Our Cry For Help
To our dear audience,
First off, we would like to thank you. Due to your continuous support and interest in the Arts and dance, specifically. With an audience, we could showcase our love and passion. What’s a dancer without their audience? But there’s something we want to bring to your attention.
We’re letting you peek behind the curtain to see the ugly truth you all turn a blind eye to. The strict teachers who hurl insults. The number of dancers who puke in the bathroom, work themselves until they pass out, and never eat besides a grape every few days. The dancers are just bones but still see themselves as repulsive and fat. And the teachers who are supposed to teach us to take care of and listen to our bodies but instead praise those running themselves into the ground. Pretty things hide ugly truths.
We have a question: When did you last think ballerinas were skinny and delicate? Are Male dancers strong and manly? And let’s be honest if you see someone break your stereotype, what do you think? ‘Oh, they’re too big to be dancing. They shouldn’t wear that costume. They need to lose some weight.’ Even if it’s just for a second, and even if we know that shaming people’s bodies can have dire consequences, we all think about it, right?
And that right there is the problem. We, dancers, are supposed to look one way. Strive for perfection through movements but also with our figure. Famous dancer Heidi Guenther says, “They always pick people for parts who are skinny.” And she’s exactly right.
Did you know how many dancers you watch have an eating disorder? Most dancers struggle with body dysmorphia solely because of their studio environment. The general population has a 9% chance of struggling with disordered eating. The people you watch on stage? 12% of us suffer. And what about the pretty ballerinas? 16.4% suffer. But can this be true?
It’s true for Misty Copeland. For Mathilde Froustey. For every dancer who has ever been under the cruel iron fist of George Balanchine, it was all too true. For the beautiful American ballerina Heidi Guenther, it led to her death. Heidi dying at 22 directly due to extreme anorexia should have been a wake-up call. This public tragedy should have opened your eyes and made you realize how accurate those statistics are.
But did you do anything? Did you stop watching the company’s performances? No. The Boston Ballet Company continued to thrive. Why? Why did that happen?
It’s simple. It’s the societal pressure put on us. The strictness of dance teachers is never questioned because ‘it’s just how it should be.’ The horrifying thing is that this isn’t just happening in the professional world, with adults with fully developed brains. Children as young as six face harsh critiques of their appearances from those who should guide them.
The star dance teacher on the show, Abby Lee Miller, allegedly posted the weight of her dancers on a public bulletin board. In her dance contract, she had that dancers may not gain or lose so many pounds because they would be kicked out of the studio and have to pay a fee. She made little girls hold ten pounds of potatoes while doing jumps. Miller then told the young, impressionable children that that’s what it would be like if they gained ten pounds. That’s awful, right? Are you repulsed yet? But yet, Miller got a TV show. Miller was praised for the dancers she produced. Dance Moms has, on average, 2.2 million viewers and is shooting their ninth season.
You support this behavior. By watching it. By talking about. Even by doing absolutely nothing. Do the dancers you love to watch mean nothing more than just entertainment? Do you not see and value us as humans who can struggle with mental health? Or are we just like Barbie dolls to you? Thin, perfect bodies with a plastic smile forever on our faces?
Show us you care. Show us by talking out. Bring awareness to this issue. If you watch a performance with dancers who don’t fit the stereotypes, don’t leave awful reviews about how dance is losing its spark. Don’t tell others not to waste their time or money because of the dancers they allow on stage. Don’t become a bystander as we die out.
While we wouldn’t be where we are today without you, our loving audience, you let us get destroyed. You’re paying to support toxic environments. It’s time to shed some light on what’s behind the curtain. If you still want to enjoy the arts, you must help us. Help share the ugly truth hidden behind pretty little smiles.
From,
Dancers crying out for help
