There are many misconceptions when it comes to ballet. To an audience, ballet is about watching a performance, it’s a way to be entertained. To most parents, ballet is seen as secondary to an education. Friends and classmates see ballet as a hobby, something to put extra effort into, but to a ballerina, ballet is all of that and more.
Some people don’t believe that ballet is a sport because of how feminine it seems. People like to view it as an artistic expression more than a physical one, and that is not true. While there are elements of art in ballet with choreographing dances and the styling that goes into the costumes, those components of ballet are less done by the actual dancers.
The parts of ballet that are done by the dancers include memorizing huge dance numbers and position terms, dancing every day on bruised feet and sore ankles, and going to classes every day on crammed schedules. Audiences who watch a performance don’t understand how much work is put into every move. People without an understanding of ballet don’t appreciate everything that goes into a performance to make it happen. In reality, ballet is so much more than what you see on the stage. The version of the performance which the audience views is the perfected version. This hides the tears, competition, and unhealthy lifestyles of many dancers.
Only ballerinas will understand the pressure they feel and the commitment that dance requires. Dancers often feel like they should be practicing more and trying harder even when they are doing their best. This can lead to dancers overworking and overexerting themselves, which is bad for their mental and physical health. It is typical that ballet dancers can overwork muscles. This is problematic because it can impact their ability to dance, as well as their mobility in the long term. Stress fractures and muscle tears, if not allowed to heal, can cause more serious injuries, leaving a permanent splinter in the bone.
According to Lily O’hara, in the article “Ballet: A Cursed and Complicated Beauty,” she writes that “Ballet in the U.S. is still very much driven by a fixation on the thin, ethereal female body ideal, even as research documents the thousands of dancers that go to extremes to attain that ideal and incur tremendous physical and mental health costs along the way: eating disorders, low self-esteem, and anxiety.” Ballet can create a toxic environment where comparing bodies is normalized. Being put in this space makes people feel out of place leading to insecurities and a need to fix the supposed “bad qualities” about themselves.
Eating disorders specifically have been linked to ballet. There is an unattainable need for thin bodies that has been enforced over the years and now it’s the status quo for all ballerinas to be fairly skinny. Eating disorders like Anorexia and Bulimia are two that are seen a lot in dancers. Anorexia is when someone purposely starves themselves so they won’t gain weight and bulimia is when someone binge eats and then throws it up because they feel guilty. Both of these disorders are treatable and there are resources for people struggling with these problems.
These health issues that are often given to ballerinas are much less common now because valuing both a person’s mental and physical health in these ways are much more important to teachers, families, and friends. It is a more acceptable thing to talk about now because being taught to suppress emotions is no longer being made normal. Everyone has a better understanding of the downsides of not paying attention to these things. Now, in today’s society, increased awareness helps those going through these situations. It shows people going through similar situations are not alone and have people to rely on and trust through tough times.
