Here's what ballet does to the human foot: http://www.blisstree.com/2012/06/13/fitness/ballet-dancers-feet-graceful-but-really-gross-898/.

Also, if you want to see more google Twyla Tharp Feet and get a load of her bunions.

Gelsey Kirkland's "Dancing on my Grave" gives a very sad story about the rigors of the dance world. Gelsey started out as an ingenue dancing with Barysnikov in the Nutcracker, then her life just went to pieces as she aged and fell more and more into the drug culture.

ww.amazon.com/Dancing-My-Grave-Gelsey-Kirkland/dp/0425135004/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1371103539&sr=1-1&keywords=dancing+on+my+grave+by+gelsey+kirkland

Hmmm, so you were a competitive gymnast, professional ballerins, and now a brain surgeon?

Wow!

00:51 Here's a very good and accurate description of the subculture of ballet. The author mentions the eating disorders and the social problems the young girls have. Also the unachievable desire of perfection which motivates these girls. Sad, really. Especially since they usually have to drop out in late 20s and certainly by early 30s due to injuries, stress fractures, bad feet. And dancers (corps) are paid so little, they can't go to college, so they usually teach ballet. Read this, it's good. http://www.siue.edu/sociology/EJS/v32kelso.htm

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This (below) is a pretty good piece about the pros and cons of young girls getting into competitive gymnastics. The pros are listed at the top. Later in the article, the author talks about the extreme punishment the sport does to the mind, body and soul. Another issue that has not been mentioned is poor social development. Ballet dancers are the same way. The training is so hard, rigorous and at such a young age, that many of the dancers and gymnasts regress and become isolated socially.

http://krsharp05.hubpages.com/hub/Kids-and-Competitive-Gymnastics

Okay, even if we give you the injury thing...unsocialized? Really?

You must know very, very few dancers. Just sayin'

Not at all. Professional ballet dancer. Started dancing with ballet companies at 15. Could rattle off anything you want to know. I've seen anorexics take barre and worried they would die in class. I've seen male dancer have surgeries on their feet to create a better arch. I've seen other dancers cut the ribbons of competitors' pointe shoes. Also glass. Didn't you see "Black Swan". It's well documented that young ballet dancers have little social life and also enter puberty late because they have to keep their weight so low. Gelsey Kirkland's book is a good one about how unsocialized the dance world is - so she turned to coke and hard drugs. I've seen every diet from the cabbage soup one to just apples. Most dancers now carry protein bars to get them through the day. A normal day in a company runs like this: 9:30 all company manster class; afternoon rehearsa; evening performance. Then back to the barre at 9:30 a.m. the next morning. Also, remember most dancers never go to college. They are already placed in companies as early as 12 (mommy trotting behind homeschooling) and you must be in the corps by 16. There's no time for fun. And for some peculiar unwritten rule, no one ever talks while dressing in the dressing room or at the barre. I've taken class around the world and have never seen dancers go off in pairs or make freinds. It's a tough world. Black Swan got it right. Want to know anything else?

Anonymous wrote:This (below) is a pretty good piece about the pros and cons of young girls getting into competitive gymnastics. The pros are listed at the top. Later in the article, the author talks about the extreme punishment the sport does to the mind, body and soul. Another issue that has not been mentioned is poor social development. Ballet dancers are the same way. The training is so hard, rigorous and at such a young age, that many of the dancers and gymnasts regress and become isolated socially.

http://krsharp05.hubpages.com/hub/Kids-and-Competitive-Gymnastics

Okay, even if we give you the injury thing...unsocialized? Really?

You must know very, very few dancers. Just sayin'

Can we compare injuries, please please? I've never been able to do this before. I'll start: Three compressed vertebrae in thoracic and lumbar sections of the spine. A broken ankle (vault). Head injury from back flip on mat that didn't go so well. Broken ankle once. Torn ligaments in both ankles. And a torn meniscus (knee). You?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So you are saying that you really want your daughter to do this? (the Korbut flip). How much of this is you being a dance mom and pushing your kid to do dangerous maneuvers? This is another concussion waiting to happen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZYPcdj_wn4

Love the Korbut, tried it myself back in the day (on low bar, not high). It's not that hard actually, but I'm pretty sure it's not "legal" under the current rules. It's also not that dangerous, provided one is capable of doing a back flip.

And there is such a wide gulf between low-mid level competition and elite. Injuries happen at all levels, but for the most part, they should be relatively minor. I'd be more worried about concussions/torn ligaments in soccer than in gymnastics.

I'm really impressed you could knock off even one on the lower bar. I wouldn't have the guts. Yes, it was outlawed. Here's an interesting story about it. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/olympics-2012/korbut-flip-move-dangerous-today-olympic-gymnasts-aren-allowed-attempt-article-1.1134730

This (below) is a pretty good piece about the pros and cons of young girls getting into competitive gymnastics. The pros are listed at the top. Later in the article, the author talks about the extreme punishment the sport does to the mind, body and soul. Another issue that has not been mentioned is poor social development. Ballet dancers are the same way. The training is so hard, rigorous and at such a young age, that many of the dancers and gymnasts regress and become isolated socially.

http://krsharp05.hubpages.com/hub/Kids-and-Competitive-Gymnastics

Anonymous wrote:So you are saying that you really want your daughter to do this? (the Korbut flip). How much of this is you being a dance mom and pushing your kid to do dangerous maneuvers? This is another concussion waiting to happen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZYPcdj_wn4

Love the Korbut, tried it myself back in the day (on low bar, not high). It's not that hard actually, but I'm pretty sure it's not "legal" under the current rules. It's also not that dangerous, provided one is capable of doing a back flip.

And there is such a wide gulf between low-mid level competition and elite. Injuries happen at all levels, but for the most part, they should be relatively minor. I'd be more worried about concussions/torn ligaments in soccer than in gymnastics.

This was me. I would never do this to my daughter or son. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swc6p9X5f_M

I competed at the high school level. I broke my right ankle while doing an aerial flip and spent six months in a cast. I have two pins in my big toes, a frozen shoulder and other issues from gymnastics. Other girls on the team had sprained ankles and were out a whole season. It's a very dangerous sport and gets more dangerous every year as more elaborate routines are expected of us. In the Beijing Olympics both male and female gymnasts were competing while seriously injured - like the men on rings who had injured their ankles on the vault but still competed on rings, hoping they could make the stick at the end, notwithstanding the injured ankle. Our coach just kept saying "Work through the pain". I would not want my children (future) to take this on seriously.

So you are saying that you really want your daughter to do this? (the Korbut flip). How much of this is you being a dance mom and pushing your kid to do dangerous maneuvers? This is another concussion waiting to happen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZYPcdj_wn4

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All gymnasts get back injuries. And concusions, and sprains (my fav) and broken limbs and compound fracture, and dental problems when they try to do a back-up on the beam and their hands miss so the face and neck take the force of back-flipping motion right on their face and neck.

No, I perform brain surgeries.

This horribly inaccurate blanket statement makes me doubt all of your posts. I was a gymnast. I dropped out after level 9 when I was a sophmore in HS. I never had a back injury. Soreness and strain, but no true injury and no continuing issues. I broke my ankle once when I landed a tumbling pass wrong, but that was the only break I ever had. No concussions, and no dental problems. Sprains, bumps, bruises, etc werent rare...but for someone who claims to be in the medical profession to claim that ALL former gymnasts have suffered the same injuries she has and have destroyed their bodies and suffer from eating disorders is pretty ridiculous.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience, or inadequate coaching, or your body wasn't built to survive the sport...but don't blast your nonsense all over this board.

I also never had a back injury and was roughly a level 9 as well. Never broke a bone doing gymnastics - had some injuries, but nothing that caused any lasting or permanent issues. I would credit good coaching with a focus on conditioning and learning skills incrementally.

Anonymous wrote:All gymnasts get back injuries. And concusions, and sprains (my fav) and broken limbs and compound fracture, and dental problems when they try to do a back-up on the beam and their hands miss so the face and neck take the force of back-flipping motion right on their face and neck.

No, I perform brain surgeries.

This horribly inaccurate blanket statement makes me doubt all of your posts. I was a gymnast. I dropped out after level 9 when I was a sophmore in HS. I never had a back injury. Soreness and strain, but no true injury and no continuing issues. I broke my ankle once when I landed a tumbling pass wrong, but that was the only break I ever had. No concussions, and no dental problems. Sprains, bumps, bruises, etc werent rare...but for someone who claims to be in the medical profession to claim that ALL former gymnasts have suffered the same injuries she has and have destroyed their bodies and suffer from eating disorders is pretty ridiculous.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience, or inadequate coaching, or your body wasn't built to survive the sport...but don't blast your nonsense all over this board.