My legs are stumpy.
My arms are too flabby.
My stomach looks like it ate itself.
These are very common remarks that you would hear in a change room inside a dance studio around in Toronto. I would know, because I remember being in the change room listening to these comments, and even chiming in.
Eating disorders and dance have a strong correlation. In Coach up’s article, they state, “On average, the incidence of eating disorders in the white middle-class population is one in a hundred. In ballet, this number is one in five” (Coach up, 2015). As you can imagine, eating disorders have become a huge problem in the dance industry today.
Dancers - especially ballerinas - strive for perfection. This includes perfection among their technique, form, and unfortunately, their bodies. They feel the pressure to be thin. Why is this the case? Sandish Shocker from BBC news states, "Every day you are looking at your friends in tights and leotards which isn't normal, and the whole purpose of dance is to be self-critical and constantly pushing yourself, and you strive to be better. It was all self-imposed." (Shocker, 2013) This statement is very true. There is ALWAYS going to be someone who is more talented, smarter, or healthier. This is how life works. You are never going to be what society deems as “perfect”. In a dancer’s world you are constantly surrounded by magazines, social media, all with photos of photo shopped girls and women with ballet slippers on.
Have any of you ever struggled with an eating disorder?
Resources:
https://www.coachup.com/resources/dance/eating-disorders-among-ballet-dancer
