Lacie Norton Dance 359 Individual Research Paper 5 November 2012 World Impact on the Dancer Body The

evolution of the image of the ideal body in the worlds view has impacted the view of the dancers ideal body. The conception of the ideal body has shifted through different stages in the many years of the world, from 30,000 BC to the present ideal body. The pressures of the media, both world and dance, have shaped much of what is perceived as the ideal body. There is also a correlation between the worlds ideal body and the dancers ideal body. In the time of the ancient Cretan civilization a figurine Venus of Willendorf exemplified the vision of the ideal body. This figurine was usually made of stone and portrayed a woman with large breasts and a bulging stomach, symbolizing the emphasis on fertility and the creation abilities of women. This body may have been a type that all women wanted because it showed that the woman was wealthy enough to have the food to become this particular size. Starting with Venus of Willendorf the ideal form shifted from an emblem of fertility to a balance of proportion in the case of the goddess of love Aphrodite of Cnidus. This image appeared within the fifth century in the sculptures of the Greek culture where the women were portrayed through art perfectly balanced with an unnatural perfection of the body. What was once a symbol of fertility is now mathematically calculated proportions.

There was another shift in the seventeenth century back to a body where mounds of flesh were glorifies and emphasized enormously. A painting by Renior illustrates what the ideal image of the female body was at this time. The painting bather drying her leg depicts a woman sitting on a rock in a profile view with her thigh taking up the center of the page, with big breasts and large arms and a protruding stomach. Although, this image is not a balance of proportion like the Greek sculpture, she is also not as big as the ancient Cretan figurine. It was not until the nineteenth and twentieth century that we see a huge transition of the ideal figure. First and foremost there is a change, especially in America, after the draft of World War II when the women began to take on the roles of the absent men. This body began to represent the impact of absorbing both the rights and jobs of the men, with a loss in curves and a transfer to a more masculine and straight body. There is one more drastic shift from the masculine women with the introduction of visual media such as television and magazines. With these mediums of broadcasting emerge images of extremely skinny figures such as Twiggy, an English model of the 1960s. Twiggy became known as the worlds first supermodel and was seen as very feminine and desirable. From Twiggy the first supermodel to the latest winner of Americas Next Top Model Brittani Kline, not much has changed with the ideal body portrayed by the modeling world. Unlike a few centuries ago a fat curvaceous body is now associated with the low income, stressed, and unhappy population. What decides this assumption that a bigger body like the ones esteemed hundreds of years ago is now at the low end of

the totem pole when looking at the ideal body of today? Much of the ideal body perception is warped by what is put on the media via TV, news, internet, and magazines in order to sell any particular product. What kind of ideal bodies do we see on the media today? Jennifer Anniston and Brad Pitt are examples who were selected by the fitness magazine for having the most fit and sexy bodies portraying their bodies as ideal. Both of these celebrities have healthy, strong, handsome, fit bodies; is this body the description of what is esteemed by so many people today? Are these the bodies that we want as dancers? Popular TV shows like The Biggest Loser put heavier bodies on the unwanted list and emphasize the attainment of a new, smaller and more fit body. They achieve this through the before and after pictures for example where a woman is portrayed in an unflattering bikini before and a very nice dress after she worked for her new body. If the woman was wearing the same dress in each picture, would it have the same effect of scaring people into shying away from a heavier body and making the goal a small, fit body? Other implications for why the ideal body has been altered to a small physically fit body may be the enhancements of science and technology where such a body is seen as more healthy, hence more ideal. The media has snatched this concept of a healthy body as an ideal body and are using it to sell anything and everything. Has this affected the way dancers view their bodies? It can be seen throughout history the shift of the dancers ideal body on the same timeline as the growth of the worlds ideal body. Prima ballerinas, who were

idealized between the 1800s and 1900s, had more form to their bodies. They were traditionally bigger built with noticeable flesh and muscle, however were still very capable and beautiful in their movement. Later in the 1900s, around the same time Twiggy became popular, the ballerina image had changed to a more slender form with long lines. These ballet dancers had very little muscle shape and practically no fat. The dancers ideal body has changed dramatically up to the present point almost at the same pace as the world, and is still changing as we see the idealized body become more fit, healthy, and strong for its specialized purposes. This brings in the question whether or not the ideal body has a universal standard. With the several different occupations available in the world there cannot be a specific standard for what the body should be or look like. In the modeling world the idealized body is tall and skinny and without that body there is practically no chance of exceeding in that profession. Wrestling needs a short, stalky, strong, but lightweight body, swimming needs a muscular yet light body with a very strong upper body and legs. What kind of body does dance need? There is still much of the late 1900s ideal ballerina body wanted within the ballet world of today. However, with the transition away from classical forms and lean toward fusion and modern styles the idealized body is slightly different. Many professional companies still want a slender dancer but are more interested in the athletic aspect of the body not as much the aesthetic of a skinny dancer. This ideal body is also determined by what the company uses most and what bodies suit their movement.

A ballet company will take on dancers with the same long slender body built to keep the aesthetic of the classical form. Where as a modern company may want short, strong, mesomorph to keep the aesthetic with lots of ground movement. The for an example the Doug Verone Company stuck with short muscular women because they only had short men, but when they finally got some taller men they took on taller women. How does this ideal body affect me as a dancer in this present time? In a study of 282 college undergraduate and graduate students male:female 81:201 they concluded that females had greater body image size distortion and body dissatisfaction, lower self-esteem and more frequent thoughts about weight loss. According to another study dance has two body components appearance and strength, and both are related to body image. Being a pre-professional female dancer I am in the danger of falling into this category of body dissatisfaction. I am receiving hits from each side, the world with the media portraying their ideal body as well as the dance world with influence from teachers, students, media, and even company auditions. One more study between street-dancers and non-dancers supports the idea of the dual expectation of dancers (ideal body) to portray a thin aesthetic as well as achieve their highest physical performance. It concluded that street dancers had higher body appreciation than their counterparts, non-dancers. Although street style dance is different than classical dance such as ballet and modern, there is potential for these classical dancers to achieve body image satisfaction with the idea that the body you have is the ideal body you need.

With this in mind, as a dancer I will never be able to please everyone with my bodily form. It is impossible to change my physical appearance without side effects, but I have the ability to alter the way I move as a dancer. I can take on the skill of several techniques and learn to dance like those on So You Think You Can Dance, as well as modern from BYU and street dancing, which is so popular today. I can condition my body to be able to perform movement which otherwise seems impossible and treat my body well to be healthy enough to survive the time and energy required to accomplish my needed ideal body. As a dancer my ideal body needs to be one for hiring, one without any specific aesthetic but great versatility among many genres. The evolution of the ideal body within the worlds perspective has definitely correlated with the idealized body of a dancer. Whether or not one is a result of the other they have ridden the path of growth together to get to the ideal body of today. The worlds portrayal now of the general populations ideal body is one of health and athleticism. The philosophical ideal body, according to Lacie Norton, is whatever it needs to be in order to meets its specific needs and expectation of the profession it is being used for, which can be anything, including mothering, politics, and dancing. The ideal body of the dance world is also based on aesthetic and physical performance; however it is relative to the genre and style of dance as well as the education received by the dancer. Within the dance world today it is pertinent to be a versatile dancer with ability to perform many styles so as to be of more use. In this way a versatile dancer is a hirable dancer, useful in more ways than one.

Resources
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