The dancer orchestrated her legs into the very first step: a plié. As her knees slowly bent into the step, the dancer’s spirits sang, and she felt confident in her skin, because even the simplest step felt that stunning. But it only took a few counts, not even five seconds into the class, for her teacher to yell across the room, “Suck in! Your stomach needs to be flat!” It was then that the euphoric feeling vanished.

Although dance is beautiful for the viewer and can evoke great happiness in the dancer, deeply internalized body shaming of young women and misogyny are hidden beneath the layers of carefully perfected steps. This toxicity is most commonly rooted in the notion of perfection, an ideal present in all types of dance. Steps performed are meant to appear seamless, graceful, and easy to execute. To create this image, intense work is required in class and rehearsals. Sadly, this goal of being a perfect dancer can easily slip into a toxic message of body shaming and even harm. This aesthetic of the dancer body type is already very integrated into society, making it hard to notice at times, even though it is in our subconscious. It especially doesn’t help that when dance is shown to the public, the thin dancer with long legs is the one shown off for the purpose of the traditional dance aesthetic, excluding and isolating all other body types that make up the dance community.

The perfect ballet dancer stretches their legs and points their feet as if to make infinite extensions. They turnout, lift their leg above their head, and do many other actions that are unnatural for the human body, all while maintaining proper form. But these long lines and straight stature that comprise a proper ballet physique can easily translate into an idealized slim body type. Often, teachers tell students to suck in their stomach in order to create long positions, sometimes even commenting, “I can see your lunch.” Although this comment may not always be intended to be harmful, it is another example of body shaming that has been utilized so frequently it has become an ordinary act.

To achieve this ideal physique that is encouraged through body shaming, it is not uncommon for dancers to be compelled by the dance world and society in general to harmfully restrict their diets. Many teachers encourage harmful diets and exhibit favoritism towards a specific body type by giving lead roles to students with that body type. At more intense schools, some dancers have even been explicitly told they need to lose weight in order to be in a performance or to continue dancing at their school. Women who do not fit into these norms may develop insecurities and sentiments of discontent within themselves, which can contribute to the development of eating disorders and other mental health difficulties. This strain on a dancer’s health continues in the dance studio, where they frequently overwork themselves and often are in risk of a back, ankle, or foot injury in order to please their teacher’s expectations. While it would be unfair to say that male dancers don’t experience the same harmful body shaming, female dancers are more inclined to experience it because of the additional sexualization of women by directors and in the stories of the dance itself.

One other factor that has contributed to the intense weight of body image in the dance industry is the continuous sexualization of women and feminine bodies. Providing that most storylines used in performances were written by men generations ago, they follow a very old-fashioned and stigmatized portrayal of women and their role in society. In ballets, women are often portrayed as very feminine to attract men in stories with their looks. This requires women to wear traditionally seductive clothing, act very flirtatious, and generally appeal to the male gaze. For instance, the ballet “Le Corsaire’’ builds on the stereotypes of the roles of women by centering around a pirate named Conrad who falls in love with Medora, a woman who belongs to a slave holder (who sells many other slave girls for a living). Similar to almost all other female leads in ballets, she is seen as a very beautiful figure who attracts many men. Additionally, despite being a powerful and emotional love story, Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet” is only thirteen years old and already expected by those around her to find a husband, further enabling the sexualization of young girls. In more historic or cultural dance forms and performances, such as Bharatnatyam, the female characters are often depicted playing the role of a submissive and doting wife or mother who churns butter or plays in a river. Furthermore, Hindu goddesses, who are incredibly powerful beings, are rarely portrayed in performances of Bharatnatyam, while the male deities are frequently displayed. This same idea of male characters being detailed throughout the play as heroic and adventurous is prevalent in all styles of dance. Although dance can empower women and their incredible abilities, parts of it are rooted in the old ideology of making the female body move in a way that attracts men, which is a practice that unfortunately remains established in dance today.

Traditional and cultural beliefs and values also play an essential role in propagating the presence of self-shaming views in dance, especially cultural forms of this art. Dances performed in Bharatanatyam and other classical Indian dance styles, for example, entail the recreation of key mythological events as well as the expression of Hindu religious stories and spiritual beliefs. Historically, Bharatnatyam was a genre of dance that could only be performed in a temple by Devadasis, women well-versed in dance and dedicated to performing to the gods and goddesses of the temple. As the dance form has passed down from dance teacher to dancer for generations, historical gender biases are common, even in modern-day performances.

All these unrealistic and strict ideas of what a female dancer should look or act like takes away from the natural beauty of all dancers not only in appearance, but also in esteem. For instance, beauty stereotypes for women in Bharatnatyam include the promotion of colorism and Western beauty standards, something which can deeply harm the way a dancer without Western traits perceives herself. Dance is a stunning visual artform that relies on the originality of each performance and what the dancers bring to the stage to draw in the audience. If all dancers looked identical — like puppets being pulled on strings rather than outstanding human individuals who put their heart and soul into their performances — this artform would lose the emotional element that enhances even the most flawless of routines.

Dance is a beautiful artform and sport, so dancers should be able to enjoy it without any body shaming or misogyny. This makes it increasingly important for dancers and non-dancers alike to speak up about these issues. In the end, dance is meant to be liberating, and it’s extremely disappointing that old and harmful requirements of a young female dancer’s body end up holding it back from all the amazing possibilities of what it could evolve into. Dance is already extraordinary, so a future without the toxicity that suppresses young female dancers would further the artform’s excellence, encourage more to explore its industry, and most importantly, promote a healthy atmosphere available to all.