Dealing with body image as a ballerina

Ballerinas, beauty, and body issues. Madison Heth touches on the unforgiving body standards and body images within the ballet world in this opinion article.

Dealing with body image as a ballerina

By Madison Heth

When many people picture a ballerina, they see a skinny and long-limbed person. The ideal ballet body has become a well-known stereotype that, under the cover, affects dancers all over the globe. From large professional companies to small local studios, body image in ballet is a real thing, which negatively affects dancers.

Many people outside of the world of dance can agree that body image struggles exist. Professional ballet dancers face this head-on in their careers. Kathryn Morgan, a former professional dancer with New York City Ballet, explained to writers at Dance Magazine that she was taken out of a role in the ballet Firebird because of her body. She explains, “My clothes hanging in my closet are size two and zero and extra small and I am considered a large size.” Ballet dancers have always been pictured thin and, for the most part, being thin is a main aesthetic of ballet. However, beating dancers up because of their weight and threatening them with losing their jobs, which they worked so hard for, needs to stop. This does not only affect adults in the professional world, but trickles down to the younger dancers, as well. For example, Morgan tells of a young ballet dancer of 12 who has already developed an eating disorder because of being told she needed to lose weight. Morgan continues to add, “I’ve gotten messages from people who have had to go on medications because of it, who have had so many problems because they were body shamed.” Katheryn Morgan shares that from learning of this she has realized her place is to be the voice for those who have been body shamed. She has begun speaking up for those affected by this through her social media– just as many should do to bring about change.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Photo credit: Under Armour

If the community works on looking for the positive and diversity in people, body image would improve. A well-known professional dancer is Misty Copeland, who has been dancing with American Ballet Theater for the past 20 years. Copeland has dealt with the struggles of body image throughout her career, too. In a live interview by the JFK Library, Misty Copeland gives a quote that can inspire people to look at themselves from a different perspective: “It’s difficult when we’re in front of a mirror every day, but that mirror is not there for us to criticize our bodies in a negative way.” She later adds that “All of these things are to improve ourselves, not to put ourselves down.” Though Copeland’s main audience is dancers, even non-dancers can take the advice she shares. Our world needs more body positivity.

The stereotype that all ballet dancers have to be thin is outdated and should not have a place in our world today. Body shaming causes a lack of self-confidence, such as eating disorders and mental health issues. These all result from the constant push to keep skinny in the ballet world. Dancers who face the struggle of body image start to lose sight of the real reason they dance. They dance because it brings them joy. They dance because it is a way to deal with their emotions. They dance to spread their creativity into the wide world. Begin today with a new perspective. Look for the positive.

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