Ballet: Negative Effects on Dancers

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During the Nutcracker, you watch as the Sugar Plum Fairy seemingly floats across the stage, does 32 fouettes on pointe and still makes it all look effortless. Little do you know how physically straining it is on her body and then you take into account her eating disorder. She constantly purges just so she can fit into the corset costume that the Sugar Plum Fairy before her fit into. Why might so many ballerinas think this is okay? I’m going to explore a few reasons why I believe ballerinas think this way. Some teaching strategies of ballet have negative effects on dancers. With the teaching methods of some teachers, the skin tight leotards and tights, and long periods of examining and staring at their self and their company members, all dressed the same, in the mirrors placed in front of them.
Why is wearing tight clothing so destructive to a dancer’s self-image? Dancers’ training relies on teachers being able to see the body of the individual and evaluate how it is performing. Dance attire, usually a black leotard and pink tights, is very revealing. For young dancers who are starting to mature and their body is changing, wearing such tight clothing causes them to feel uncomfortable and self-conscious. The uniformity of their attire also causes dancers (mostly female dancers) to compare their body to the others on their company. Thoughts start to form such as “Does my stomach look that fat too? She has a hunched spine, I hope mine doesn’t look like that. Wow she is really skinny and beautiful, why can’t I look like that” and other such ideas. This idea was experimented upon by Fredrickson, Roberts, Noll, Quinn and Twenge (1998.) They had a group of women, they either had to wear a swimsuit or a sweater then complete a math test....

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...lotte, et al. "Musculoskeletal Injuries In Young Ballet Dancers." Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy19.9 (2011): 1531-1535. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.

Pickard, Angela. "Schooling The Dancer: The Evolution Of An Identity As A Ballet Dancer." Research In Dance Education 13.1 (2012): 25-46. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Nov. 2013

Price, Brena R., and Terry F. Pettijohn II. "The Effect Of Ballet Dance Attire On Body And Self-Perceptions Of Female Dancers."Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal 34.8 (2006): 991-998. Academic Search Premier. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.

Spohn, Cydney, and Sandra Spickard Prettyman. "Moving Is Like Making Out: Developing Female University Dancers’ Ballet Technique And Expression Through The Use Of Metaphor." Research In Dance Education 13.1 (2012): 47-65. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Nov. 2013

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