Eating Disorders in Ballet Dancers

Hi everyone!

Welcome back to Barre None. Today’s topic is eating disorders in ballet dancers. This entire blog’s purpose is to prevent eating disorders among ballet dancers, so it’s crucial to recognize WHY eating disorders are so prevalent among ballet dancers.

Firstly, ballerinas are constantly looking at themselves and their peers in the mirror, in skin-tight clothes. This means that they are extremely conscious of the way that their bodies look, and the way that it compares to those of their peers.

The nature of ballet also makes having a lighter weight more desirable. Firstly, female dancers must be lifted and held in the air by male ballet dancers, so being lighter and easier to hold is advantageous. Female ballerinas must also dance en pointe, carrying their weight on the tips of their toes, which is easier and less painful if you are lighter. A large part of ballet is also jumping and landing softly and with grace, which may seem easier at a lower weight. Extra weight also changes the balance of the body.

In addition, in professional ballet companies, you can be fired for your body size, because ballet is an aesthetic career choice- the way your body looks and how it performs is your entire career. Ballet “praises a body which is thin, extremely flexible, strong, agile, delicate and with extreme harmonic proportions.” (Contemporary Dance, 2016) Costume fittings are often done in front of one’s peers, and measurements might be read aloud to the class and heard by everyone.

Additionally, ballet culture inherently praises the act of self-discipline and structure- those who have grown up or spend a lot of time in this environment are susceptible to eating disorders because it gives the individual a sense of control over their body. Many ballerinas have reported that being thin helped them feel more ‘perfect’. Oftentimes, ballerinas also happen to be Type A perfectionists, meaning that it is common for them to put themselves under a tremendous amount of pressure, and that their “passion” for ballet can easily spiral into an unhealthy obsession. The Royal Ballet School in London, England has published an Eating Disorder Policy online, which suggests that students are likely to develop an eating disorder because of a tendency “to conform to the stereotype of the ‘perfect dancer’”, and students are also “compelled to spend several hours a day in front of large mirrors and are inclined to compare themselves to their peer group”.

“Ballet students are being exposed to specific stressors related to their appearance at a time in life when self-consciousness is at its peak” (Eating Disorder Hope, 2016) Most girls aiming to become a professional ballerina also begin high level training at age 7, which is an extraordinarily impressionable age. If they are idolizing extremely lean idols, it can lead them to idealizing these body types, which can be detrimental, and influence them forever.

To leave you with a final statistic: “Eating disorders are highest among white middle and upper class females under the age of 25. 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, 2016).

These are all reasons that explain why ballet dancers are so susceptible to eating disorders, and justify the importance of blogs like this to help prevent this mental illness. I hope this blog post helped with your understanding of eating disorders and their connection to ballet. If you found it interesting or helpful in any way, please remember to share it on social media, and i

f you’re interested in learning more about body image, eating disorders, and ballet culture, please subscribe to Barre None by entering your email address below! You can also follow Barre None on Instagram and Twitter @barre_none, or by clicking the Instagram or Twitter icons on the top right corner of this page! Please comment below any insights or feedback you have about this topic, or this blog.

Love,

Barre None

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Sources:

Shoker, S. (28 June 2013). Ballet and eating disorders: ‘unspoken competitiveness’ adds pressure to be thin. BBC News, from http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-22985310

Coach Up. (2016). Eating Disorders Among Ballet Dancers. Retrieved August 23, 2016, from https://www.coachup.com/resources/dance/eating-disorders-among-ballet-dancer

Eating Disorder Hope. (2016). Ballet Dancing and Eating Disorders. Retrieved August 26, 2016, from http://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/information/eating-disorder/ballet

Jewell, S. (August 25 2015). Eating Disorders in the Dance World, The Clyde Fitch Report, from http://www.clydefitchreport.com/2015/08/eating-disorders-dance-ballet/

Rea, K. (December 4 2012). How My National Ballet Career Led to Bulimia. Huffington Post, from http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/kathleen-rea/eating-disorder-ballet_b_2235176.htmlWalden

Eating Disorders Treatment. (2015). My Reflection: The Intersection of Dance and Eating Disorders. Retrieved August 26, 2016, from https://www.waldeneatingdisorders.com/a-personal-experience-from-a-former-ballerina/

Dunning, J. (July 16, 1997). Eating Disorders Haunt Ballerinas. The New York Times, from http://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/16/arts/eating-disorders-haunt-ballerinas.html?pagewanted=allSham,

C.L. (May 5 2015). How I Conquered My Eating Disorder: A Ballet Dancer’s Story. Mind Body Green, from http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-18592/how-i-conquered-my-eating-disorder-a-ballet-dancers-story.html