Ballerinas Research Paper

“I had always been proud of my body—its strength and grace enabled me to pursue my passions. But now it had become the enemy” (Bried).

This is ballet, a wonderful but exhausting, beautiful but horrible art form and sport, and the ones who make the magic happen are the ballerinas. Onstage, they look stunning, all lean muscles and long lines and lovely faces, but backstage and beyond, it’s a different, gruesome story. The ballerina’s body takes a regular beating, every day, and though dancers are true athletes, it is hard for their bodies to keep up with their punishing daily regimen. Though ballet has its obvious benefits, such as keeping bodies extremely fit and muscular, it also has its weaknesses, such as its promoting of thinness and view of …show more content…
How do we know when to push ourselves and when to tell ourselves that we have gone far enough and that it is time to stop? I want to find out more about the processes that dancers had to go through in order to be at the top, and what sacrifices they have had to make. I want to become a stronger dancer and to be able to understand and educate others about the ballet body, and how it works and the limitations that everyone has. I also want to read some stories about successful dancers who have not gone through any body image issues, and see what problems they faced instead. It is important for all of us to understand these questions and to have answers for them so that we can make progress in the harsh conditions of the world of ballet. Ballet is an ever-changing subject, and if we can get the world to believe that dancers do not have to look a certain way to be a beautiful and successful career, then we will have overcome one of the biggest obstacles in