Believe it or not! Dancers have to eat!
That's just as much a myth as:
Ballet is only for girls or all ballet dancers are gay.
That's as much a myth as: Ballet is only for girls, or that all ballet dancers are gay.
However, the subject of nutrition, body image and the appearance of a dancer is very complex and certainly cannot be answered in a few sentences.
What is certain is that professional stage dance can be compared to high performance sport and therefore needs to be considered from many aspects that we know and apply from sport.
The demands on the body and mind are enormous. While athletes, for example, usually train for specific dates with concrete and plannable goals in order to be fit for one or more highlights of the season and to have sufficient build-up and rest phases, professional dancers - depending on the situation (permanent ensemble / long production or freelance touring) - have rehearsals, performance series and the intervals between them that can hardly be planned, are constantly changing and have little in common with the preparation for a sports season. Dancers therefore have to keep fit differently and find their own rhythm.
The metabolism, individual anatomical constellations, atypical daily routines, irregular working hours, short or almost no recovery phases require a high degree of flexibility and constant attention in order to face new challenges every day.
These include, in particular, nutrition and dealing with the image that you have of yourself and your body, or would like to have, which does not always correspond to reality (as I can report from my own experience) and causes more frustration than joy.
Certainly, there are still certain ideas and ideals - especially in classical ballet - that are conveyed, desired and served.
On the one hand, this is due to centuries of tradition and the girlish, delicate appearance of the ballet dancer, who was still depicted as an elfin creature floating above the floor in 19th century paintings. There are still some ballet teachers who have not realised that this ideal cannot be achieved by dieting, starving and weighing oneself daily.
The fact that this can lead to eating disorders and false images in the mind is unfortunately an effect that we also know from many other sports and professions and is not unique to ballet.
Genes, physical and psychological constellations and many other factors play a role that cannot and should not always be influenced.
Some choreographers and directors still need to rethink their approach in order to redefine this outdated image. And let's not forget the audience, which sometimes celebrates this aesthetic and is not satisfied with a different look.
However, dance on the professional stage is now so colourful and diverse that classical ballet itself is only a fraction of it as a career step, and has opened the space for many different body types and, above all, artistic personalities to start a career here.
Without starvation, without diets, and with a sensible education that promotes nutrition, dance medicine, preventive and somatic approaches and above all individuality, thus ensuring a 'healthy' preparation for starting a professional dance career and being able to live and sustain it for many years. However, it cannot be denied that the demands remain high. And the fact that only a fraction of them ever make it through is part and parcel of every art form and professional career.
Keep enjoying your food, your body and listen to yourself.
See you soon and goodbye!
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