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The new shift in the ideal ballet body type
In an age where body positivity and dancer health are emphasized more than
before, can the dance world become more accepting of varying body types?
by Emily Villa
In recent years a slight shift has begun in the ballet and dance worlds, where a larger
variety of body types have begun to be more widely accepted. This shift is due in part to the
few ballerinas working today with more athletic body types. A great example is Misty
Copeland. Although she is very petite, she is strong—and also very visible as a role model,
attracting high profile press and endorsements formerly reserved for athletes.; this shows how
the world not only considers Copeland to be a dancer but also an athlete. It is extremely
challenging to get people to view dancers as not only amazing artists, but also athletes, as fit
as competitive basketball or football players. With the increase in cross-training among
dancers and the new trends of having healthy bodies that might show muscle development and
curves, the ideal body type of a dancer has the potential to change. This could give dancers
who don’t fit into a certain mold the chance to have professional careers in dance.
Ballet has typically favored the body type of a girl who is thin, usually thinner than
what is deemed to be healthy, with long, lean limbs, an extremely flat front side, and little to no
curves throughout the body other than a small waistline. This ideal body type is so hard to
achieve that many dancers force themselves to live unhealthy lifestyles, even developing eating
disorders. These are especially prevalent in the ballet atmosphere. In 1997, in the New York
Times, dance writer Jennifer Dunning quoted Dr. Michelle Warren as saying that, “The average
incidence of eating disorders in the white middle-class population is 1 in 100. In classical
ballet, it is one in five” (Dunning).
From a young age, many dancers are told that their bodies have to look a certain way,
but strict diets often don’t provide them enough nourishment for the amount of exercise they
do on a daily basis. Dunning explains that, “The problem of eating disorders has created a
minor industry of nutritionists and therapists specializing in dancers' emotional and physical
problems” (Dunning). In a Pointe Magazine article called “Too Fat? Too Thin? Too Tall? Too
Short?” dancer Melissa Sandoval, who has danced with companies across the United States
and competed on the TV show, “So You Think You Can Dance,” explains how her
experiences with her weight affected her. After being advised to take hormones for health
issues while dancing with a company, she was put on probation for gaining a little weight and
felt she “could not make the artistic management happy” (Blank). This eventually led to mental
trauma and leaving the company and the ballet world for the time being.
It is clearly important not to “body-shame” dancers. Even though that dancer was
talented, given many roles for a while, she dropped out when she got signals that she was not
being accepted by the company’s director. If an athletic body, one that is healthy and muscular,
is taken into consideration by ballet companies, there may be an increase in healthy, strong,
athletic bodies, while simultaneously decreasing the amount of frail and fragile dancers. The
growing shift in body aesthetic outside of the dance community can help to increase a positive
outlook on the way bodies are viewed in the dance community. Ultra-thin bodies have not
always been the norm.
In an interview with New York Magazine, Misty Copeland stated that it is important to
look at the different time periods when trying to understand the change in the ballet body. She
states that the, “ballerina body is constantly evolving. In this day and age we do a lot more
contemporary and athletic movements that create a more athletic physique. With the
conversations that I’ve opened up, people are more open to expecting the different body types
that exist. Also, if you go back to the 1930s and ‘40s you’ll see these ballerinas that had really
soft physiques — they didn’t have muscles, they weren’t six-feet-ten, and had big breasts —
but that changed through the ‘60s and ‘70s when ballerinas got really thin. Now people are
more open to the concept that dancers come in all shapes and sizes” (Weatherford). Through
this statement, she shows that when looking at the ideal body type it is also extremely
important to look at the different time periods through history.
Today, it seems more important than ever for bodies to look healthy, without having to
be too skinny. Maybe, then, there is a slight window to take advantage of this and incorporate
this body style into ballet. The fitness craze has been booming in America in the last few years,
and the idea of cross training, or having many different fitness training types, so popular with
elite athletes, has made its way into ballet as well. Pilates, yoga, and exercise routines such as
Barre technique, which is inspired by ballet, have become more instrumental in fitness training
across the United States. And when dancers cross train, they may build body types that look
more athletic.
Pilates has been popular with dancers for many years, because, as one popular dance
magazine summarizes, “the exercises target specific muscles and joints, they make you more
aware of your body so you can work to prevent future injuries” (Do’s). Pilates is also
extremely helpful at strengthening your core and other muscles in a beneficial way for dancers.
Yoga and meditation are also often used by dancers, improving balance and focus. These are
some of the reasons dancers find that cross-training helpful. Along the way, dancers may gain
excess muscle in pursuit of strength, so the dance world may continue to see bodies change,
perhaps developing a broader view about what they deem beautiful. As society’s definition of
the word changes, so does ballet.
Misty Copeland is only one example of what the ballet world can become. More people
with varying body types need to push themselves to pursue a dance career, if it’s what they are
truly passionate about. It is important to look back at some of the amazing dancers that may
not have been accepted immediately into the ballet world, but their persistence led them to be
accepted. Their passion will help them flourish, and they will be able to affect future
generations of ballet, becoming positive role models for all those dancers who may have
different body types. Then, young dancers may not feel it necessary to pursue an “ideal body
type” through unhealthy methods. A dancer’s health is the most important thing they can
cultivate in order to last very long in a physically tough career. When the ballet world starts to
prize truly healthy and fit dancers, a negative outlook can become a positive one.
Bibliography
Blank, Christopher, Rosie Gaynor, and Nancy Wozny. "Too Fat? Too Thin? Too Tall? Too
Short?" Pointe Magazine, 28 Feb. 2011. Web. 29 May 2017.
"Do's and Don'ts of Cross-Training." Dance Spirit. N.p., 5 Feb. 2012. Web. 28 May 2017.
Dunning, Jennifer. "Eating Disorders Haunt Ballerinas." The New York Times. The New York
Times, 15 July 1997. Web. 2 May 2017. <http://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/16/arts/
eating-disorders-haunt-ballerinas.html>.
Weatherford, Ashley. "Misty Copeland on Protein and Unconventional Meditation." The Cut.
New York Magazine, 25 July 2016. Web. 11 May 2017. <http://nymag.com/thecut/
swellness/2016/07/misty-copeland-on-her-diet-and-evolving-ballerina-body.html>.
Emily Villa will graduate from UCI with a BA in Dance and a minor in Criminology, Law
and Society after Fall 2017. After leaving UCI she hopes to attend Law School and also
continue to teach ballet.
***

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The new shift in the ideal ballet body type

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