Monica Mason, director of The Royal Ballet 2002 – 2012, has said that ‘any director who claims to have never worked with an anorexic performer is lying’ . An issue that has brought controversy and a lot of attention to the dance community is the on-going struggle of Eating Disorders (ED’s). It is a very straining illness that has unfortunate side effects for any individual, let alone a dancer whom needs high physical stamina. Because of the pressure and urgency for a thin Prima Ballerina, ED’s still remain hot in the headlines.
There is a massive idea that all dancers must be stick thin to please the audience, yet must have enough physical stamina and muscle strength to be able to dance for as long and hard as professionals do. The ideal dancing body was first established by George Balanchine, he was the co-founder of the American Ballet School. Balanchine insisted his female dancers be a minimum of 5’7” with a lean slender body. Having such an impact in the dance community his ideals stuck and have now moved on to create ‘The Balanchine Body’, which refers to women with ‘narrow hips, little or no fat deposits, long lean legs, a short slim torso, small breasts and delicate arms.’ Few people genetically fit this description, however from having his concept taught in a worldwide known dance school, it quickly spread to other companies and schools. Today, this ideal body is expected of all dancers.
With this ideal being spread around the dance community (audience included), mixed with dancers have to spend multiple hours daily staring at themselves in a mirror, it becomes very easy to compare yourself to others and how you “should” look. A dancer’s uniform consists of skin tight clothing that defines every aspect of your body, th...
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...unately not all dance schools and companies are ‘encouraging’ their dancers to have disordered eating. The Royal Ballet School is teaching their dancers about nutrition through their regular classes and through workshops with nutritionists, working with the Royal Ballet. The board of the company are saying that “they want to keep an eye” on their dancers for any signs of an ED, either progressing or continuing.
Not until recently had the media and health clinics become involved towards the issue of ED’s, to not only dancers but to society. It is clear that in the past the dance industry was not aware or caring how detrimental and unhealthy eating habits can be to their dancers. Many effects are attributed to discorded eating habits, and these effects are exaggerated in dancers as they participate in a lot of physical activity and must maintain high energy levels.
Young girls and women symbolize femininity with being a ballerina. Kelso comments that in the shadows of the spotlight lurks an abusive world of eating disorders, verbal harassment, fierce competition, injuries, fatigued, and malnourished dancers (Kelso, 2003). In today’s world of ballet, dancers suffer from always being in pain, worrying their body image is not the right look they need to have to get lead roles resulting in the development of eating disorders, and male ballet dancers are stereotyped as being homosexual when most of the male dancers are in fact heterosexual.
However, despite attempts at resolving eating disorders, it is still not enough. 16.4% of all dancers still have been classified with a general eating disorder, 4% with anorexia, 2% with bulimia, and 14.9% diagnosed with an eating disorder not otherwise specified (Arcelus). Many companies, also, continue to select their dancers by their physical appearance instead of their ability to dance, which places the dancers under a lot of stress and pressure to change their bodies to fit the standards of these desired companies. Grace Edwards also points out that it is not only the dance community’s fault for having such high standards on dancers, but also the audience. Edwards says that, as spectators, people are accustomed to thin dancers that an average body structure would be considered “distasteful.”
Regardless of what sport an athlete is participating, once they reach a certain level there is an enormous amount of pressure. When an athlete is depriving himself or herself of food or making themselves puke after in taking food, they can start to go down a path of malnutrition, which will have a huge toll on their performance. Athlete’s battling eating disorders may experience symptoms such as anemia, muscle loss, osteoporosis, electrolyte imbalance, heart problems and hormone changes (Harms, 2012). A large majority of the time, when athletes are dropping weight they are going to end up developing problems such as fatigue, nutrient deficiencies and impaired growth which are only going ...
These expectations are achieved by the different dance styles, settings, much and the overall look of the dancers. However, there are many aspects that contribute to the pleasing appearances of dance; the appearance of the dance industry rests heavily on the performers. Dancers, especially in advanced dance studios, have to have the whole collection of talent. Dancers should attractive, physically fit, strength, and be elegance. As a result of such high demands, dance companies have high standards for dancers that are selected to represent their studio. These standards cause loads of pressure that is put onto the dancers that can potentially contribute to the development of improper diets and eventually lead to eating disorders. For dancers, eating disorders are highly encouraged by teachers and even fellow dancers. It appears that the dance industry is not aware of how harmful the unhealthy eating habits dancers can attain can be to their dancers. There are many effects that come with these habits; these effects are exaggerated in dancers as they participate in intense physical activity, and must maintain high energy levels. However, high level dancers cannot maintain high energy levels if their body is not getting the proper
Dancers often times have many pressures put on them, which can lead to physical and emotional damage. These damages occur through the pressures from the media, parents, teammates, and the stereotype that society has placed on dancers. One of the hardest pressures that dancers have to overcome is the pressure from the media. The media places harsh, rigid, and false ideas of dancers on to the mass public. Constantly bombarded by commercials, magazine ads, posters, etc., the idea of being thin and beautiful is what the society thinks of as the “norm”.
In light of what is going on in the world today, eating disorders seem farfetched and frivolous. Anorexia Nervosa could be considered a classic example of a serious eating disorder as it is defined as having a fatal a...
Gymnasts are more vulnerable to the onset of distorted eating than other teenagers in society, due to the very nature of what makes for athletic success in the sport. Gymnasts’ bodies have to be young, healthy, petite and muscular, therefore they have to do large amounts of conditioning and eat the proper amounts and type of food. The main factor to gymnasts being vulnerable to distorted eating is because they are at very young ages when they excel in the sport. Gymnastics is structured around young fit bodies, so these athletes are facing a lot of pure pressure and big decisions at young ages. They may start to restrict their diet because, in the sport, it is expected for them to have petite and fit bodies and they are receiving pressure from their coaches and others opinions. A Canadian study of youth gymnasts at an average age of 13.4 years old, reported that 10.5% saw themselves as overweight, 27% were worried about the way they looked and 39% reported dieting behaviors (momsteen.com). When gymnasts restrict their food intake it will not enhance their performance, instead it will harm it because of their weakened bodies condition. They decide to reduce their food intake because of what their body, as a gymnast, is supposed to look like. With the average age of gymnasts being 13.4 years old, they are at the age where it is very easy to feel insecure about their body due to others around them, but it is very unhealthy for high-level gymnasts to not be fueling their body with the proper foods thy need. The sports nature also plays a large role in how far the athletes will go for success. Gymnastics is a very involving sport that requires very long training hours for the young athletes. The proper amount of training hours for the ...
Eating disorders in athletes do not fit neatly into anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, but rather a combination of both. In athletes, anorexia nervosa may often present itself as over-exercising rather than undereating. In the athletic population, it is difficult to define weight a weight loss criteria for an eating disorder dia...
Although she doesn’t like men ogling her classes, Belinda Shakar does not shy away from the sensual aspects of her dance. In fact, that’s what attracted her to belly dancing as a teenager. “I really liked the sensuality of the dance and even the blatant sexuality,” she says. She had been taking traditional dance classes in Los Angeles in hopes of becoming a performer but thought belly dance seemed more interesting than the styles she was learning. She finally switched to belly dance after injuring herself in a ballet class. The accident convinced her that ballet is unnatural: “It distorts the body and torments it. That is still my feeling o...
In our ever-changing society, the one common thread that now every American seems to possess is a desire to have a body that is not hour-glass (1950’s) nor waifish (1990’s), but one that is lean, trim, and can physically go the “extra mile”. I speculate that the all-around athletic look is so popular because it is probably one of the hardest body types to achieve. In earlier times, hour-glass figures were the product of genetics and corsets, and the emaciated Kate Moss look could simply be achieved by starvation. To be physically fit inside and out is something that every person can control and achieve, but only through strong self-discipline. “The $52.9 billion fitness industry is constantly coming out with activities and products designed to get and keep us interested in working out” (Whigham-Desir 84). Two of these types of work-outs, specifically Tae-Bo and Spinning, were created just for the purpose of keeping “us” interested in working out. Despite this revolution in the fitness industry, many false preconceived notions about losing weight persevere and impede the movement.
A tall, glamorous runway model is every girl’s dream. Long beautiful legs, lean body, and beautiful shiny hair is what an average young woman views as an ideal image for a female. If you don’t resemble the images of those stunning Victoria Secret models and Fashion Week models, you suddenly become ashamed of your own body. It is a great life to have with the high pay, fame, drinking champagne on a yacht with famous celebrities and even being on the Vogue cover page. Fashion Modeling Industry has been the most influential source in our young women’s lives. Young girls and young women are seen eating as little as they can, even starving themselves at times to resemble those models. What they don’t realize is that they are contributing to the 2.7 percentage of 13- 18 year olds suffering from anorexia and bulimia. Susan Albers, a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic said exposure to thin models is a great trigger in maintaining an eating disorder. When watching America’s Next Top Model or flipping through a Fashion magazine, these young women don’t apprehend that those models are either naturally slim or they are suffering from an eating disorder themselves, in other words, hostages in the dark hell hid behind those runway curtains. The growing number of young anorexia and bulimia patients, and the number of websites such as thinspiration, where girls put up pictures of their thin bodies clearly suggest that the fashion modeling industry do not at all bear any responsibility in providing healthy, realistic physical role models for young women.
As Jackie Joyner Kersee once said, “The rewards are going to come, but my happiness is just loving the sport and having fun performing” (“Sports Quotes,” 2013). Sports play a major role in entertainment all across the world. Sports can range from driving in NASCAR to playing in the NBA (Careers in Pro Sports, 1999). Sports usually involve teamwork and is fun for everyone. Although sports are supposed to be fun, there is natural competition. Being a feminine art, dance is considered to be just about anything other than a sport. Dancers are trained to the height of their ability, just like other athletes in other sports. Even though the dancer might not perform with their whole dance studio on stage at the same time, the dancers are all apart of the same team. Dancing is not an easy sport to participate in, so if you are looking for a sport that does not require practice then you might want to look into a different sport. There are hour-long practices, healthy diets, and several routines to remember. Normally, if someone is convinced that dance is not a sport, they have not fully engaged or experienced dance. In order to better understand dance, it is important to understand the history of dance, the competition of dance, and the comparison of dance to other sports.
Dance is considered a sport for some people, and some don't. This research is about the physical and mental benefits of dance. According to the Oxford Dictionaries, dance is, “A series of steps and movements that match the speed and rhythm of a piece of music (2014 Oxford University Press). This research paper will be referring to dance mostly as a sport instead of an art. This essay briefly explains what dance is, and different forms of dance. This essay explains what dance does to benefit you mentally and physically, going into detail of diseases and problems you could prevent or cure with dance.
Fashion industry skinny trend seems to poison young women’s attitude towards their appearance. In addition, the startling deaths of the “three very underweight models” (Rosemary 2007) has become the last straw that makes it impossible to accept the eating disorders anymore. These have added to the controversy over the use of extremely thin models in the fashion industry because not only does it reduce the self-esteem of those who do not have ideal bodies but it also naturally forces them to become anorexic to look exactly like catwalk models which has been proven to cause “drastic weight loss and premature ageing” (Cooke 2000, pp. 1). 3) Having a severe condition.
Most girls who have eating disorders have a tie to a belief learned at an early age to achieve physical perfection whether it be in a sport, talent, or attractiveness. In situations such as this, education often is placed on the back burner. “Just the other day, a popular dance show featured adults candidly admitting that they encourage activity over education. When confronted, devotees said, "My daughter loves it." Or, "Ask her if she likes doing it!