Body Image of a Ballerina

Ballet is an art in which dancers spin and twist their bodies, to express their inner rhythm. But with the beauty of dance also comes dangers, and uncertainties. Many companies have weight limits and weigh their dancers once a week to make sure their weight isn't fluctuating. Some companies even fine their dancers if they reach above or below certain weight requirements. So, dancers are constantly pressured into maintaining weight and finding ways to lose weight...which becomes the dangerous part.

In ballet, dancers are expected to look a certain way. The ideal dancer has a small head, long neck, shortened torso, and thin, lean attractive legs. A dancer must have loose joints, but enough strength to control large movements. Dancers should also have good turnout of the legs and hips, and slight knee hyper extension and be bow legged. The hyper extension of the knee creates a beautiful "S" curve to the leg, while bow leggedness helps the dancer to exaggerate turn out. A dancers body should be strong, and skinny with no "blubbery fat" visible on the stomach, arms or thighs. And lastly, the ideal foot of a ballerina is broad and square, so, when on pointe, weight is more equally distributed through the metatarsals. Not every dancer is perfect in every aspect, but every dancer strives for the perfection, so dancers often turn to eating disorders as an easy way to check one thing off the list. (The Cleveland Clinic Foundation)

An eating disorder is when a person experiences disturbances in eating behaviors, or begin to eat too much or too little. In the beginning, a person may begin to eat more or less than usual, but there may come a point (where an eating disorder begins), that a person feels the strong urge to eat more or less. The most commonly recognized eating disorders are anorexia and bulimia. Anorexia is when a person may practically starve themselves, wanting so much to be very, very skinny. They begin, in their minds, to have a distorted body image and have an intense fear of gaining weight. Bulimia, is characterized by binge-eating, and feeling they have no control over the amount of food that is ingested. The large consumption is followed by purging, such as vomiting, or excessive use of laxatives. They may then, fast, or excessively exercise. Although they are treatable, these diseases may become very dangerous. Especially in a dancer who exerts tons of energy for dance. (National Institute of Mental Health)

Eating disorders have long been associated with ballet. This is because dancers are constantly wanting to lose weight in order to become a "beautiful" dancer. What is so beautiful about a skeletal figure flailing their long limbs around on a stage? Nothing. But that's not the problem they see. Sometimes they don't necessarily believe they're too "fatty", they usually just look at the number on the scale. The right number may sometimes mean staying in the company or keeping their job. And since the dance world is so competitive, this means watch the scale! And on that scale, dancers usually start to panic when they anything below 95 ponds and above 110 pounds. For some this is isn't a problem but to others--the tall girls--this can become a big big problem. But still, they manage to keep their weight way down.

To conclude, although ballet seems dainty and beautiful, some dancers live in a world of worry and physical abuse. They starve themselves, take medications, and throw up their meals just to stay small enough for ballet. They get horrible diseases just to persevere dance. And although they may not be living a healthy lifestyle, the company likes what they see, so dancers continue to live this way.

Works Cited
"Ballet: Ideal Body Type, Injury Treatment and Prevention." Cleveland Clinic. 2008. The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. 4 Nov. 2008

"Eating Disorders." National Institute of Mental Health. June 2008. National Institute of Mental Health. 4 Nov. 2008.