Battle Of Ballerinas Research Paper

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Battle of Ballerinas: the Truth of Perfection For fourteen years now, ballet has taught me to be critical of my body. How I look, how to move correctly, and how to make myself look good while dancing were three of my main concerns starting at age three. As the years went on, started noticing that I wasn’t like the other girls in my class. They all had tiny legs to match their tight stomachs, and I always wondered when my body would be similar to theirs. Whenever we were told to balance in sous-sous, I would hear, “Hold tight, girls! Chins up, shoulders down, and tummies in!”, and I always knew the teacher was talking directly to me. There would be classes where I would just stand, staring at myself in my leotard and tights, wishing that I could be skinny and slender like the others. I felt horrible about my body, and I wasn’t even ten yet. The one thing that made me feel good about myself was the fact that I always knew my dances when the other girls didn’t. I would just chuckle to myself and think, well hey, at least I’m smart. Thankfully, things got a little better at the beginning of fifth grade. When I received my pink class schedule for the year, I saw that I was moved up a class and I was going to get …show more content…

Perfectionism is defined as being overly critical of oneself with an extreme fear of failing (The Healthy Dancer). Ballerinas are practically bred to be perfectionists. Almost all cases of dancer perfectionism would fall under the category of self-oriented perfectionism. According to “The Healthy Dancer,” self-oriented perfectionism is when anyone has the need to be perfect to be happy with themselves. They set unattainable goals and focus on all of their flaws instead of the good things they’re capable of. Being your own worst critic and failing to live up to your own great expectations can certainly put some people into a deep

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