Review of 'Fuel For Performance' by Nancy Wozny

The third piece of literature I am going to review is Fuel For Performance by Nancy Wozny. This piece was written for Pointe magazine, a magazine aimed at dance professionals. It was published by New York, N.Y.: Macfadden Performing Arts Media, LLC which is the same publishing company that published Dance Healthy, Dance Smart: A Healthy Outlook: How teachers can play an active role in helping students to develop a positive body image by Jennifer Brewer, the last piece I reviewed and was again only published in the USA. However, this article is designed to help dancers with their nutrition so could be useful to dancers of any nationality. It was published in the September – October 2010 edition of the magazine and therefore is extremely recent which is significant because it seems good nutrition is becoming more and more important to dancers.

 

I chose this article as it is designed to help dancers know what to put into their bodies in order for them to dance to the best of their ability. The author, Wozny, is an independent arts and health writer. Although she does not have a background in dance like the other two authors whose articles I have reviewed, she uses quotes from people in the arts to back up her argument.

 

“Carbohydrates are a dancer's secret weapon when schedules go into overdrive”

This is Wozny’s argument. I found this interesting immediately because when talking to my SIG earlier in the module I found that one dancer had been told while at college to “lay off carbs.” Wozney reinforces her claims that dancers need good nutrition to be able to dance to their fullest by quoting Pennsylvania Ballet corps dancer Lauren Fadeley,

"If I get lax with my nutrition, it's harder for me to stay on top of my game, I just don't have the stamina to get through the day- and it shows in my dancing."

It is good that Wozny managed to quote a ballet dancer about eating healthily. Ballet dancers stereotypically are very bad at eating healthily and putting good nutrition over thinness. However, this will mean that they could be sacrificing not only their health but their performance too.

Wozney also explains why scientifically there is such a need for carbohydrates in the diet of a busy dancer. In order to do this she quotes the registered dietitian at Houston Ballet, Roberta Anding.

“(Carbohydrates) are one of those seductive food groups that dancers think they should avoid. But…Carbohydrates break down into glucose, which fuels the body and the brain through a process called glycolysis and the Krebs cycle."

Anding’s statement works well in this article because it shows that eating carbohydrates in order to give you energy as a dancer is not just an opinion. It has been backed up with scientific facts which always make a source more reliable. Like Brewer in the last article I reviewed, Wozny uses quotes from professionals effectively to prove her point and give her article purpose and meaning.

Wozny then goes on to put straight the myth that dancers need more protein than carbohydrates, the advice she gives is,

“What you should be doing is combining protein with carbs for a long-lasting source of energy.”

Again, Wozny quotes Anding to back up her statement,

"Steel-cut oatmeal with scrambled egg whites helps you to feel full all morning."

This shows that the article is doing more than just giving dancers an idea of what food groups they should be consuming. It also gives them a specific meal they could eat to put their theory in to practice. Personally, I think that dancers could learn a lot from this article because it is so well supported with facts and ideas for good nutrition.

Next Wozny explains which carbohydrates will help the most and which will not be as beneficial,

“Complex carbohydrates, found in fruits, vegetables, oatmeal, nuts, seeds and grains are the powerhouse carbs that keep you going throughout the day. Simple carbohydrates, such as baked goods, candy, sodas and juice, are not ideal since they cause your blood sugar to spike and then drop.”

This sounds obvious to me but the reason that I like this article so much is that it helps dancers to understand simple nutrition that could help immensely. Perhaps they really do not know what constitutes good nutrition because nobody has ever told them. This is what I want to find out as part of my inquiry.

Another part of the article which I find insightful is about snacking. When we are busy in rehearsals for example there is often no time to eat meals. Wozny quotes Anding again who gives advice on what she thinks are the best possible snacks for dancers,

"Go for simple, clean and minimally processed. Think quick and portable, an apple or a banana and almonds, carrots with hummus, or whole wheat bread with peanut butter are all good options.”

Wozny claims that energy bars are a good snack while training heavily.However, she quotes Cincinnati Ballet registered dietitian Allison Wagner on how to pick the best kind,

"Try to stay clear of those high in sugar, and saturated and trans fats,"

Again, I find it good that for one thing Wozney is using other people in the know to back up her article and also that they are giving such straight forward advice. Moreover, the fact that the subject of snacking was brought up in this article shows that Wozny understands the life of a dancer. I think it is good that the article addresses this point because as a rule snacking is seen as bad where healthy eating is concerned.

Wozny also explains the outcome of bad nutrition and not taking in enough carbohydrates. She uses quotes from both Anding and Wagner.

“Chronic under-fueling chews up muscle. In an effort to save itself, your body actually starts shutting down. A dancer can’t just suck it up and power through with a show-must-go-on logic. It's not a problem you can conquer with sheer willpower."

This quote from Anding shows dancers that they cannot hide from the fact that bad nutrition is going to affect their bodies. There is certainly a powering through mentality in the dance industry that Anding touches on here but if we eat healthily we won’t even consider having to do this.

The quote Wozny uses of Wagner’s is more to do with injury,

 "Not consuming enough energy has negative effects on muscles, bones and the level of stress hormones produced by our bodies, which can lead to muscle cramps, stress fractures and breaks."

Again I think this is something dancers need to know in order for them to really listen to how to keep their bodies in good shape by eating a nutritious diet.

I think Wozny pieces this article together nicely with use of quotes. I think it would be an interesting read for a lot of dancers as nutrition often gets forgotten about on the quest to be thin. The point is that dancers can be thin and healthy if they choose a nutritious diet.

Critical Reflection Summary: Digital Portfolio

 The topic of body image is one that I have always had strong feelings about in my career. At the start of this module I looked into my own thoughts and drew on my own experiences from within my training and career. My initial questions were: why is being slim so important within my area of practice? Are you more likely to get cast if you are slim? How do we know what slim is when everybody is a different shape and size to begin with? How many dancers are dealing with eating disorders of some description? And I wonder how many dancers are genuinely happy and contented with their size and weight? I blogged these questions on 1.2.2011.

            I then started joining in with discussions with my SIG on the BAPP Facebook page.  Emily Rose began a discussion titled 'Is the world of entertainment obsessed with body image?'. From comments made in this discussion I found that many dancers' issues with food and diet began at dance school/college. Which prompted me to ask whether other dance students have experienced this? I created the discussion titled ‘Body Image and Dance School/College’ in which I asked my SIG to comment on their experiences. From their answers I questioned whether, out of the students who were told to lose weight, they were given a healthy eating plan or just told 'lose the weight’? The answers I received were mixed. Some were given help with nutrition while others were not, one girls was told to ‘lay of carbs’. So after discussing my ideas with Paula and her referring me to Dance UK’s healthy dancer program. I began to se how bad some of the advice coming from dance school was. I started asking the question are some of these teachers fit to be giving advice? And is there a need for better nutritional advice in dance schools? These questions were blogged on 10.3.2011.Some of my further questions can be found at my wikispaces account.

            After further discussions with my SIG, in particular discussions about the media’s coverage of how thin the actresses in ‘Black Swan’ were in order to convincingly play ballerinas. And also looking into how ethics work in my area of practice (a theatre) blogged about on 18.3.2011. I realised that dance schools are only a small part of the dance world as a whole and are no longer my area of practice. I still want to do some research in them but they are not going to be my main focus.

            After reading the course reader on ethics of a professional inquiry and

blogging my thoughts on it on 21.3.2011 I learned how important ethics are when carrying out any kind of research. If proper ethical considerations are not adhered to then I could lose out on important information. This made me think about how I can ensure my inquiry is ethical.

This meant that when I carried out my pilot research I knew the rules of how to ask questions that are unbiased and not leading. I also knew to keep all the research techniques anonymous. Not only did this make the research ethical, but it also made the participants answer honestly. I blogged my thoughts on each of the research techniques from 29.3.2011 – 23.4.2011. My main issue was the length of my pilot interview. I think it was too short and in my final inquiry I will think about how to change it to make sure I get the most out of it. I got my SIG involved as much as I could but mainly for the pilots I used people in my area of practice.  The literature I found useful can be found at my delicious account. Some of it is about eating disorders and body image in dance schools/companies and some is about nutrition for dancers. The articles I reviewed are on my blog. What I found interesting is that my line of inquiry is very prominent in a lot of literature yet opinions seems to differ greatly which has made me more excited to do my inquiry and find out what people think for myself.

Review of 'Dance Healthy, Dance Smart: A Healthy Outlook: How teachers can play an active role in helping students to develop a positive body image' by Jennifer Brewer

The second piece of literature I chose to review is Dance Healthy, Dance Smart: A Healthy Outlook: How teachers can play an active role in helping students to develop a positive body image. It is an article for Dance Teacher Magazine by Jennifer Brewer who is a freelance writer, teacher, musician and dancer. Having experience as an artist as well as a writer means Brewer can write about dance with good understanding. It was published by Raleigh, N. C.: Macfadden Performing Arts Media, LLC in the USA. Like the article Confessions of a Hypocrite by Pat Catterson, which I reviewed, this article is also published by a company which specializes in literature for the arts and references dance schools in America exclusively.

This piece is relevant to my inquiry as it is about encouraging teachers to promote healthy body image in their schools and classes. Brewer looks into what forward-thinking universities are doing in the USA but perhaps things differ in Britain, which is where I am going to carry out my inquiry, which could make the article slightly less relevant to my work. However, as in many fields, where America goes the rest of the world tend to follow. It was published in 2002 and looks at how things have changed from the 1970s to that year. To say that this article is almost ten years old I feel that its content about teachers helping their students to feel good about their bodies is something which I personally have seen very little of to this day.

Brewer’s message is that there has been a lot of change in the dancer’s bodies from the “emaciated 1970’s and 80’s” to a more healthy look. She puts this down to teachers building body confidence in their students. I can relate this to Catterson’s article because she writes how the first production she choreographed was in 1977 where her father who, I found out from Catterson’s website http://www.patcatdance.org, was a ballroom dancer made a comment about a “fat girl” in Catterson’s piece. Perhaps, it was seen a standard in the 70’s that dancers were very thin. However, Catterson does not make any indication that things have changed over the years, whereas Brewer’s entire article is to do with this and unlike Catterson, Brewer used a lot of quotes from other professionals literature in order to back up her argument.

She uses quotes and actions of some very prominent people in the industry to show this change in attitude by teachers. She references research done by Jane M. Bonbright, EdD executive director of the National Dance Education Organization in Bethesda, Maryland. Bonbright’s reseach showed that non-dancing students show more signs of having eating disorders than professional ballet dancers. Brewer also uses this quote of Bonbright’s,

 ''There's it lot that schools can do to promote health. Teachers can make connections in their communities. Perhaps there is a nutritionist with knowledge of adolescents and dance. Build a relationship with this person and see if he or she would be interested in visiting classes, maybe one day per quarter, or even hold a Saturday seminar to which all students are invited.''

This quote gives advice to dance teachers on how they can make a difference within their school. The fact that Brewer has used evidence from other professionals work makes her article a more reliable source of information. To see that other people share her ideas means that her argument has weight behind it. Bonbright goes on to say,

''Students don't need to hear that their tummies are sticking out. That kind of comment can do it lot of damage to children, who really value their teachers' approval.''

Here, Brombright is pointing out that even an innocent correction about a dancer’s alignment can lead to poor body image. Perhaps even the most caring of teacher’s would not consider that this could be a problem.

Another professional she quotes is Francia Russell, artistic director of Pacific Northwest Ballet and its affiliated school. In the school she runs she has hired a nutritionist and a psychologist in order to help dancers with body image if it is necessary. With reference to changes in the school and making staff more aware of how they treat students, she makes the comment,

''I knew when I started as director that we had to do a lot more than teach ballet class,'' 

This shows that Russell feels that it is her duty to ensure students are happy and healthy. By Brewer using Russell’s hard work as an example shows her opinions on the subject are shared by other people.

The next professional Brewer uses to reinforce her point is Linda H. Hamilton, PhD, author of Advice For Dancers: Emotional Counsel And Practical Strategies. I found this part of the article very interesting because it stresses how much importance a healthy diet is to professional dancers, which is something I am specifically looking into as part of my inquiry. Hamilton expresses the need for nutritional classes in dance schools,

''The student needs to be educated about how weight loss works and how to lose weight safely. The wrong way will backfire,''

Here, Brewer chose to use this quote of Hamilton’s to express that one part of the changes that have happened in this field from the 1970’s to when this article was written is knowledge about nutrition.

Brewer also draws upon the ideas of artistic director of the National Ballet School in Toronto, Mavis Staines. Staines claims that,

''More people are moving away from the narrow idea that dancers can never be too thin,''

This is entirely contradictory of what Catterson wrote in her article which was published some eight years after this one. She claims that,

“If someone looks entirely different -too tall, too heavy, too short-from the rest in look it does disturb the effect, like a dot of blue in the middle. (Notice I didn't say "too thin". You can never be too thin for dance it seems.)”

I too have my doubts that the dance world is leaving behind the idea that dancers can be too thin. I occasionally seen really ill girls be told to gain a couple of pounds but that is nothing compared to the amount of girls of a healthy size I see getting told the lose weight.

What I do like though is the advice Staines gives to dance teachers,

“it is absolutely essential that teachers never speak about weight in front of other students. Ideally, consultation with parents should be part of the process.”

I think this quote is an example of how Brewer has done a good job of using quotes from other sources that will really help dance teachers to do this side of their job better.

I think this article shows that dance teachers are starting to see the importance their role has when influencing their students. However, I think that there is still a long way to go. I loved how positive in this article is and with more pieces like this looking at what can be and is being done about body image at dance schools the industry will have to change their mind about what is acceptable.

Review of 'Confessions of a Hypocrite' by Pat Catterson

The first piece of literature I have chosen to review is an article titled Confessions of a Hypocrite by Pat Catterson. I chose this piece because it looks into how choreographers, dancers and dance companies view dancers’ bodies and is therefore extremely relevant to my line of inquiry. The piece was written for Attitude – the dancer’s magazine and was published by Brooklyn, N. Y.: Dance Giant Steps, Inc. which shows it is aimed at dance professionals predominantly in the USA. It featured in the spring 2010 edition of the magazine which means it is only a year old. The recentness of this article make Catterson’s opinions relevant to the dance industry as it is today, however, she draws on experiences from her entire career in choreography which dates back to the 1970’s.

Catterson is a renowned dancer, teacher and choreographer which is significant as her opinions in this article stem from her own experiences in the industry. She also refers to another article named ‘Funny, You Don’t Look Dancerish’ which was published in the New York Times Arts and Leisure section on May 20^th 2007 and was written by Claudia La Rocco. Catterson’s bias in this piece shifts depending on whether she is discussing the topic from a professional or a personal stand point, the title of the article relates to this.

Catterson mentions an occasion, documented in La Rocco’s article, where dancers have been put under scrutiny for the way they look. A choreographer, Larry Keigwin fires a ‘larger’ dancer, Hillary Clark after feeling pressured by the press and the public. To this Catterson makes the comment,

“…one does immediately notice her larger girth, but…., once she starts dancing, you see only her gifts, or should.”

She is admitting here that she thought the dancer was large, yet she could still appreciate her talents. However, the last sentence is still tinged with doubt, “or should”, suggests that herself or others may still find it difficult to appreciate Clark as a dancer because of her size. It also shows how a choreographer such as Catterson immediately casts a judgemental eye over the size of the dancers on stage before the performance even begins.

Catterson has a lot of experience working in dance departments in colleges in the US. I found this part of the article extremely interesting as I am going to look into dance schools in the UK as part of my inquiry. She comments on how the treatment of student dancers by their teachers with regard to weight appals her.

“Often to my dismay, too much is said about the bodies’ suitability or unsuitability for training and a career, and not enough about the quality of the student’s dancing itself”

This quote shows that she believes it is wrong that the focus is often on a dancer’s body rather than on their talents. This topic of looks versus talent is one that seems to often be a talking point amongst dancers in my experience. Catterson goes on to reveal how ‘code words’ are used to get a point about a dancer’s size across.

‘…“You need to work on tone” means the student is considered fat.’

Here, she is revealing how she believes teachers are not entirely honest when talking to students about their weight or size. However, this is only her opinion and cannot be taken as fact. On occasion perhaps a teacher merely wants to tell a dancer to tone up as toning and losing weight are two very different things.

Catterson then goes on to try and justify why there is this need for professional dancers to be thin. At first she questions whether it is the homosexual man’s influence on the art and “alleged hatred or jealousy for all things feminine” that has made it this way.

“For sure, anorexia and bulimia are common in both the fashion industry and dance, where, in terms of leadership positions, gay men dominate.”

This is an interesting opinion and one that may relate to how homosexual men feel about their own attractiveness. I read an article from Autumn 1998 in Advocate’s Forum Vol. 5 No.1 by Laurel Gideon titled Body Image: Heterosexual Females and Gay Males. In this article Gideon is looking into the similarities between gay men and straight women with regard to body image and eating disorders.

“Gay men, similar to heterosexual women, experience a sense of self that is largely dependent on physical attractiveness. It appears that cultural pressures to achieve a certain standard of physical attractiveness have not only impacted women, but have also impeded gay men's ability to maintain a positive body image. Like women, gay men experience extreme pressure to be slim and youthful.” (Gideon 1998)

If there is truth in Catterson’s opinion that homosexual men in the dance industry have somewhat created the pressure of female dancers to be thin perhaps part of the reason could be the notion that physical attractiveness is extremely important in gay culture.

However, Catterson’s next thought on why there is so much pressure on dancers to be a certain size is about preference by heterosexual men.

“Or does it stem from the “male gaze” in general, the straight man’s desires for the prepubescent girl, the “Lolita”. “

It is interesting that her opinions are so swayed towards what she thinks men want to see, gay or straight. The dance industry is full of talented women who choreograph and cast shows, Catterson being one of them. Yet she still links the attractiveness of dancers back to the opinions of the opposite sex.

The next part of the article is even about a female dance professor’s negative opinion on a talented student’s body. Catterson quotes her colleague as saying,

“If I had a daughter who ended up looking like that, I’d kill myself.”

Catterson clearly put this quote in for dramatic effect and it worked. This is the line which stayed with me the most from the article and I am sure other people reading it would feel the same. The idea that anybody could be so cruel about somebody looks is hard to comprehend even in an industry where we constantly feel judged on our looks. Even Catterson’s following description of the dance student is hard to read,

“…completely atypical, heavier than most and oddly proportioned dance body, but she could really move!”

Catterson believes “as a choreographer she is more accepting of different body types than most” yet this description shows she really dissected all the features that are ‘wrong’ in this dancer. She is trying to prove that if a dancer has talent then she can look beyond their physical appearance yet it is still a wall she has to push through. To me it seems she still judges their appearance before she compliments their skills. Also, because we cannot see the dancers she is writing about we must take her word that they are not dancer-esque in their appearance. Perhaps if I were to see this girl I would not think the same things she does about her body.

Next, she questions if and how dance professors should approach students if they believe they should lose weight in order to get work. As “a recovered victim…of twenty five years of eating disorders” she knows that she needs to be cautious when approaching the subject of weight. She comments on how she told a “very talented, but heavy senior” to lose a few pounds in order to help her get work. Again she is highlighting her weight before her skills. However, I realise this could purely be for the purpose of the article. The student did not want to listen and when Catterson saw her in a production she commented that while her student was at the back,

“A slim pretty girl, and not the dancer my UCLA student was, had the main role”

This is certainly the theme of the article. I f you are talented but ‘heavy’ expect a hard time in the dance industry. Yet, if you are less talented but ‘attractive’ you will have no problem getting work. Catterson does not believe that this is right, in fact, in reference to the UCLA student not getting the recognition she deserved in the production she comments that,

“It was sad to see”

However, I feel that Catterson may have used this example to show that she was right to tell the student to lose weight and had she of listened then perhaps she would have been the star of the production. There is no congratulations coming from Catterson for this girl for getting dance work despite her size, even if it was not the main role, she still defied the stereotype.

Another part of this article which I found very interesting with regard to my inquiry is how Catterson writes about an “informal survey” she carried out in the dressing room at some dance studios she was working at. Her question was whether professors in dance departments should tell dancers if they think they need to lose weight? And her follow up question was whether they had every considered themselves heavy? The dancers who gave their opinions ranged in age from people in their 20’s to people in their 50’s. Their opinions ranged, some dancers thought it is right to tell a dance student to lose weight because they are training them and therefore it is their responsibility to advise them on every part of getting employment. Other dancers claimed that telling a dancer to lose weight is not good because unless they are delusional they know they have to make the choice. One dancer claimed that,

“You need to be at the weight necessary for your body to be healthy enough to dance optimally. Period”

As part of this module preparing myself for my inquiry I have looked into articles and literature to do with nutrition. This is an important part of dancer’s health especially when dancers are always being encouraged to be thin. Catterson does not really broach the subject of diet in this article. I think that this dancer’s comment about needing to be a good weight in order to dance to your full ability is very interesting and it is an opinion she and I share. In the article Fuel For Performance by Nancy Wozny August – September 2010. The author quotes Pennsylvania Ballet’s Lauren Fadeley as saying,

"If I get lax with my nutrition, it's harder for me to stay on top of my game, I just don't have the stamina to get through the day and it shows in my dancing."

Nutrition is very important for dancers but as I have said Catterson does not go into nutrition in her article and I think that it is important that if a professor advises a dancer to lose weight they should give them nutritional advice along with it.

When looking into whether male dancers get told to lose weight, Catterson found out that one choreographer who she deemed to be “in his hay day, a larger build than most” told a male dancer to lose weight. She wonders whether this is an example of “passing on the damage of one’s own victimization”. Which is what I was wondering about her comments about gay men’s attitudes towards female dancer’s bodies.

Because the opinions given in the dressing room vary and come from dancers who are all different ages I think it is a good representation of the opinions dancers have as a whole however, as this survey was informal and is just based on her asking a couple of questions we must take these opinions lightly. There are no facts here.

Catterson confesses,

“For all my outrage I see my own hypocrisy”

She confesses of times where she has not employed dancers because they would not look right with the rest of the cast and that sometimes uniformity can make a production. However, I have seen hypocrisy in this article from the very start. She is happy to say that she often looks past a dancers physique to their talents but if she were truly employing dancers for their skills there would be nothing to look past to in the first place. This size barrier would not even exist.

This article was written by Catterson to look into her own opinions and the opinions of others about a topic which is very common in the dance industry. The opinions she has are based on experiences she has had in this field. The article is supposed to make dancers think about the topic yet it is not based on heavy research so it should not be taken as fact. It is presented as an entertaining article which is a good read for dancers who know how hard the business can be. The “mini-survey” Catterson carried out should not be read factually. It is informal and does not seem to have been approached with a particular view of ethics or with a view of really finding out the truth. She just wanted to find out other dancers opinions on the subject. Her argument that dancers should be seen purely for their talent is not particularly well conceived because it seems although she would like it to be this way she even finds it hard to look beyond size from time to time. This I found right from the beginning of the article long before she confessed to being a hypocrite.