Empowering Confident Body Images in Dancers 

Hi! My name is Paloma Arena, and my project focuses on ways dance teachers can help dances improve their body images. I picked this because of my own personal experience with body image, as well as the many dancers I've met who struggle with body image issues. 

I was guided by in my research by this question: How can Syracuse dance teachers use therapeutic dance techniques in classes to improve the body images of dancers?

I was lucky enough to talk to three experts in the dance community to help with my research- Elaine Wolf, a therapeutic dance practitioner, Allison Bollinger, a professional dancer and nutritionist, and Wendy Masterson, a dance movement therapist and somatic dance teacher. My mentor, Lexi Wilson, was also an amazing resource. I also received a lot of support from the teachers at the Ballet and Dance Center, and my mom, Ruth Arena.