Eating Disorders and Ballet - Anorexia Nervosa is Eating the Soul of Yo

Eating Disorders and B every(prenominal)et - Anorexia Nervosa is Eating the Soul of Young social dancers The applauding audience, the lights, sequins and feathers, the colorful, elaborated tutus, and satin pointe shoes capture the hearts of young girls. Where else advise a young girl dream of becoming a princess, a swan, a dancing fleck or flower, or a sugarplum fairy? Where else can she be a fairy tale character like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty? Where else can she be rescued by her handsome prince and collapse into his arms? Ballet is the magical world where these dreams can come true. Young girls and women can be all of these things, symbolizing femininity in a culture that teaches young girls to be and want everything pink and pretty. However, in the shadow of the spotlight lurks an abusive world of alimentation disorders and malnourished leapingrs. When the performance ends, the dancers return to their regular routine of dancing five to seven hours a day, including both classes and rehearsal. During auditions, performances, and sometimes at random, it is not uncommon for a dancer to walk into what she thinks will be her daily ballet class and find a scale set up in the center of the dance studio instead (S. Gordon 42). These weigh-ins are arranged ahead of time but kept a secret from the dancers. A director from American Ballet theater explained that warning the dancers of the weigh-in to come would defeat the purpose. A fore-warned dancer is a fore-starved dancer (S. Gordon 43). Not only are the dancers weights recorded and compared but many a(prenominal) times they are read aloud to the entire class. Famous choreographer George Balanchine was known to comment to his dancers, Eat nothing and I must see bones as he poked t... ..., Felicia. Understanding Anorexia Nervosa. Spring Field, IL, 1986.Rosenberg, Zev. Its Your Metabolism, Not Your Diet. July 1994. 17, Oct. 2003. http//www.natural-connection.com.Something Fishy. T he Incidence rate of Anorexia in ballet dancers. Oct. 2003. 17, Oct. 2003. http//www.something-fishy.org/cultural/ballet.php .SouthCoast Today. Eating Disorder Blamed in Dancers Death. 17, Oct. 2003. 17, Oct. 2003. http//www.s-t.com/daily/07-97/07-11-97/a03sr019.htmVandereycken, Walter. From Fasting Saints to Anorexic Girls the History of Self-Starvation. Washington Square, NY New York University Press,1994.Wuhl, Charles M. Anorexia Nervosa. The World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago Scott Fetzer, 1987.Young, Margi. Dancing In Your Own scrape up. Oct. 2003. 27, Oct. 2003. http//www.dancespirit.com/backissues/april01/dancersbody.shtml.