Body Image

 As performers I feel like our bodies and body image are such huge parts of our careers, What our bodies are capable of never ceases to amaze me. The ability to belt very high notes (I wish), to imitate other people, to portray such emotion, to physically split, jump, spin, balance. As creatives we are incredible and so are our bodies however, there is a lot of negativity and stigma in our industry. There is so much I could focus on like injury prevention, how we train or our capabilities but I've decided to focus on body image as I believe it's something very relevant in this current climate. 

Web 2.0 & Body Image...

Web 2.0 can be very useful for creatives, especially dancers as there is a large amount of inspirational footage out there. Sometimes these perfect images and videos can lead to negative body image as anything published is usually the most perfect and best version of someone's work (which is completely understandable as the web is used for personal promotion nowadays). I see a dancer standing on pointe with their leg behind their head, with perfectly toned muscles, beautiful make up and hair and most of all making it look effortless. I personally felt pressure because of this and still do. I know that editing software is used often as I've been guilty of using it myself and I hope others remain mindful that what they see on the internet is not always an exact representation of that person or their work. Self criticism is common in our industry and therefore leads to negative body image. 

Ethics & Body Image...

Unethical approaches from coaches and teachers are quite common in any sport or competitive industry as these techniques were probably used by their teachers and seemed effective. However these negative approaches can lead to bad mental health. Within dance the popularity of a ballerina's 'look' started in the 1960's 'When Balanchine's preference for long and lean ballerinas promoted a thin aesthetic that influenced other companies worldwide' (Kelly, 2016). It's surprising that in 2021 this is still the case. Physical touch within teaching dance is used often and I personally never minded it except when it involved being prodded in the stomach or legs. For some this could have terrible consequences. Both of these factors can lead to negative body image and are just two reasons out of many why dancers feel this way. 

Networks & Body Image

Our networks can have a huge impact on our body image and how we see ourselves. Professional networks are amazing, where we can learn and gain knowledge from others in our field. Our professional networks consist of those we've encountered through our practice. I felt pressure to be like those in my network (eating similar things, doing certain workouts, changing my style and hair etc) until I realised how important it was to maintain my unique identity in an industry full of thousands of girls all wanting the same jobs. We need to focus on working together to make positive change in the industry, 'realizing the power of co-operation over competition'(Fisher, cited in Phillips, 2014, p.27). 

I'd be interested to hear your thought on body image too and not just from a dancers point of view. Body image has been a huge area of learning for me personally and I look forward to exploring it further.

References

Kelly, D. (2016). The cult of thin. [online] Available at: https://www.dancemagazine.com/amp/the-cult-of-thin-2307026233 [Accessed 22nd Feb. 2021].

Phillips, S. (2014). The complete guide to professional networking. Kogan page ltd. 




Comments

  1. Emily Smith9 March 2021 at 09:57

    Great blog thank you for sharing! My topic for my module 2 inquiry is, How does social media effect a professional dancers body image. So this has been very beneficial for me to read! Will this be one of your areas of learning in module 1? I look forward to looking into your referenced sources and reading your future blogs :)

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  2. Sophie Burrows12 March 2021 at 03:40

    Hi Niamh,

    You have touched on some vital topics here that are so important to think about especially in our industry. I believe that many of the problems come from the perfection that is shown on social media and the perception that certain images can hold. For example an 'influencer' on instagram takes their photos a 7am before eating any food, creates perfect lighting and body position to show their body off that shows this athletic/ skinny ascetic, however in real life they don't look like this all the time. This idea of perfection then puts pressure on the viewed and I agree with you that it feeds to our insecurities. I also think that colleges and professional institutes have in the past but body image over talent especially when for an audition or application you are asked to put your weight or measurements. Two people with very different body types and shape could weigh exactly the same. The idea that the network you surround yourself with can influence what you eat or how you work out makes me think that maybe that isn't a network that you want to be in if it is a negative pressure. I have felt many pressures when it comes to body image over my years of training and recently have been trying to focus on the idea of progress over perfection, because what is perfection it is a subjective opinion just try to be the best you.

    I have really enjoyed this blog thanks for sharing.

    Sophie xx

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