There seems to be so many of us all wanting to explore the issue of body image further. I think this just shows how present the topic is in all of our lives. Although it is a sad truth in our career it has been good to be able to discuss such a topic with other students. It seems to me that it is an area we've all wanted to be able to talk freely about and now we have found our place in which to do so. Unlike some of my fellow students I have never personally suffered from an eating disorder and so discussions with those who have have allowed me to see the topic from a different perspective. I know dancers with eating disorders and from my experience they are either in denial or talk about it like its something to be proud of! Reading the experiences that some of my other students have been through it is clear to see how the shadow of their eating disorder will never leave them completely but also that they are dealing with their demons head on which is wonderful.
It is hard to learn that often their eating disorders begun with dance school/college. I remember my first term at college when I was 16. I had never thought anything of my size or shape because I was always just the same as my friends at school but dance school is a whole different world. I had a more developed figure than some of the other students. There was a group of girls who constantly got told to lose weight and look at their diet carefully. Although I was never in this group, it was definitely the first time I was aware of my figure in this way. As the months and years went on I lost weight and toned up. Everybody was very complimentary and thought I'd been purposefully trying to do it. In fact one teacher actually asked me if I was eating properly. The weight was just coming off naturally but it was really nice that she cared. There are plenty of teachers telling students to lose weight but it is good to know that a few are putting health first! I want to know more about this topic so I have posted a discussion at http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=83&uid=145821545478191 It would be great to hear some views from others in my SIG.
Another theme which keeps coming up in these discussions is the topic of the movie 'Black Swan' in which the two main actresses lost 20lbs in order to play convincing ballerinas. It is a well known fact that the majority of female Hollywood stars are bordering on underweight to begin with but then for them to have to lose so much more just proves how thin ballerinas have to be. I for one am glad that they did do this because they didn't sugar-coat the truth.
However, when discussing this topic with Eleanor Mattley she talked of how she knows a dancer who has deliberately lost weight after watching 'Black Swan' because she liked the way Natalie Portman's character Nina looked in the movie. The entire message of the movie is dedication to the point of insanity which is something that none of us should strive for! And yet there are clearly dancers out there who have been so caught up with body image that the actual point of the movie alludes them.
No comments:
Post a Comment