could make myself a “line”, when what I really needed to learn was to accept that I am a great dancer who will never be a line.  

 I was given a great dance community that told me my body is a dancer’s body, no matter how it looks. It was a struggle to gain the confidence but I turned and leaped until I believed them. Over time I had a realization about my definition of dance. Dance is a place to be unconditionally and unapologetically who you are, not who someone else wants you to be.