Weight Limits in Dance
Picture a ballet dancer in your mind — we all visualize the same figure:
A gorgeous face, beautiful lines, long legs, dainty arms, and size 4 and under. This description is obviously key to being a dancer — right? This skinny dancer stereotype we envision is extremely harmful, both mentally and physically to those in the dance industry. Sadly this body image stereotype society has created, is an unfortunate reality in the dance world. For context,
the average weight for an adult is 136 pounds, while adult dancers average between 85 to 110 pounds. Dancers often find themselves struggling with eating disorders, as a result of the comments made on their body. These comments aimed towards dancers’ bodies often leaves them repulsing their bodies, as well as dangerously underweight. Overall, the dance industry only gives positive attention to skinny dancers. To address this issue, the dance industry should discourage comments made on dancers’ figures, in order to prevent eating disorders initiated by peer pressure. The dance industry should also incorporate more body diversity throughout the dance industry, to make the dance industry more inclusive towards healthy bodies.
Eating disorder habits provoked by the dance industry
The dance industry should stop commenting on dancers’ figures, in order to eliminate body discrimination throughout the dance industry. In particular, Olivia Campbell’s essay “She’s good, but she’s big: my years as a ‘fat’ ballerina”, she expresses her struggles as a bigger dancer in the dance industry. She features a comment in her essay where she overhears two dance instructors criticizing her body because of her weight. Campbell explains how
“[Y]ears of hearing how incorrect [her] body was took its toll. It’s hard to love an art form everyone is telling you doesn’t love you back”.
As a result of the criticism regarding her ‘fat’ ballerina body, Campbell lost her love for herself and dance. This example shows us how dangerous weight comments can be as a dancer, for both self-esteem and mental health. Campbell’s example is significant because it is easy for dancers to relate to, which is very unfortunate. A related example to Campbell is myself, my instructors constantly told me that my bones were too big, meaning I needed to embody a slimmer figure. This comment made me resent my body, and I lost my passion for dance as a result of it. In fact, I feel as though
hating your body is unavoidable in dance, considering most of your time in the studio is spent criticizing yourself in the mirror.
Certainly, Campbell and I are a prime examples of how harmful the dance industry’s commentary can be, considering Campbell and I have both lost our passion for dance as a result of the dance industries critiques on our figures.
Adding on, in Isabella Rolz’s work “A ballet of ‘living hell’: Ex-dancer recounts her battle with anorexia” she cites Linda Hamilton. Hamilton is a psychologist who has worked with ballerinas struggling with eating disorders. She insists dancers at 12 years old can develop an eating disorder, as a result of the body weight and shape changing throughout puberty. I feel as though this is a result of the dance industry forcing dancers to maintain a skinny figure, even if it’s not healthily obtainable. Bear in mind, youth are already considered to be in a fragile mental state, as a result of the change in hormones throughout puberty. Acknowledging this, the dance industry takes advantage of the youths poor body image and reflects it into a ‘perfect’ balerina body.
Writer Judith Mackrell has also observed anorexic behavior in ballet. Mackrell expresses in her piece “The light fantastic? Ballet dancers and anorexia” how
dancers will starve themselves for their quality of dance and stage presence yet dance instructors won’t advise them otherwise.
This is a prime example why the dance culture is anorexic, and I feel as though there has to be a change throughout the dance industry. In the same manner, the constant need for dancers to be excessively thin is damaging their mental health, and is dangerous for their bodies. Some may argue that it’s the dancer’s fault developing anorexic behaviour, however, the dance industry promotes this vastly thin, unideal body type that only young children can healthily fit into. In conclusion, the dance industry should stop critiquing dancers figures as if it’s an element of their movement quality, in order to eliminate body discrimination throughout the dance industry.
Weight > Talent
The dance industry should be more inclusive towards different body types, as opposed to shaming dancers into a skinny figure. The dance industry constantly turns away dancers who are not underweight, despite their performance quality. Reffering back to Olivia Campbell’s piece “She’s good, but she’s big: my years as a ‘fat’ ballerina” she was turned away from The Joffrey Ballet School because of her weight. Campbell overheard two instructors talking about her audition, to which one replied
“She’s good, but she’s big”.
This is a prime example of what happens in most auditions for heavier set dancers. Campbell’s talent for dance was acknowledged by the instructor, however, Campbell was turned away simply because her figure wasn’t right for ballet. In fact, if the dance industry was more open minded towards dancers’ body types, maybe Campbell would have succeeded in becoming a professional dancer. Instead, she quit dancing because she felt as though she wouldn’t succeed, and she was only seen as a fat ballerina. Ultimately, the dance industry has no right to crush dancers’ dreams simply because they are a healthy body weight. Dance is meant for everyone, and your weight should not factor into performance quality.
Furthermore, the dance industry seems to be exclusive to those who do not fit the image of a dancer. Whitney Thore has felt excluded from the dance industry because of her weight. In her essay “A Fat Girl Dancing: Life without shame, a personal essay” Thore expresses how she
“desperately wanted […] a body that [would] give [her] permission to do the things [she] loved”.
Thore expresses her hatred for her body’s size, she explains that she resents her body as a result of her being rejected from the dance industry. The evidence here illustrates that the dance industry decides which bodies are suitable for dance. Furthermore, dancers should not have to worry if the dance industry will deem their bodies acceptable or not, their passion and talent should be enough.
Hope for the Dance Industry
Bigger bodied dancers who are past dance rejects, have started their own companies for plus sized dancers.
One in particular has grown vastly over the years. Founder of ‘Big Moves Dance Company’ Marina Wolf Ahmed created this company as a safe space, for those who are struggling with body positivity in dance. Her company dancers are very happy that they can now enjoy their passion for dance, free of judgment. Artistic director Jessica Judd, expresses her past concerns in the dance industry as a fat dancer. Judd mentions that
her dance instructors would either not order her costume, or order them a size too small.
This was to promote her to lose weight. Although despite their past experiences ‘Big Moves Dance Company’ is becoming a popular dance group, and has seen the cover of multiple magazines. Considering the dancers in this company are bigger bodied, and not the stereotypical skinny ballet figure. Why should any other dancer have to? Overall, the dance industry should include more body diversity, seeing the same skinny bodies on stage is getting boring.
In conclusion, the dance industry only favours excessively skinny dancers. As a result of the dance industry idolizing an unhealthy figure, this promotes unhealthy eating habits throughout dancers. Additionally, the dangerously low weight standard for dancers should be addressed, in order to save dancers mental health and body image. To confront this issue, the dance industry should discourage comments made towards dancers’ figures, as well as be more inclusive towards different body types. Ultimately, a dance studio should be a space where anyone, no matter what size can create art through movement. After all, it is our human right to express ourselves.
