The Detrimental Effects of Dance: Analytical Essay

Dancers often have a higher susceptibility to eating disorders, they are 10 times more likely than non-dancers, due to the dance environment and often there is a stigma behind ballet dancers being tall and skinny however there is some truth to the stereotypes (Lyons, 2017)

The environment:

Dancers practise in front of floor-to-ceiling length mirrors that often take up one wall of their dance studio, mirrors are integral to dancers as they allow them to be able to view their moves and improve and better them, Jennifer ringer a principal dancer who struggled with her weight and body image described mirrors when she first started ballet to be a source of comfort, a compass in which guided her to improve her positions it started as a source of hope and a promise of what she felt she could achieve but this is also what caused her to spiral into an eating disorder. (Ringer, 2014) (Lyons, 2017)

Dancers may spend hours even a whole day looking at their bodies in a mirror, never admiring their figure or balletic lines but picking things up that need correcting This can cause harsh criticism from the dancers to themselves as they may compare their own bodies to around 20-30 other dancers in a class, evaluating and perfecting moves and their body. Dancers often become addicted to their own reflection trying tirelessly to find something wrong and to relentlessly correct their own bodyline (Lyons, 2017) (Bull, 2011)

“Mirrors are dangerous because, given the choice, the brain will always prioritise the information it receives via the eyes: it’s far more interesting than the information it get from the sensors in our muscle, ligaments and joints, through proprioception” “Correcting mistakes based on what you see in the mirror, rather than what you sense via your body is feedback systems, is a slower and less affective process.” (Bull, 2011)

Usually ballet dancers start young and keep going until an adult, which means going through puberty while dancing, (Lyons, 2017). Dancers also have to wear form fitting, small and minimal leotards and tights creating more pressure as their bodies are more on show. Usually ballet dancers start young and keep going until an adult, which means going through puberty while dancing, this also makes them more aware of their changing bodies (Lyons, 2017). Every aspect of a dancer’s body is on show to allow the teacher to correct them on alignment, positioning of the arms and legs even the angle of the head it critiqued upon. (Lyons, 2017) “I remember standing in my leotard on one side of the stage, arms crossed over my body, silently wishing for a skirt or leg warmers or anything that might cover up the parts of my body I was unhappy with” (Ringer, 2014). The uniform of dance combined with the mirrors is a high contributor to the incredibly high amounts of negative body issue, body dysmorphia and self-esteem issues in dancers…

Furthermore the dance world is extremely competitive in terms of competitions but there is also an element of ‘unspoken competitiveness’ between fellow dancers that often adds to the immense pressure to be thin. Victoria Ferguson did an interview with the BBC news explaining her former experience with dance and bulimia at fifteen years old She felt it wasn’t any pressure from teachers or directors that made her feel the need to lose weight but more from the dancers around her