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OBSESSION ? A STUDY OF BODY CULTURE, AESTHETICS AND NUTRITION IN THE LIVES OF FEMALE BALLET DANCERS [read the french version]
T. Benn, D. Walters
OBSESSION ? A STUDY OF BODY CULTURE, AESTHETICS AND NUTRITION IN THE LIVES OF FEMALE BALLET DANCERS.
T. Benn, D. Walters, University of Birmingham, Westhill Birmingham, England.
A key objective of the study was to investigate whether improved information and knowledge of nutrition for elite performers has made a positive change to the body culture of the ballet world and lifestyle of female dancers. The issues were foreshadowed by sociological theories of the body, current research and knowledge in areas of dance / sport nutrition, eating disorders and dance training. An interpretive, critical research approach was used to maximise the “insider perspective” of the researcher, with over twenty years experience of the training / professional ballet culture, including fourteen years experience as a professional ballet dancer. A small-scale qualitative research project aimed t capture “thick description” and authentic accounts of the human realities of ballet culture from the inside.
The researcher’s insider position was used to gather perspectives from female students in full-time training (ten), professional female dancers (eight), teacher / managers, all of whom had been professional dancers (four), and “medics”, that is professionals employed for the medical welfare of dancers (two). Interview and questionnaire responses were gathered from dancers, teachers / managers and medics at a UK vocational ballet school and a company fed, to some extent, from that training school. Findings were collated with experiential observations in the daily workplace, retrospective participant observation through personal diaries and documentation including biographies and autobiographies of professional dancers.
Findings indicated that there is still a gap between the rhetoric of nutritional education and the reality of the ballet world’s aesthetics and practices. “Cult-like”, authoritarian behaviour and “docile” submissive attitudes were apparent and contributed to problems with self-esteem, body image and eating disorders. Whilst dancers in training were better informed, pressures related to the body inside the profession dominated attitudes and behaviour. The recommendations include a re-appraisal of the ballet aesthetic and body culture in the management of the profession and more empowerment of dancers to encourage them to question, critique and improve the culture of their Art rather than merely accept its ideals and demands.
Further information :
Tansin Benn, Dr
University of Birmingham, Westhill
Weoley Park Road,
Selly Oak,
Birmingham
B29 6ll
UK
t.c.benn@bham.ac.uk
Tel. 01214727245
Fax 01214142969
This is an abstract from the Helsinki symposium (3-4 June 2001) All rights reserved by the authors.
T. Benn, D. Walters, University of Birmingham, Westhill Birmingham, England.
A key objective of the study was to investigate whether improved information and knowledge of nutrition for elite performers has made a positive change to the body culture of the ballet world and lifestyle of female dancers. The issues were foreshadowed by sociological theories of the body, current research and knowledge in areas of dance / sport nutrition, eating disorders and dance training. An interpretive, critical research approach was used to maximise the “insider perspective” of the researcher, with over twenty years experience of the training / professional ballet culture, including fourteen years experience as a professional ballet dancer. A small-scale qualitative research project aimed t capture “thick description” and authentic accounts of the human realities of ballet culture from the inside.
The researcher’s insider position was used to gather perspectives from female students in full-time training (ten), professional female dancers (eight), teacher / managers, all of whom had been professional dancers (four), and “medics”, that is professionals employed for the medical welfare of dancers (two). Interview and questionnaire responses were gathered from dancers, teachers / managers and medics at a UK vocational ballet school and a company fed, to some extent, from that training school. Findings were collated with experiential observations in the daily workplace, retrospective participant observation through personal diaries and documentation including biographies and autobiographies of professional dancers.
Findings indicated that there is still a gap between the rhetoric of nutritional education and the reality of the ballet world’s aesthetics and practices. “Cult-like”, authoritarian behaviour and “docile” submissive attitudes were apparent and contributed to problems with self-esteem, body image and eating disorders. Whilst dancers in training were better informed, pressures related to the body inside the profession dominated attitudes and behaviour. The recommendations include a re-appraisal of the ballet aesthetic and body culture in the management of the profession and more empowerment of dancers to encourage them to question, critique and improve the culture of their Art rather than merely accept its ideals and demands.
Further information :
Tansin Benn, Dr
University of Birmingham, Westhill
Weoley Park Road,
Selly Oak,
Birmingham
B29 6ll
UK
t.c.benn@bham.ac.uk
Tel. 01214727245
Fax 01214142969
This is an abstract from the Helsinki symposium (3-4 June 2001) All rights reserved by the authors.
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