The Ballet Physique as Molded by Media Essay

When I was four years old I was introduced to a tall, petite, beautiful ballerina who spun around the room with elegance, and effortlessly captured the crowd with her stunning abilities. As a little girl, I sparkled with admiration and was inspired to be all she was, it was from that point on, that I ventured into an unknown world of art, strength and expression. Now being eighteen years old with about fourteen years of experience in the dance world, I have learned and developed the norms, values and practices of the culture, and the conflicting theory within it.

Mime should be used only when the ballet’s style dictates it, in other cases the dancer’s whole body, not only the hands, should be used to communicate.

Perhaps the very first image the general public would see in their mind’s eye, upon hearing the word “dancer”, is that of a darling little five year old girl in a pretty pink tutu and delicate ballet slippers stepping into her local dance studio for the first time. Take someone a little deeper into that thought, and they might see an overly thin, pale sixteen year old young woman, with collarbones and ribs showing working herself almost to death to earn a minor part in a dance chorus. Suggest that someone describe a dancer in the height of their career, and you might hear of a Prima Ballerina with the Moscow Ballet. Ask someone to visualize a dancer in later years, and they might picture an older woman with a greying bun atop her head, leading a class or perhaps helping younger dancer perfect a performance, who is likely ailing

Elice McKinley is a ballet dancer at the Carolina Ballet in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Mail Online, 2015). During the interview she admitted she was never anorexic but felt she always had the mentality of one, adding that for nearly a decade she ate very little on a daily basis, only ever eating the likes of boiled chicken and fruit. She also revealed how in the ballet world, weight is a topic that is constantly discussed and how they are told to dance all day, every day, and get by on very little sustenance (Mail Online, 2015). This may suggest how little support is received in an institutional environment and the extent of this concern. I believe some blame can be put on schooling for this low self-esteem and some experiencing body image issues due to being in such a closed minded environment for however many years. It is very important that advice is given to dance students, especially as they are in an environment that is based on appearance and have their bodies participate in such a physically demanding schedule. From experience, I am aware how easy it is to get caught up in wanting to look a certain way and to feel obliged to be a certain size. Without personal advice and support, I believe some dance students will be very uneducated when it comes to nutrition having never been in the environment that

Whether rooted deeply through generations of a family or formed through an experience, passions and fascinations are what drives us, humans, to be who we truly are. At this point in my life, I do not want to reach comfort or perfection, but rather feel composed and confident in what I chose to merge my ballet skills with. When I dance, I escape reality and feel a pure exhilaration.This sensation shapes my curiosity and interest in the human anatomy. From the elements that make it up to ways in which people individually move their bodies, the human body is absolutely fascinating. Specifically, I am passionate about teaching ballet to younger students. By introducing ballet to kids early on, they will experience the same joy almost all dancers feel for a longer period of time. When I’m dancing I’m challenging your mind, releasing endorphins, and working hard. I am also eager to own my own business linked with teaching that will provide people with affordable dance equipment, and even more crucial, advice on what suits each person's personal needs. I know as I grow old my body will not be as capable as it once was, but I’m dedicated to spreading my appreciation of ballet to others. Overall, my passion for ballet and how I can utilize it to positively impact society as an entrepreneur has developed through the inspiration of my grandparents, the creativity of my former dance teachers, and my interest in the human bodies relation to ballet.

Dance is a “highly competitive, high-pressure and physically demanding profession” (Dunning). Ballet students are constantly monitored on their body weight. Most dance companies have what is called an “appearance clause” written into their contracts. This clause specifies that if a dancer gains an excessive amount of weight she could be released from the company (Kelso 2). For this, many dance companies and schools require that their students participate in frequent weigh-ins (Price and Pettijohn 991). Often times these weigh-ins are unannounced and the dancers are unaware of them. Their weight is recorded and even announced in front of other dancers in the class (Kelso). Through these weigh-ins, dance company directors and teachers constantly push their dancers to be extremely thin. If their weight is too high they will be pressured to loose it. Dancers can be both rewarded or punished based on their weight. A dancer could be rewarded by gaining a role in a ballet, and praised by the directors. On the other hand, if she did not loose the weight she could risk not being cast at all (Kelso). This constant monitoring, embarrassment and scrutiny of there weight cause the dancers to be even more cautious about their weight.

In an article titled “We Are Not Created Equal in Every Way” that appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle on December 12 2000, reporter and columnist Joan Ryan expressed her opinion regarding the story of Fredrika Keefer. Miss Keefer was an 8-year-old whose mother, Krissy Keefer, sued the San Francisco Ballet School after Fredrika was refused admission to the school because of her body type. While Ryan’s article is an opinion piece, many of her arguments and comparisons are ill-thought-out, fallacious, or do not contribute much of anything to the piece.

Ballet has kept its classic and elegant movements the same but the way they see the female dancers has change the look of it. With ballet there are little dark secrets that are hidden and with it. No matter how nice the dance is there is going to be women that want look better than the next girl on the barre. The old look for dancers was to be short and have muscle because being on pointe is very hard. But now sense society wants girls to be all skinny so ballet with that took it to the extend. And with this many higher schools require their girls to not be on diets so that their fat they eat will be burned up by the end of practice. Having the thought many of the parents of young daughters are brought in to have a talk about how they can portion out their kid and also talk about the training they need to make a career out of this. But ballet is not all bad it has become to know with the more modern song, in which mean that ballet has became also fast beat and sassy when it came to the girls role. No matter what there is there is a fence with ballet that many love it or hate it just depends what side you’re on.

For over a decade, I stood at the same barre in front of the same mirror, and I watched myself change. Without my knowledge, ballet began to shape me as a person. Because of the grueling hours spent refining my technique, I developed discipline. Despite the hard days of practice, I never gave up. My body learned as well, and my muscles still contain the leanness of a dancer. Whenever someone compliments me on my ability to tie my hair into a bun on the top of my head, I always smile conspiratorially.

Mass media is effective in teaching us what we “should” look like. Women should be thin. Men should be muscular. The skinny and muscular ideals portrayed in advertising encourage men and women to look a certain way. The depiction of the female ideal has helped shaped society’s perspectives about beauty. The media pushes you to “improve your body” by buying their products but soon the road to a skinny and toned body leads to a self destructive path of self hatred. The powerful ideas that the media transmits through words, images, and movement can have lasting impacts on the human brain, affecting how we think and

One stereotype used against African Americans and ballet is that African Americans were too docile for the demands of ballet techniques. There is evidence to refute this claim. A piece of evidence is shown

Holding Onto the Air an autobiography by Suzanne Farrell takes the reader backstage in the dramatic life of the world-renowned Balanchine ballerina. From her childhood in Cincinnati to her retirement from ballet in 1989, Farrell's story is truly a remarkable one. The book describes at length her time with the New York City Ballet as well as her complex relationship with the legendary Balanchine. Although Mrs. Farrell goes a bit too far into the ballet descriptions, her beautiful imagery allows reader to experience the joy of performing on stage.

In the article “Never Just Pictures,” Susan Bordo acknowledges how the cultural perception of body image of both men and women has been increasing in viciousness exponentially. The societal views of the models in advertisements, on television or in magazines, have proven themselves to be “fabulously” horrific throughout the last few decades. However, an incredible amount of commercial funding, euphemistic language, dietary support groups and other lifestyle changes are merely thought up, created and shipped out door-to-door to virtually all people who cannot simply stand being a kind soul towards others who are apparently suffering, in the medias (blind) eyes. This terrifying phenomenon is especially shocking since there have been articles

For example, the images and celebrities in the media set the standard for what we find attractive. As a result of, leading people to go to dangerous extremes to have the biggest biceps or fit into size 2 jeans. Today, more than 66 percent of Americans are overweight or obese. In the American body, the media idealizes images of the male and female bodies. But, at the same time the media in the form of television, the internet, movies, and print publications is more powerful than before. “We live in a day and age where people make it IMPOSSIBLE for women, men, anyone to embrace themselves exactly how they are. Diversity is sexy! Loving yourself is sexy!” (Strecker, 2015, para. 2).

The female body image is highly influenced by the mass media and the media’s portrayal of women, ‘70% of college women say they feel worse about their own looks after reading women’s magazines’ (University of Massachusetts & Stanford University, 2006), the portrayal of women in the media has an unrealistic approach and brings out body dissatisfactions and this results in eating problems and disorders.