As a rhythemic gymnast, the amount of pressure of being thin is just... unbearable. My coach wouldnt let the girls drink energy drinks because it was 'sweet'. I am very grateful because I cant gain weight but looking at the other girls being so thin is just sad. I still remember the time when my friend was really sick, but she wouldnt eat because she thought it would make her gain weight. They wouldnt eat sweets, fried food, rice and noodles at all. Its a really sad thing to witness. (12 years old)
Jennifer Cook People dance because they love it, the expression and release for them is like nothing else (or should be), they do not dance for the paycheck. Please remember that some women are naturally slimmer... It's shady to make them feel inadequate because they don't fit your ideal. Also, half the pictures in that album have implants and photoshopped...
Jennifer Cook You can be slim and still be sexy :) Be boring if all women was curvy I'm a ballet dancer myself and I wouldnt consider myself unhealthy skinny I'm a healthy slim. I love being slim and wouldnt wanna be curvy as I love the ballet figure its beautiful (my opinon). But yeah curvy is sexy and all that but slim is too :)
Kang-Dong Kim perhaps, just a guess here, most women could care less what you find attractive? Seriously sick of people who think having an eating disorder is about wanting to look attractive for a man. I want to be skinny for me, not for you
Please take care- a lot of the adults in your sport have their own agendas and ego involved. They'll destroy your body and sense of self to achieve their own goals. Like a professional model, you have to nourish (not punish) yourself. Even if you're naturally slim, the pressure can get you so psyched out and unhealthy. It's terrible to damage your body permanently for a career or activity that doesn't last that long or pay that much. I messed up all my joints. Sometimes when I'm driving and making a turn, my arm will totally come out of place. It's nearly killed me! I didn't know how to take care of myself. Be your own nutritionist, feed your needs, and you'll look fantastic without all the torture! =D
It must've been some amateur company, certainly not Mariinsky or Bolshoi. Watch Vaganova academy videos.... Also "dance of the little swans" documentary, how at one point they ask one returning student if she lost weight, also at one point the teacher looks into a classroom and says how some girls are slim and some aren't and "let me see who they are".
yenelly tejada It was the same way in the horseshow world (in the States anyhow). Little girls, told we were fat when we were still in jods and paddock boots, still wearing our hair in braids. Your trainer says you're fat... at shows, after meals, you'd go in the ladies' room and always see lettuce floating in the bowl. We were just little girls... and we bought it. Horseshow moms, as bad as the trainers. None of us were fat, just normal little girls. It was child abuse.
i quit ballet when i was 16 (doing it since i was three) i still have my first pointe shoes...but then a friend of mine died from bulimia nervosa and then i injured my knee and it was all a wake up call...some members of my family kept saying i was already skinny naturally (which i'm still am) and that i don't need to loose weight...god how stupid i was back then...now i go to college and couldn't be more happy :) no more dance for me...:D
This was such a fantastic piece to watch. I stopped dancing altogether a year ago just because I couldn't handle how negative I was on myself I let it get to a point where the only way I saw out was to step away completely. I had filmed my audition DVD, been to the Genee International Ballet Competition and was preparing to take my solo seal exam. But I wasn't happy with anything I did, the way I looked. I was just waiting to fail at everything I did and I wasn't confident. I think if I'd let anyone know how I was feeling I could still be dancing and with a much better view of myself. Although I haven't been to a class in a year, something like this still brings me to tears. I wish I'd seen more things like this while I was dancing. Learning to be happy with yourself and happy with your imperfections is a message that really got to me. I think it's something myself and so many people I know still have to work on. Thank you so much for sharing such a important message. Although the dance world may never change. At least if the dancers learn to deal with the constant criticism and take it not as you as a person aren't good enough then we will survive it and come out the other side stronger not riddle with insecurities and unhappiness.
i was taken out of dance by my grandmother when i was 8 because i wasn't 'skinny' enough. three years ago i joined back into dance and although im much heavier then the rest of the girls in my class, i love dance because i love how i makes me feel free and its such a great way to express myself. that is what dance should be. not about how skinny you look onstage.
Just to clear something out, not all dancers are bulimic. Most of us do keep a healthy diet that allows us to endure all our training. Yes some might be, just as many other people who don't dance are. I wish people would just stop portraying dancers as people who deal with eating disorders since people start generalizing and prototyping when we are not all like that.
I don't believe that all dancers have eating disorders at all. It actually seems like it wouldn't work because you burn so many calories training. Doesnt seem like a starving person would last long as a dancer without collapsing. That being said, i think it should be against the law for dancers to have weight requirements. They should their art around all body types. Also, i think that to be a fashion model, your bmi should be at least 20. But what do i know?
Cheerleading is the same way if you're a flyer (the one that is in the air). If you gain more than a few pounds, you're harder to lift, you don't go as high in basket tosses, and tumbling gets a little harder too. I started cheering and flying in 8th grade, when I was in 9th I weighed about 88 pounds. By the time I graduated, I was about 103. So I gained about 4 pounds a year. But I think ever since I started high school cheering I've been a little weight obsessed... even now, and I'm 25.
I really enjoyed this documentary. As a mother of a young dancer I often worry about her struggles with body image and body weight. I do have some relief knowing that the studio she dances for has girls of varying weights. Some of the best dancers at this studio are not stick thin, and I believe it sends a good message to the other girls. It's not always your weight that decides your dance future, if you have passion, health and hard work , you can go really far! Thank you for uploading this!
Anyone else thinks that dance majors are just wasting their time? Don't get me wrong, I think dance is a profession, but dancers start their studies in childhood, not late teens and early twenties, by that age they are already professionals signing with ballet companies. So unless you are training in a serious ballet school and have the talent to get into those ballet schools while still young, don't expect to make a profession out of it, which is why I think majoring in dance it's a little silly...if you really want to be a professional dancer a university is not the way to do it.
In our area at least, you have to be under 100 lbs. It's an unwritten rule. Also, if you don't binge with the rest of the team when we go out, then you're also looked down upon. It's really vicious, but that's dance for ya...
I've been raised in dance classes. Jazz, ballet, and tap. I was the perfect body type but, when I hit 16 my chest grew to a triple D. I didn't take classes or preform until I was in my twenties and started Belly dancing. Being a professional dancer is a hard job. I never went that far and it was kinda brutal.
after watching this i just feel like.... I'm not the only one.. and I'm not even a dancer... but to hear someones voice saying it... just feels so good... this is just so beautiful... its like a weight has been lifted off my chest
Sweetie, I know you realize that you weren't beautiful. Reach out to someone who loves you and can tell you how much more attractive you are without Ed. Take care of you.
this is depressing. I feel sorry for dancers with soo much pressure. I dance for fun. But making it career is there any fun in dancing? isit still an escape?
My cousin did gymnastics and she had a disorder. She was really competitive and she figured the smaller she was the better she'd be. She passed out rite before a competition and her coach benched her and temporarily suspended her until she found help and it was documented. She isn't a gymnast anymore, but she does do youth counseling for body image. Now days it's so hard to do anything because if what ever you are doing is on the internet all of the sudden all the Trolls come out and feel that it is their mission on earth to make you feel bad all because they don't feel too spiffy about themselves. Good documentary
I love this for highlighting how diverse eating disorders actually are, and that they can also be present in males and those who are not severely underweight. I think a lot of people are under the impression that only stick thin girls have 'real' eating disorders.
You need nutrition to be a good dancer. and protein. Vegan raw diet is the best option for dancers concerned about weight, but still good nutrition. You need calories to burn when you are as active as a dancer. And by the way, i have seen chubby dancers that are awesome!!!!! just as flexible and agile as skinny ones.
I find this inaccurate to my experience in dance. I have only known one girl with an eating disorder in my pre professional career so far, and my teachers are extremely supportive and never pressure us to lose weight. Just sharing my experience.
I think one of the biggest things that teachers can do is to be aware on how they give critiques to their students. If teachers are making comments about one's technique in relation to one's weight, that can cause a snowball effect.
My girlfriend has become quite badly anorexic (period affected, eating very little, works out 2-3 times a day), but is in denial. Maybe we (her group of friends) can show this to her... Tips for the editor: keep the volume the same for all clips, really uncomfortable to watch due to that. Also don't change the ratio by adding black borders - the youtube video player will show it as well as it can anyway, regardless of the ratio.
That teacher told her in the nicest way possible, even as a regular person cheese burgers shouldn't be a regular meal, and as a dancer I don't think you should touch them. Your body is your asset in dance and sport and what you put in it is supposed to nourish you in the best way possible and keep you healthy.
I went to a prestigious ballet school a couple years ago. I noticed when I hit puberty I had bigger breast and a butt, unlike the other girls and teachers. This is one of the reasons why I quit.
I used to starve myself and I was a dancer but luckily not talented enough to be professional. I was talking to my physical therapist ( she has a PhD and 10 years experience) about how destructive to the body this is. It's heartbreaking and hard to watch. On the other hand my mother was Misty Copeland's teacher (academics) when she started dancing in San Pedro and she has never starved herself to be successful.
Yes, and you can tell Misty never fell for that BS (at least not for long) because she has a gorgeous, athletic body with solid muscle tone and female curves.
+Oleander Pink Well, new studies indicate that fasting for a day - four days is not bad, in fact helps prevent cancer, treats (and I repeat treats) asthma, arthritis, and mental diseases. Countries like Germany, France, Russia nationalized fasting and opened up special fasting clinics where people go to fast for at least 10 days up to 23 days. In the States they call everything an eating disorder. Skipping meals an eating disorder... are you kidding? Looking at an average american, he/she should skip more than a meal. It's like there are almost no fit people, 80% look overweight.
I agree. I've known people that have had the classic symptoms of anorexia, but doctors don't recognise or acknowledge these symptoms. They seem to think that being extremely thin is the only symptom of anorexia. It's a mental disorder, and being thin is simply one of the side effects! I swear, it seems that people aren't recognise as having an eating disorder until it's too late.
Eating disorders are not just about ‘skinny.’ So many eating disordered persons are normal to overweight and equally as in hell as people who are ‘skinny.’ Skinny is not a marker of a disorder per se. This symptom is not a clear marker by any means. Again, media misrepresentation focusing on the worse case anorexia invalidates the daily hell of the majority who exist in so called healthy weight ranges but are still at risk of death through the behaviours they indulge in in the misbelief it will keep them lean and help them achieve the lithe look.
Love this. I am working towards my Bachelors, and eventually my Masters, in Social Work and hope to become a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist. Although I've never had an eating disorder, it's an issue that has really touched my heart.
Oh, really? Are we still at this point? I'm so fed up of hearing that you have an eating disorders because you want to look like people on the magazines or models, so fed up. An eating disorder is something deeper, you need it because you're in pain, it's not for a silly thing like that!!! But keep saying that if you want, it's easier I know, an easy answer, but also an untrue one. I've been quite messed up all my life and that to me seemed the only escape, I dont even look at magazines!
I know this was made 1000 years ago but as a dancer, it is tough because yes we pressure ourselves to be the perfect weight, or else we get angry over gaining a couple pounds. Luckily at my dance school they don’t care what weight you are. My dance school is all about the art and not about the looks. That’s why I love it so much. I believe dance SHOULD be about the art of it and not so much the looks.
I'd say fashion is more weight conscious but I only ever did ballet and mostly model anyway so I wouldn't have an idea of the professional dancing scene since I'm not in it
I am a dancer and I think this is great! I've had anorexia for 5 years now and I definitely think the dance world and being constantly around mirrors and just the aspect of always striving for perfection have lead me and many other dancers to turn to starving ourselves. This is nicely done!
so i was randomly browsing through videos and cam across this one(: i loved it. the part about young girls going on diets got to me. because one day i was carrying my niece and she asked me to put her down because she was too heavy and fate, she's only 4.
I've never really understood the whole dancers having ED thing. I'm a dancer and if I ever starved my body, my body would go on strike all like "No plies today, bitch". When I'm training and/or competing, I have to eat double what I normally would and add a protein shake. The body needs fuel! The muscles can't recover if you don't feed them! But I don't have trouble with weight. My family is overweight, but I've never struggled with it. So I guess I can't really say much.
I danced in the Modern Dance Dept at the University of Utah. When I started my freshman year I weighed 135, when I stopped dancing half way through my junior year I weighed 110. I know it's not a huge weight drop but how I did it was counting calories, would not eat anything that had 6 grams of fat or higher, and even took the cheese off my pizza. I would also purge after eating a regular healthy dinner every night. At the U we danced 6 hours a day. BUT our teachers were always stressing to eat healthy, to not starve ourselves, to make sure we had enough fuel in our bodies. We also had a class first semester of freshman year that went over nutrition, healthy diet, where our BMI should be, weight, etc. So we were given awesome tools, and very supportive teachers, it was my own struggle of body dismorphia which began my freshman year of high school. I still deal with it to this day, but I don't act on my old habits.
I am a dancer and when I was in uni studying dance I was pressured to go to the gymm all the time and to exercise as much as possible despite the fact that I was dancing the whole week through apart from weekends . when I went to uni to study dance I just recovered from anerexia. But then so many girls and boys were on diets and diet drinks . that sooner of later I ended up being one of them and relasped. due to my ed i had to leave uni in order to recover once again from my eating disorder . I still struggle to this very day with food .
please dancers - if you put even a quarter of the effort you put into studying and practicing your art, into researching, preparing and eating proper meals, you would not have these problems! i love watching musicals, ballets, street artists etc. take care of yourselves.
billskitten Classic “vocal fry” which I believe has been attributed to the early 2005ish era, with Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. Reminds me of the opioid addicts’ voices, due to drugs. So annoying.
I agree with you...I struggle with eating on a daily basis and go from binge eating to starving myself but because I never become super thin people wont dx me with an eating disorder or help me with treatment. Its scary sometimes and I need treatment but I dont fit the extreme
Honestly, I have not met one dancer who starves themselves. To get through a typical 8 hour ballet day, you need to have A LOT of energy. I eat around 6 small meals and snacks each day. Much of this is a stereotype and should not be taken too literally. Dancers are thin because they exercise and eat healthy. Yes, some dancers have eating disorders, but so do models and ice skaters and normal people!!
I remember when I was in third grade and I was constantly weighing myself because a girl at my school was thinner than me. I didn't have a eating disorder but I was weight conscious at third grade and I was only 50 pounds. It's sad that body image issues are becoming common in younger and younger kids.
I couldn't even start watching this, the narrator has the worst vocal fry I've ever heard in my life. Jesus, hire one of W. Michigans acting majors to do the voiceover. My ears started to bleed
mbr715 Exactly what I was thinking. The locker rooms at major tracks have what could appropriately be called a vomitorium. Not to mention the sweat boxes etc.
thank you, I hope you find a way to help many, but unfortunately, most will be hard to get through to, unless you've been there yourself - DO NOT go there - you will get through to some... eventually... and maybe be able to help them, get to them in the early stages!! THAT is key and I cannot *stress* enough *crucial* to helping anyone to recover, Learn to spot the signs,,, Even if you help just ONE person off of that road.. you will have worked wonders! Good luck to you and I hope that you get
It irritates me as well. The new DSM is supposed to broaden the definition, but my past behavior would still only qualify as EDNOS. I mean, I was undereating and exercising constantly and counting calories compulsively, but because I was never underweight (and was often overweight), it wasn't seen as a problem.
Those who suffer bulimia are often at a normal weight range. They still eat, however, they will purge or engage in vigorous exercise afterwards in an effort to burn off all the calories they consumed.
For one thing I can be sure, is that I can never live without gourmet food, so good I'm not a picky eater, I even eat things I don't like just for more varieties and nutrition. Down side is, my parents always worry about me gaining weight or getting diabetes....I'm perfectly fine, healthy weight, BMI 21
This is true but it's only one side of the dance/ballet story. It's very hard to even keep any weight on if you are in advanced ballet. Ballet dancers eat like pigs. I'm not sure about other types of dance, though. But the rest of this is so accurate.
True Im blesed with a fast metabolism and with sum seriously health conscious parents it wasnt a problem for me but watching close friends of mine eating and vomiting wasnt pretty especially after dance class when only water came up Sadly but true
-stick thin and a teenager, I've recently been diagnosed by my therapist as beng in the early stages, but my parents think nothing's wrong, just because all my bones aren't all quite showing.
Please stay strong, I know how you feel with bulimia, I have anorexia as well, I'm not getting help either, and these doctors just thinking you DO have to be a twig, and they're really terrible people. When they're trying to save lives? They're actually ruining others.
i totally agree with you....some people laugh when i say "ppl dont have to look skinny to have an eating disorder." It concerns me. Having an eating disorder does not mean being stick skinny. I know some girls that can not loose weight, they are stuck at a weight and will only drink milkshakes for weeks months! thats HORRIBLE! the worst part is that they look healthy! so nobody suspects a thing the media can be very bias and misinformative. i hope you're doing much better now. :)
I wish that there was something I could say to make it better for you. But I know well enough that there are no words when an ED takes over your mind. So instead I'll just say, you are not alone. You deserve happiness. Never forget that
when i was three years old i wanted to try ballet - i was a thin child but tall for my age and they told me that i was too fat, and that my body type would never be the type desired for ballet! lol i switched to jazz and hip hop
Some of this is seriously messed up. It's just...not fair. It's like you can breathe perfectly fine until people remind you, you are. And then you can't remember how to do it right. What kind of life are they promoting, where being thin is being happy? Why do they tell us we would be happier that much lighter? Because you never are. You don't even know how emaciated you look because you can't THINK clearly. It's not LIFE then, it's just survival. I just wish we could hold these people accountable, when they tell someone that. Hw can they say this life is better when they see this?
I wasn't planning to watch all of this, but I did. Really great job ^^ Although I only dance as...a hobby, even I can kinda relate to this. I always try to be like my thinner classmates and like..suck in my stomach sometimes while I'm at the bar. As they said, it's really hard NOT to notice your own imperfections when you watch yourself so often. xD;
this was beautiful. I was a dancer for 12 years in ballet, I quit because the pressure to be the 'best' and the 'skinniest' was hurting me in my school and social life, even though i was 5' 7 and only 135. I looked super skinny. after i left, i gained around 20 lbs. and fell onto an emotional roller coaster of feeling too fat and ugly. I am still on this coaster and i hate it. I want to go back to dance, maybe then i can feel pretty again.
So true. Eating disorders (specifically bulimia) have nothing to do with being thin. Doctors should ALWAYS take you seriously. Have you gone to eating disorder therapy?
really peeves me that the broader society thinks that to have an eating disorder, you must be stick thin. I've had bulimia for 12 years and gone into cardiac arrest twice - and yet I'm a "normal" size, so doctors, etc didn't take me seriously until I literally dropped dead...
Count me in too. I'm a 'normal' size athletic build (UK size 10) an nobody would say I'm struggling with food but I am. It all started when I started restricting what I eat and how much I eat and that led to bingeing. Today I'm having unrestricted but structured meal plan and I love it. Hopefully I will get out of this 'depriving myself' mode and just eat normally and enjoy food again and not look upon it as a source of dread. So I will eat all of the food groups and chocolate too!:-)
When I was younger I never thought that you could eat too little, but when I thought of it more I wondered what it was like to be the skinniest person on earth. I never looked at it as being sickly.
that's something that really irritates me too. They've set these guidelines for body mass to decide if one has an ED, and then for some it becomes a goal, to have a BMI that low. Not that they want treated, it's just. . .become a goal.
i go to an art school and one of the majors is dance and in their 8th grade year the teachers measure all the students weight in front of the class i think that sooo horrible because a lot of them have eating disorders and that just makes it worst.
I am a ballet dancer and yeah, there's a lot of pressure to be thin but you burn so many calories while dancing that you would have to eat like 50 tacos a day to get over weight...
As a rhythemic gymnast, the amount of pressure of being thin is just... unbearable. My coach wouldnt let the girls drink energy drinks because it was 'sweet'. I am very grateful because I cant gain weight but looking at the other girls being so thin is just sad. I still remember the time when my friend was really sick, but she wouldnt eat because she thought it would make her gain weight. They wouldnt eat sweets, fried food, rice and noodles at all. Its a really sad thing to witness. (12 years old)
Jennifer Cook
People dance because they love it, the expression and release for them is like nothing else (or should be), they do not dance for the paycheck. Please remember that some women are naturally slimmer... It's shady to make them feel inadequate because they don't fit your ideal. Also, half the pictures in that album have implants and photoshopped...
Jennifer Cook You can be slim and still be sexy :) Be boring if all women was curvy I'm a ballet dancer myself and I wouldnt consider myself unhealthy skinny I'm a healthy slim. I love being slim and wouldnt wanna be curvy as I love the ballet figure its beautiful (my opinon). But yeah curvy is sexy and all that but slim is too :)
Kang-Dong Kim perhaps, just a guess here, most women could care less what you find attractive? Seriously sick of people who think having an eating disorder is about wanting to look attractive for a man. I want to be skinny for me, not for you
Please take care- a lot of the adults in your sport have their own agendas and ego involved. They'll destroy your body and sense of self to achieve their own goals. Like a professional model, you have to nourish (not punish) yourself. Even if you're naturally slim, the pressure can get you so psyched out and unhealthy. It's terrible to damage your body permanently for a career or activity that doesn't last that long or pay that much. I messed up all my joints. Sometimes when I'm driving and making a turn, my arm will totally come out of place. It's nearly killed me! I didn't know how to take care of myself. Be your own nutritionist, feed your needs, and you'll look fantastic without all the torture! =D
im a rhythmic gymnast too and it is exactly how you described it.
I used to be in a russian ballet company and honestly these are some of the biggest dancers i have seen outside of private dance schools in america.
It's true. Unfortunately studying dance in college doesn't mean you will get work once you graduate..
It must've been some amateur company, certainly not Mariinsky or Bolshoi. Watch Vaganova academy videos.... Also "dance of the little swans" documentary, how at one point they ask one returning student if she lost weight, also at one point the teacher looks into a classroom and says how some girls are slim and some aren't and "let me see who they are".
When I went to ballet I got kicked out because I gained weigh.
I was 6 back then... 0___0
That's twisted..
Omg
omg really?? what ballet school were u in?
Messed up... No really...
yenelly tejada It was the same way in the horseshow world (in the States anyhow). Little girls, told we were fat when we were still in jods and paddock boots, still wearing our hair in braids. Your trainer says you're fat... at shows, after meals, you'd go in the ladies' room and always see lettuce floating in the bowl. We were just little girls... and we bought it. Horseshow moms, as bad as the trainers. None of us were fat, just normal little girls. It was child abuse.
i quit ballet when i was 16 (doing it since i was three) i still have my first pointe shoes...but then a friend of mine died from bulimia nervosa and then i injured my knee and it was all a wake up call...some members of my family kept saying i was already skinny naturally (which i'm still am) and that i don't need to loose weight...god how stupid i was back then...now i go to college and couldn't be more happy :) no more dance for me...:D
alexisbts rock I always dreamed of dancing. I was a fat kid 💔
This was such a fantastic piece to watch. I stopped dancing altogether a year ago just because I couldn't handle how negative I was on myself I let it get to a point where the only way I saw out was to step away completely. I had filmed my audition DVD, been to the Genee International Ballet Competition and was preparing to take my solo seal exam. But I wasn't happy with anything I did, the way I looked. I was just waiting to fail at everything I did and I wasn't confident. I think if I'd let anyone know how I was feeling I could still be dancing and with a much better view of myself. Although I haven't been to a class in a year, something like this still brings me to tears. I wish I'd seen more things like this while I was dancing. Learning to be happy with yourself and happy with your imperfections is a message that really got to me. I think it's something myself and so many people I know still have to work on.
Thank you so much for sharing such a important message. Although the dance world may never change. At least if the dancers learn to deal with the constant criticism and take it not as you as a person aren't good enough then we will survive it and come out the other side stronger not riddle with insecurities and unhappiness.
i was taken out of dance by my grandmother when i was 8 because i wasn't 'skinny' enough. three years ago i joined back into dance and although im much heavier then the rest of the girls in my class, i love dance because i love how i makes me feel free and its such a great way to express myself. that is what dance should be. not about how skinny you look onstage.
lol, "take a break.... eat a snickers.....'' Officially love him.
Just to clear something out, not all dancers are bulimic. Most of us do keep a healthy diet that allows us to endure all our training. Yes some might be, just as many other people who don't dance are. I wish people would just stop portraying dancers as people who deal with eating disorders since people start generalizing and prototyping when we are not all like that.
I don't believe that all dancers have eating disorders at all. It actually seems like it wouldn't work because you burn so many calories training. Doesnt seem like a starving person would last long as a dancer without collapsing.
That being said, i think it should be against the law for dancers to have weight requirements. They should their art around all body types. Also, i think that to be a fashion model, your bmi should be at least 20. But what do i know?
Cheerleading is the same way if you're a flyer (the one that is in the air). If you gain more than a few pounds, you're harder to lift, you don't go as high in basket tosses, and tumbling gets a little harder too. I started cheering and flying in 8th grade, when I was in 9th I weighed about 88 pounds. By the time I graduated, I was about 103. So I gained about 4 pounds a year. But I think ever since I started high school cheering I've been a little weight obsessed... even now, and I'm 25.
I really enjoyed this documentary. As a mother of a young dancer I often worry about her struggles with body image and body weight. I do have some relief knowing that the studio she dances for has girls of varying weights. Some of the best dancers at this studio are not stick thin, and I believe it sends a good message to the other girls. It's not always your weight that decides your dance future, if you have passion, health and hard work , you can go really far! Thank you for uploading this!
Anyone else thinks that dance majors are just wasting their time? Don't get me wrong, I think dance is a profession, but dancers start their studies in childhood, not late teens and early twenties, by that age they are already professionals signing with ballet companies. So unless you are training in a serious ballet school and have the talent to get into those ballet schools while still young, don't expect to make a profession out of it, which is why I think majoring in dance it's a little silly...if you really want to be a professional dancer a university is not the way to do it.
In our area at least, you have to be under 100 lbs. It's an unwritten rule.
Also, if you don't binge with the rest of the team when we go out, then you're also looked down upon. It's really vicious, but that's dance for ya...
Where are you from
wtf? 100 lbs is insane for guys.
if you dont eat enough, then you won't be able to lift anything at all. jesus christ.
Wtf, that's awful!
Andrew H. k
us it was 110, but in my country mot women are 5´7 or taller
I'm a dancer and there's so much pressure
I've been raised in dance classes. Jazz, ballet, and tap. I was the perfect body type but, when I hit 16 my chest grew to a triple D. I didn't take classes or preform until I was in my twenties and started Belly dancing. Being a professional dancer is a hard job. I never went that far and it was kinda brutal.
after watching this i just feel like.... I'm not the only one.. and I'm not even a dancer... but to hear someones voice saying it... just feels so good... this is just so beautiful... its like a weight has been lifted off my chest
When I was eleven I went to a ballet academy but got kicked out within a year for gaining weight. It's just how it is.
I hate to say it but, i miss my eating disorder. I was so thin and beautiful.
I'm sure your vomit breath was just lovely.
Sweetie, I know you realize that you weren't beautiful. Reach out to someone who loves you and can tell you how much more attractive you are without Ed. Take care of you.
Me too.. :/ want back
THIRTEEN +1s? Too much stupid here, this is scary.
I wish I was even close to that :c
this is depressing. I feel sorry for dancers with soo much pressure. I dance for fun. But making it career is there any fun in dancing?
isit still an escape?
Not trying to be rude but the sort of funny part of all this is that real prepro dancers are much skinnier than all of them.
My cousin did gymnastics and she had a disorder. She was really competitive and she figured the smaller she was the better she'd be. She passed out rite before a competition and her coach benched her and temporarily suspended her until she found help and it was documented. She isn't a gymnast anymore, but she does do youth counseling for body image.
Now days it's so hard to do anything because if what ever you are doing is on the internet all of the sudden all the Trolls come out and feel that it is their mission on earth to make you feel bad all because they don't feel too spiffy about themselves.
Good documentary
I love this for highlighting how diverse eating disorders actually are, and that they can also be present in males and those who are not severely underweight. I think a lot of people are under the impression that only stick thin girls have 'real' eating disorders.
The vocal fry is real... I enjoyed the interviews much more than the narration.
You need nutrition to be a good dancer. and protein. Vegan raw diet is the best option for dancers concerned about weight, but still good nutrition. You need calories to burn when you are as active as a dancer. And by the way, i have seen chubby dancers that are awesome!!!!! just as flexible and agile as skinny ones.
notoriousqueenpigeon ive been vegan 5 snd dealing with a eating disorder. stop giving people advice let them be free
orthorexia google it
I find this inaccurate to my experience in dance. I have only known one girl with an eating disorder in my pre professional career so far, and my teachers are extremely supportive and never pressure us to lose weight. Just sharing my experience.
I have known 3 and do not dance neither did they .
You are lucky
Congratulations
I think one of the biggest things that teachers can do is to be aware on how they give critiques to their students. If teachers are making comments about one's technique in relation to one's weight, that can cause a snowball effect.
I don't know, the irony is that most of them here seems bigger than those I seen in other docu mentaries
My girlfriend has become quite badly anorexic (period affected, eating very little, works out 2-3 times a day), but is in denial. Maybe we (her group of friends) can show this to her...
Tips for the editor: keep the volume the same for all clips, really uncomfortable to watch due to that. Also don't change the ratio by adding black borders - the youtube video player will show it as well as it can anyway, regardless of the ratio.
That teacher told her in the nicest way possible, even as a regular person cheese burgers shouldn't be a regular meal, and as a dancer I don't think you should touch them. Your body is your asset in dance and sport and what you put in it is supposed to nourish you in the best way possible and keep you healthy.
I love this. Thank you for posting. I wish the editor would have been more consistent with the audio. It was all over the place.
I went to a prestigious ballet school a couple years ago. I noticed when I hit puberty I had bigger breast and a butt, unlike the other girls and teachers. This is one of the reasons why I quit.
My best friend is anorexic, and I’m watching this video because I want to help him.
I used to starve myself and I was a dancer but luckily not talented enough to be professional. I was talking to my physical therapist ( she has a PhD and 10 years experience) about how destructive to the body this is. It's heartbreaking and hard to watch. On the other hand my mother was Misty Copeland's teacher (academics) when she started dancing in San Pedro and she has never starved herself to be successful.
Yes, and you can tell Misty never fell for that BS (at least not for long) because she has a gorgeous, athletic body with solid muscle tone and female curves.
+Oleander Pink Well, new studies indicate that fasting for a day - four days is not bad, in fact helps prevent cancer, treats (and I repeat treats) asthma, arthritis, and mental diseases. Countries like Germany, France, Russia nationalized fasting and opened up special fasting clinics where people go to fast for at least 10 days up to 23 days.
In the States they call everything an eating disorder. Skipping meals an eating disorder... are you kidding? Looking at an average american, he/she should skip more than a meal. It's like there are almost no fit people, 80% look overweight.
Tanya Burr Cite your sources, please.
I agree. I've known people that have had the classic symptoms of anorexia, but doctors don't recognise or acknowledge these symptoms. They seem to think that being extremely thin is the only symptom of anorexia. It's a mental disorder, and being thin is simply one of the side effects!
I swear, it seems that people aren't recognise as having an eating disorder until it's too late.
Eating disorders are not just about ‘skinny.’ So many eating disordered persons are normal to overweight and equally as in hell as people who are ‘skinny.’ Skinny is not a marker of a disorder per se. This symptom is not a clear marker by any means. Again, media misrepresentation focusing on the worse case anorexia invalidates the daily hell of the majority who exist in so called healthy weight ranges but are still at risk of death through the behaviours they indulge in in the misbelief it will keep them lean and help them achieve the lithe look.
Love this. I am working towards my Bachelors, and eventually my Masters, in Social Work and hope to become a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist. Although I've never had an eating disorder, it's an issue that has really touched my heart.
Oh, really? Are we still at this point? I'm so fed up of hearing that you have an eating disorders because you want to look like people on the magazines or models, so fed up. An eating disorder is something deeper, you need it because you're in pain, it's not for a silly thing like that!!! But keep saying that if you want, it's easier I know, an easy answer, but also an untrue one. I've been quite messed up all my life and that to me seemed the only escape, I dont even look at magazines!
I know this was made 1000 years ago but as a dancer, it is tough because yes we pressure ourselves to be the perfect weight, or else we get angry over gaining a couple pounds. Luckily at my dance school they don’t care what weight you are. My dance school is all about the art and not about the looks. That’s why I love it so much. I believe dance SHOULD be about the art of it and not so much the looks.
I'd say fashion is more weight conscious but I only ever did ballet and mostly model anyway so I wouldn't have an idea of the professional dancing scene since I'm not in it
Lots of good insight in this documentary, thank you for sharing it.
I am a dancer and I think this is great! I've had anorexia for 5 years now and I definitely think the dance world and being constantly around mirrors and just the aspect of always striving for perfection have lead me and many other dancers to turn to starving ourselves. This is nicely done!
stop romanticising mental illnesses 2k15
Amazing documentary! I have to learn how to love myself and you gave me the first step. thank you
i hope u could make eng sub because I'm hearing impairment. I want to learn from these people. :) I'm also ballet dancer. :D
Ooohh! I hope they make a sub for you c:
hopefully! :) thank you for understanding! :D
If you click on the "cc" button at the bottom right of the video you will have subtitles.
Wow I didn't expect more like my comment. :)
Click the "cc" icon at the bottom right corner of the video for subtitles. This shows on the desktop version of youtube, not the mobile app.
THANK YOU for sharing this because it so prevalant in our dance community.
so i was randomly browsing through videos and cam across this one(: i loved it. the part about young girls going on diets got to me. because one day i was carrying my niece and she asked me to put her down because she was too heavy and fate, she's only 4.
so interesting. my sister was a dancer and struggled with her weight for many years. its interesting to see her side and why that happened.
I've never really understood the whole dancers having ED thing. I'm a dancer and if I ever starved my body, my body would go on strike all like "No plies today, bitch". When I'm training and/or competing, I have to eat double what I normally would and add a protein shake. The body needs fuel! The muscles can't recover if you don't feed them! But I don't have trouble with weight. My family is overweight, but I've never struggled with it. So I guess I can't really say much.
I danced in the Modern Dance Dept at the University of Utah. When I started my freshman year I weighed 135, when I stopped dancing half way through my junior year I weighed 110. I know it's not a huge weight drop but how I did it was counting calories, would not eat anything that had 6 grams of fat or higher, and even took the cheese off my pizza. I would also purge after eating a regular healthy dinner every night. At the U we danced 6 hours a day. BUT our teachers were always stressing to eat healthy, to not starve ourselves, to make sure we had enough fuel in our bodies. We also had a class first semester of freshman year that went over nutrition, healthy diet, where our BMI should be, weight, etc. So we were given awesome tools, and very supportive teachers, it was my own struggle of body dismorphia which began my freshman year of high school. I still deal with it to this day, but I don't act on my old habits.
Absolutely! it's so sad, and frustrating.
Even down to the ending credits' music, this documentary was exquisite.
very well edited! (:
I went to an arts performing high school in NYC, and I remember seeing the ballet dancers in the cafeteria eating raw bell peppers for lunch.
I am a dancer and when I was in uni studying dance I was pressured to go to the gymm all the time and to exercise as much as possible despite the fact that I was dancing the whole week through apart from weekends . when I went to uni to study dance I just recovered from anerexia. But then so many girls and boys were on diets and diet drinks . that sooner of later I ended up being one of them and relasped. due to my ed i had to leave uni in order to recover once again from my eating disorder . I still struggle to this very day with food .
please dancers - if you put even a quarter of the effort you put into studying and practicing your art, into researching, preparing and eating proper meals, you would not have these problems! i love watching musicals, ballets, street artists etc. take care of yourselves.
ugh..the narrator's voice; use your vocal cords! don't just croak your way through full sentences! who started this trend?
billskitten I talk like that because of bulimia...
i think the kardashians started it, lol
billskitten Classic “vocal fry” which I believe has been attributed to the early 2005ish era, with Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. Reminds me of the opioid addicts’ voices, due to drugs. So annoying.
I agree with you...I struggle with eating on a daily basis and go from binge eating to starving myself but because I never become super thin people wont dx me with an eating disorder or help me with treatment. Its scary sometimes and I need treatment but I dont fit the extreme
Honestly, I have not met one dancer who starves themselves. To get through a typical 8 hour ballet day, you need to have A LOT of energy. I eat around 6 small meals and snacks each day. Much of this is a stereotype and should not be taken too literally. Dancers are thin because they exercise and eat healthy. Yes, some dancers have eating disorders, but so do models and ice skaters and normal people!!
don't ask me why, but the dark guy in the yellow TShirt has defenetley something from Harry Styles!
The attitude, smile and way of talking!
dobbylein93 fuck i didnt see it until i read your comment wth hahahah
He IS beautiful!
Unfortunate that the choreographer name's and works displayed in the documentary weren't cited in the credit's!
Anorexic should not be a bmi. It should be used to describe the actions
I remember when I was in third grade and I was constantly weighing myself because a girl at my school was thinner than me. I didn't have a eating disorder but I was weight conscious at third grade and I was only 50 pounds. It's sad that body image issues are becoming common in younger and younger kids.
...vocal fry needs to go away.
Ian Collar
Love is the do
I couldn't even start watching this, the narrator has the worst vocal fry I've ever heard in my life. Jesus, hire one of W. Michigans acting majors to do the voiceover. My ears started to bleed
As a ballet dancer I certainly feel the pressure of being lean and thin. I have never been told to loose weight, but feel the pressure.
horse racing too...ask any jockey.. especially one over 5'6'' (men)
mbr715 Exactly what I was thinking. The locker rooms at major tracks have what could appropriately be called a vomitorium. Not to mention the sweat boxes etc.
Thank you for this.
i agree 100%! no one cares until you are literally dying. the world is messed up.
How many times can that short-haired girl say "like." It is difficult to take someone seriously when every word is interrupted by "like."
I know, it drove me crazy.
It’s not just dancers, equestrians are also put under extreme pressure to be thin
THANK YOU!its really nice to know that I'm not the only one the drs,ignore just becuase im not a bagabones
you don't have to have an eating disorder to be thin, and you don't have to be thin to have an eating disorder
ugghhh i can't stop crying
thank you, I hope you find a way to help many, but unfortunately, most will be hard to get through to, unless you've been there yourself - DO NOT go there - you will get through to some... eventually... and maybe be able to help them, get to them in the early stages!! THAT is key and I cannot *stress* enough *crucial* to helping anyone to recover, Learn to spot the signs,,, Even if you help just ONE person off of that road.. you will have worked wonders! Good luck to you and I hope that you get
It irritates me as well. The new DSM is supposed to broaden the definition, but my past behavior would still only qualify as EDNOS. I mean, I was undereating and exercising constantly and counting calories compulsively, but because I was never underweight (and was often overweight), it wasn't seen as a problem.
Those who suffer bulimia are often at a normal weight range. They still eat, however, they will purge or engage in vigorous exercise afterwards in an effort to burn off all the calories they consumed.
For one thing I can be sure, is that I can never live without gourmet food, so good I'm not a picky eater, I even eat things I don't like just for more varieties and nutrition. Down side is, my parents always worry about me gaining weight or getting diabetes....I'm perfectly fine, healthy weight, BMI 21
This is true but it's only one side of the dance/ballet story. It's very hard to even keep any weight on if you are in advanced ballet. Ballet dancers eat like pigs. I'm not sure about other types of dance, though. But the rest of this is so accurate.
True
Im blesed with a fast metabolism and with sum seriously health conscious parents it wasnt a problem for me but watching close friends of mine eating and vomiting wasnt pretty especially after dance class when only water came up
Sadly but true
-stick thin and a teenager, I've recently been diagnosed by my therapist as beng in the early stages, but my parents think nothing's wrong, just because all my bones aren't all quite showing.
Please stay strong, I know how you feel with bulimia, I have anorexia as well, I'm not getting help either, and these doctors just thinking you DO have to be a twig, and they're really terrible people. When they're trying to save lives? They're actually ruining others.
Omg David Curwen! He's perfect. Gives a good class
i totally agree with you....some people laugh when i say "ppl dont have to look skinny to have an eating disorder." It concerns me. Having an eating disorder does not mean being stick skinny. I know some girls that can not loose weight, they are stuck at a weight and will only drink milkshakes for weeks months! thats HORRIBLE! the worst part is that they look healthy! so nobody suspects a thing the media can be very bias and misinformative. i hope you're doing much better now. :)
I really enjoyed this, thanks.
I wish that there was something I could say to make it better for you. But I know well enough that there are no words when an ED takes over your mind. So instead I'll just say, you are not alone. You deserve happiness. Never forget that
The thing is these people can afford help once ur 18 and if ur at a healthy weight if u cant afford treatment u wont get it
when i was three years old i wanted to try ballet - i was a thin child but tall for my age and they told me that i was too fat, and that my body type would never be the type desired for ballet! lol i switched to jazz and hip hop
Some of this is seriously messed up. It's just...not fair. It's like you can breathe perfectly fine until people remind you, you are. And then you can't remember how to do it right.
What kind of life are they promoting, where being thin is being happy? Why do they tell us we would be happier that much lighter? Because you never are. You don't even know how emaciated you look because you can't THINK clearly. It's not LIFE then, it's just survival.
I just wish we could hold these people accountable, when they tell someone that. Hw can they say this life is better when they see this?
I wasn't planning to watch all of this, but I did. Really great job ^^ Although I only dance as...a hobby, even I can kinda relate to this. I always try to be like my thinner classmates and like..suck in my stomach sometimes while I'm at the bar. As they said, it's really hard NOT to notice your own imperfections when you watch yourself so often. xD;
this was beautiful. I was a dancer for 12 years in ballet, I quit because the pressure to be the 'best' and the 'skinniest' was hurting me in my school and social life, even though i was 5' 7 and only 135. I looked super skinny. after i left, i gained around 20 lbs. and fell onto an emotional roller coaster of feeling too fat and ugly. I am still on this coaster and i hate it. I want to go back to dance, maybe then i can feel pretty again.
who's watching this in 2018??? 😀
So true. Eating disorders (specifically bulimia) have nothing to do with being thin. Doctors should ALWAYS take you seriously. Have you gone to eating disorder therapy?
really peeves me that the broader society thinks that to have an eating disorder, you must be stick thin. I've had bulimia for 12 years and gone into cardiac arrest twice - and yet I'm a "normal" size, so doctors, etc didn't take me seriously until I literally dropped dead...
Count me in too. I'm a 'normal' size athletic build (UK size 10) an nobody would say I'm struggling with food but I am. It all started when I started restricting what I eat and how much I eat and that led to bingeing. Today I'm having unrestricted but structured meal plan and I love it. Hopefully I will get out of this 'depriving myself' mode and just eat normally and enjoy food again and not look upon it as a source of dread. So I will eat all of the food groups and chocolate too!:-)
Great documentary!
people are beautiful whether they're thin or not. size shouldn't matter at all.
really interesting i like how they shared their own experience
When I was younger I never thought that you could eat too little, but when I thought of it more I wondered what it was like to be the skinniest person on earth. I never looked at it as being sickly.
that's something that really irritates me too. They've set these guidelines for body mass to decide if one has an ED, and then for some it becomes a goal, to have a BMI that low. Not that they want treated, it's just. . .become a goal.
i go to an art school and one of the majors is dance and in their 8th grade year the teachers measure all the students weight in front of the class i think that sooo horrible because a lot of them have eating disorders and that just makes it worst.
I am a ballet dancer and yeah, there's a lot of pressure to be thin but you burn so many calories while dancing that you would have to eat like 50 tacos a day to get over weight...