“Who says I eat it?
I look at it. Occasionally I smell it!.”
(The life of a dancer just ain't easy !!!!)
Such is the life of the dancer!
Every commercial dance film made always deals with the body image obsession of dancers and in particular the weight issues of dancers:
A Chorus Line, Fame, Centre Stage, Dying to Dance and now The Black Swan this suggests it is an ongoing , unresolved problem in the dance industry.
In ‘Fame’ Iris tells Mabel, “You can’t eat. You’re a dancer.”
In relation to the Vanilla pudding in her hand she says, “Who says I eat it? I look at it. Occasionally I smell it!.”
Mabel replies, “I wanna die! Do you know what I go through day in day out? The sore muscles, the back pain, the sweat, the bleedin’ toes and on top o’ that – I can’t EAT!”
Such is the life of the dancer!
Why do we put one group in our society through such emotional and physical turmoil?
These are not people who are overweight to begin with.
Do we really need to have thin, frail girls dancing across a stage?
Do we really need to have thin, frail girls dancing across a stage?
The legitimate reasons given why ballet dancers must be thin is for reasons such as,
1) the dancer needs to appear light and weightless
2) her partner needs to be able to lift her
3) it will be harder to dance in pointe shoes if the dancer is too heavy
4) people will not pay money to watch 'overweight'dancers.
Okay, I understand these points but why can’t the dancer also be healthy?
Why is it either too thin or too big? Is there nothing in between?
Of course you need to be in shape to be a professional dancer just like you would to be a professional athlete. But why do you have to be ultra skinny and possibly anorexic to achieve the requirements to be a dancer? A dancer who takes good care of herself can easily do what a dancer is required to do. Dancers don’t have to be thin or tall however in order to gain the flexibility and physical strength for dance, they do have to be very fit.
It’s no secret that dancers are obsessed with their bodies it simply comes with the territory. There is no way to train as a dancer and not be hyperconscious of the way you look, the proportions of your body and the quality of your movement. As dancers, our concern for our image goes beyond that of a model or an actor. Being a dancer and performer I think you cannot avoid feeling judged for how you look and this is not just in relation to weight there are many other issues about the ‘perfect’ body image that affects dancers but it is weight issues that primarily concern us as dancers as I found out from my pilot survey and interview.
It is not simply the figure we cut or our attractiveness as a sexual being, but the artistic, emotional, and aesthetic impact we create in motion. Dancers tend to define the "ideal body" narrowly and measure the gap between the ideal and the real. They can’t help it, society and the dance industry demands it.
To be a ballet dancer you have to be a certain aesthetic shape and weight and to be a musical theatre performer at the professional level dancers are typically tall, thin and leggy. I am neither which is very frustrating for me. I did go through a period at college where pressure was put upon me to lose weight and I did try to lose more weight than I should have and I had a very negative body image. It never escalated into a full blown eating disorder but I did make myself ill and I was utterly miserable and that was my wake up call. It made me think, “What am I doing? This is ridiculous! I need to be myself and healthy and not try to be something that I am not.”
When I watch ballet or any other form of dance I am always distracted by dancers who are obviously too thin. I can’t appreciate the dance. I can’t imagine not nourishing your body enough when you have so many demands on it. Emaciated, skeletal bodies in my opinion are not attractive to watch. I watch dancers to appreciate the dancer and their skill. Professionals must rehearse long hours on top of performances. A body needs to eat! That is a scientific fact! How can you sustain your muscles to do what is necessary if you are not nourishing them? This is why so many ballet dancers are plagued with injury and look haggard at such a young age and have to give up dancing at a relatively early age. Many only start puberty and menstruating after their careers in ballet have finished.
I observed the dancers at an open company ballet class last week and one dancer in particular was so thin she was skeletal and emaciated - I couldn’t bare to watch her as I was afraid for her health. She had to sit out of all the jumping exercises due to injury. She just did not look ‘normal’ for a young woman. How can the dance industry describe this as aesthetically perfect? This was obviously a dancer who could not be menstruating and was anoerexic.
Ideally, the outstanding dancer combines musicality and physical grace with an astonishing technique, but I agree the first thing anyone notices is the body. That is why even well-established professionals worry about their weight. Dancers are supposed to be lean, yet dancing does not always burn a lot of calories, and dieting rarely works for long. In fact, dancers who diet extensively may lower their metabolism, become fatigued, and ultimately destroy their health.
This is the side of dance that I don’t and will never understand. There seems to be unnecessary pressure to achieve things that are not normal and when that compromises your body and your health it is surely wrong. I understand wanting to be competitive and achieve and how tough the business is due to too many dancers and not enough positions but shouldn’t we try to take care of our bodies so we can dance as long as we can?
Surveys indicate that professional female dancers are considerably thinner than the general population of women. This pressure to be thin is demeaning to women. When I read on the SIG about some colleges making their students “weigh in” or be on a “fat list” or doing a class wrapped in cling film, I think that is humiliating and morally wrong. Of course it is only natural when they don't get through an audition the first thing they are going to question is their 'weight' regardless of whether this has played a factor or not in the grand scheme of things. That dancer will always feel it is this that has let her down because she has been made to believe that all along by her peers.
One person commented on my questionnaire that at her dance college every week the class were filmed and then they were made to watch it back and all their faults were discussed including who was too fat! This particular person ended up with anorexia and 9 months in hospital as she became emaciated. She has now turned her life around and is pursuing a different career path totally un connected to dance but still has health issues left over as a legacy from the anorexia and will be on medication for the rest of her life to control her intestinal disorder. What I find incredible is that the principle of the college was sued for a similar case but still continues her regime on current students to demand ‘thin’ dancers. Another friend of mine, who completed my pilot questionnaire, is currently a student dancer at the same college and has been told to lose weight and is constantly battling with her weight and womanly curves.
I think dance teachers and choreographers that push women to be unhealthy are not doing it for the sake of the art form, they are doing it for some need to be in control of others. When the dancers in this industry really understand that, only then will things change. Expecting a specific body type pushes women to do one of two things,
either
1) be unhealthy or
2) not pursue a professional career.
Why should the dance industry place unachievable expectations on them?
Although eating disorders can affect everyone, the incidence in dancers is higher than in any other group in society. What I find incredible is that it is still swept under the carpet and not openly discussed. One thing I found in my pilot survey is that dancers are very keen to keep their identity secret. It’s almost as if to admit to not meeting these body requirements is a ‘failure’ in itself and all fear some rebuttal if they reveal who they are and speak out about the particular teacher or establishment. I know how that feels too. You succumb to the system because you can’t beat it! That sends out a very strong message to me that attitudes in the dance industry are still embedded with the traditional views of the proportions a dancer should achieve and anyone who doesn’t meet those requirements is ‘rejected’. This puts their health and well being ultimately at risk.
Dancers in our society are told that if they are not thin then they will not be considered as dancers because of the traditional way we view the dancer and so because of those pressures to be thin she will go to any ends to achieve the ‘desired’ weight which can often result in an eating disorder. These disorders can cause many disturbances in the body sometimes even resulting in death.
To deconstruct the ideal we have to have those in the industry who will embrace dancers whose bodies defy the stereotypes. Creating a world where there is no specific body proportions but how they are used that makes the dancer is a long way off but I think it is up to us as dancers in the industry to help force those changes. The more your body deviates from the "ideal" (whatever that might be), the more exceptional a dancer you must be. As a performer, technician, artist, you have to have something unique to offer that is absolutely irreplaceable, that cannot be denied or turned away. What makes a dancer interesting in my view is how she dances. I think the quality of a dancer’s movement can be so much more important than having the 'right' proportions but it is a tough hill to climb to get the industry to accept and embrace that.
I think it is also the responsibility of the student to seek out teachers and colleges that appreciate these differences. Teachers who insist on weighing everyone or are in the habit of making disparaging remarks should be held accountable for their behaviour and this can only be achieved by introducing a code of ethics for the industry that is monitored.
It has taken me a long time to be able to talk about what my good qualities are as a dancer, instead of going straight into what I don’t like about myself, as I still carry the scars of constant demeaning remarks made about me for 3 years at college and I still have to restrain myself from dwelling on the negatives, but I am learning to try and accept myself for who I am and trying to rebuild my self esteem and confidence and work on what I have to offer the industry being myself.
Overwhelmingly the results of my pilot questionnaire reveal that there is still a problem in the dance world especially at vocational colleges and this gives me the reassurance that my line of inquiry is useful and necessary.
Although not all the individuals who completed the questionnaire had suffered an eating disorder themselves or been subject to disparaging remarks all had witnessed them towards a fellow student and unanimously all felt there should be more education introduced to try and reduce the number of sufferers. All felt it is time for change in the industry in how we view the dancer. Surprisingly none have considered surgery to correct something they feel will be against them in the industry.
The idea of working for people who see you as an individual instead of a 'type' is what I would like to see as a further step in the dance industry and what should be encouraged and why I chose this subject as my line of inquiry. We all take corrections daily as a dancer and should work on the things that need improvement but also work with what we have naturally. There's nothing more entrancing than a dancer who knows what they've got and can use it. This is what I feel is needed in the profession – an openness and acceptance that dance is for everyone not just for the thin and tall people. Getting others on board will be a momentous task and a challenge but already in the celebrity world of fashion, music and acting there are those who are determined to defy the ‘size zero’ stereotype and embrace women for who they naturally are. Surely this can be true for the dance industry as well?
This is an extract from an article I found where artistic directors of companies talk about weight issues and there are two very contrasting views:
"Physical appearance is very important," said artistic director William Starrett (Columbia Conservatory of Dance). "I have a lot of rules, and a lot of people have had trouble with it. . . . With the chart (weight) they can see a variance. It works well. It makes them more aware and forces them to eat properly." Starrett said dancers are encouraged to read about nutrition, but that he's most concerned with the artistic impact and overall look of the company. If dancers are unable to meet his weight standards, he maintained, "They're no good to me. I can't paint with fat paintbrushes. I'm trying to get people to really love ballet. The audience won't pay if it's not special, not magical”.
By comparison not all ballet companies are so meticulous about weight. "What kind of policy can you have?" said Eliot Feld, insisting that weight problems are not an issue for his ‘Ballet Tech’ company. "It is hard to have a policy based on an aberrant circumstance." Although he recognizes that there can be a Darwinian quality to the profession, and that some dancers have an ongoing struggle with weight in the quest for theoretic perfection, he said employees are human beings first and dancers second. "If you love the dancer as a person, this is the real thing. There are some wonderful dancers who don't have the ‘ideal' body."
Mark Morris (Artistic Director) went one step further, declaring that he finds extremely thin dancers grisly; "Sometimes I want to go backstage and give them a sandwich!" His dancers are often said to look like real people: "Guess what?" he said. "They are!"
This was a survey conducted for Dance Magazine in 1997 and I could not find one more up to date so thought maybe this is one area of research I could try and follow for my main inquiry topic and contact some English Dance companies and see if they would take part in my own up to date survey to see if attitudes have indeed changed.
As I am researching body issues for the dancer and trying through my blog entries to show the rationale behind my developing line of inquiry, I actually can’t believe what many dancers go through and worse that people actually defend it. Many advocate the healthy dancer and support outwardly education on healthy ways of eating and body care but then have weigh ins alledgedly to promote healthy weight?!
It is apparant from the answers to my pilot research through questionnaire, interview ,observation and research of documentation on the internet and autobiographies of professional dancers there is a suggested gap between the rhetoric of nutritional education and the reality of 'practices'. Authoritarian behaviour and submissive attitudes are apparant and contribute to problems with low self esteem, body image and eating disorders. I think there should be a reappraisal of the aesthetic and body culture in the management of the dance profession and more empowerment to dancers to encourage them to question, critique and improve the culture of the dance art form rather than merely accept its ideals and demands. This is to form the basis of my line of inquiry for my award and to be further researched in the next module.
I ultimately want to perform as a professional dancer but also develop my skills and personal interest in learning more about health education to consider a broader approach to consider psychological and ethical issues in dance education as well as technical skills and the practical aspects of dance and to encourage a re appraisal of body culture in the dance profession as a whole. I think this will be important, relevant and significant to the development of a modern dance culture for it to move forwards as well as a personal challenge to enhance my own skills and knowledge of dance science and as a writer in an overall contribution to the subject I love the most - 'dance'.
I have conducted a small scale pilot survey and interview which I will extend in order to complete my inquiry in the next module. I will post a blog of my critical reflections of that process so far and the observations I have carried out in my professional practice this week whilst rehearsing for my summer contract. I hope to use authentic accounts of the human realities of existing cultures in the dance world from that research. I am happy to say the Artistic Director and Choreographer of the company has agreed to be my professional support for the inquiry. I feel like I have now come to a decision on what my line of inquiry will be - my blog entries hopefully have documented my journey and development of that decision.
I am currently looking at literature to help my inquiry and 'delicious' as a means to recording them. I hope I can achieve all this for the deadline on this module whilst trying to learn the lyrics for 14 songs and rehearse 12 hours a day and follow a healthy life plan - phew the life of a dancer certainly ain't easy !?
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