As dancers, a huge portion of our lives is spent having eyes on us. Whether it is performing on stage, judging and correcting ourselves in a mirror for hours on end, or even attending auditions, we are under constant scrutiny. This continuous attention on our body, combined with ideal beauty and fitness standards and the presence of the mould of the ‘perfect dancer’ that we often try to fit ourselves into, gives way for the possible rise of body image issues within ourselves.
Many other things add just as heavily to this issue, especially constantly comparing ourselves to the kind of dancer we want to be. Every dancer has another dancer they look up to or draw inspiration from, and while we’re always in awe of the moves they execute every time, some of us can’t help but wonder what stops us from achieving the same greatness, and whether or not that hindrance exists within a feature of our bodies. Social media is another huge contributor, since many amateur and professional dancers use it as their primary platform to showcase and broadcast their skills. Many of us do not have the same bodies as that which our ideal dancers would have – we may have slopes where they have curves, or we may be softer in places where we envision firm muscle. These thoughts build up to create body image insecurity, which is possibly one of the biggest issues worldwide, both among dancers and otherwise.
Overcoming these insecurities is never easy, but they must be worked upon to develop resilience towards harsh judgement and criticism (even if it may come from our own selves), and to develop acceptance towards the body that we reside in. While extremely difficult, it is imperative to accept that having insecurities is normal in today’s world where nearly everything is comparable to something else, but despite these insecurities, we are all amazing. Our bodies do so much for us – they are, after all, a dancer’s most important asset – and it is easy to forget all the amazing things our body can do when your mind is tunnelled in on a few flaws.
Another thing that must be mentioned here is that dancers come in all shapes, forms and sizes, each of them unique and amazingly talented. Not all dancers are carbon copies of each other, and while a lot of us have this mental checklist of perfect features in a dancer, the need of the hour is to break out of these defined outlines. Something that can help overcome body image issues is to look for dancers with body types similar to our own, and use them to recognise the marvels of our body.
From a more dance-based perspective, it is also important to figure out what the biggest strength of your body is, and use that to build your confidence by incorporating it more and more when you dance. Upon building a little more confidence, start recognising what your weaknesses are and work on them to improve overall, and then you can move on to utilising those improvements as well.
It is also extremely important to understand that everything we see on social media is easily manipulatable. People use social media to show others only the best version of themselves, and what their idea of perfection is. Normal body features that are considered ‘ugly’ – cellulite, for example – are easily edited out, and dance videos are more often than not filmed over and over again until the perfect take is obtained, and then further edited to achieve the best results. Authenticity on social media is rare, and one shouldn’t feel pressured to dance or be like what they see on such platforms. One must dance the way their body moves naturally, wear what they feel is comfortable and expresses them and their talents best, and be true to themselves and their art.
Another thing that is also important is to look at ourselves in the mirror, to name things we love about ourselves and our body instead of the usual scrutiny, and to repeat this every time. This is not to say that one must overlook mistakes that they make, but rather, to accept ourselves as unique individuals with our own strengths and passions.
While this journey will definitely be difficult, and the progress graph will have bumps and drops rather than a straight line upwards, it will eventually result in a better you with a better view of yourself and of those around you. Stereotypes and perfectionistic tendencies can get extremely toxic, and with each step towards personal progress, the community as a whole moves towards unlearning these tendencies and normalising ‘imperfections’. The beauty of the dance community lies in its diversity, and we are all, at the end of the day, united by our love for dance.
コメント