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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Yes, This is a very real concern.  I have been a professional dancer for decades.  I have taught at the university level.  Yes, ballet has a huge eating disorder rate that does not happen at the same rate as other techniques.  it is not opinion, it is well documented, even in companies that preach a healthy body image.  The prevalence in gym, or mens wrestling for that matter does not excuse ballet.  Yes, this worries me.  It is an unfortunate engrained norm. [/quote]

Anecdotally, my spouse has professional dance experience, and we have several good friends in the opera/ballet/modern dance world, and those who had serious ballet experience consistently tell us that disordered eating is rampant.  Ballet has a *very* particular ideal body type, even more restrictive than other dance forms.  If it doesn't worry you, you're not being a responsible parent.  You have to be proactive about body image and healthy eating, as well as not pinning your self-worth on your success as a ballet dancer, because you have to counter a deeply entrenched culture.  Pretending it isn't so is just sticking your head in the sand.  You might ultimately decide that you are still going to permit and encourage your child to pursue ballet as a serious activity, but you have to know what you're getting into and how you're going to deal with it.  [/quote]

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