Just Keep Dancing

Mental Health

Body Shaming

Burnout

Dance Family
2

CONTENTS
Mental Health 6
Body Shaming 10
Burnt Out? 13
Dance Family 15
3

Just Keep Dancing

Editor Lauren Bjerke
Creative Editor Lauren Bjerke

Features Editor Lauren Bjerke

Managing Editor Lauren Bjerke
Senior Editor Lauren Bjerke
Online Editor Lauren Bjerke
Research Editor Lauren Bjerke
Associate Editor Lauren Bjerke
Writer at Large Lauren Bjerke

Associate Art Director Lauren Bjerke

Designer Lauren Bjerke

Executive Editor Lauren Bjerke

Writer/Researcher Lauren Bjerke
Copy Editor Lauren Bjerke
4

Letter from the Editor

I spent my whole life in the dance studio growing up. Al-

most every weekday I was training and many weekends
were spent out of town at a dance competiton or conven-
tion. I wouldn’t change my experiences for the world.
Dance has ultimately taught me so many life lessons and
opened up so many doors for me. There is a side to it
though that nobody likes to talk about. The mental stress
I went through was harmful and drove me into a depres-
sion I struggled to get out of. I was burnt out, suffered
from an eating disorder, and had anxiety attacks consis-
tently. THIS IS NORMAL FOR DANCERS and it took me
so long to realize that. We need to break the stigma and
help all dancers stay passionate for the sport that really
carried me through life.
5
6

Why has Addressing Mental

Health in Dancers been
an Ongoing Problem?

“So what led you to quit

dance?” This is a question I get
all of the time. It’s hard for me to
pinpoint one specific reason. I think
the aspect of growing up and trying
to figure out who I was as a person
while also spending 20+ hours in
the dance studio weekly created
conflict for my mental health. I
started competitively dancing when
I was just 7 years old. My heart was
so into the sport and I absolutely
loved going to the studio each and
every day. I trained constantly, took
extra classes, and went to each and
every convention. All the way up
until junior year of highschool I won
competition after competition and
spent extensive hours at the studio
because that was my happy place.
Over about a period of year, I real-
ized I just wanted to give up, which
had never crossed my mind before.
I slowly started to dread going to
practice as school work became
more demanding and my non-dance
friends were going out more. I Alexa Marcum
vividly remember one of my dance 22 year old professional dancer
teachers pulling me aside and men-
tioning how shes noticed I’m not as
invested in the classes anymore.
Nights and weekends would consist
of mental breakdowns because of
the amount of work I had to do and
the physical and mental stress
7
dance had put on my body. It took
me a while to realize that most of
my detachment came from mental
strain. I was never a super confi-
dent dancer. I spent so much time
training, but never seemed to get
to the same level as other girls in
my classes. It started to harm my
thought processes because it slow-
ly became apparent that I would
never look at myself and believe I
was good enough. On top of this, I
never really had the time to figure
out who I really was growing up. I
was always so busy consumed in
my schoolwork and training that I
didn’t get to have the normal teen-
age experience. I fell into a depres-
sion and panic attacks became a
normal occurance. Dreading going
to class became the norm and fake
injuries became a constant excuse.
I didn’t quite know why
I became this way; I
honestly thought it was
a phase and would only
last for a few weeks
then I’d be my dedicat-
ed self again.
After a couple of months of feel-
ing the same way, I decided to tell
my mom I wanted to quit. She had
always been my biggest supporter
and pushed me to keep dancing
everyday. She reminded me how
much I loved being at the studio
and that she thinks I would end up
regretting it if I quit all together.
This is not what I wanted; I wanted
to just quit all together and move
on with my life. After talking with
my mom and dance teacher for a
couple weeks, they both decided
I needed a short break mentally
to regather my thoughts and rest,
so I hung up my ballet shoes for a
month to see if I could pick myself
up again. The first couple weeks
were great. I got to experience a
normal social life, catch up on
8
schoolwork, and rest my body.
Much to my surprise though, I found
myself spending every free mo-
ment just dancing for fun around
the house. There was no stress,
just pure freedom, but I secretly
missed having that escape from
reality everyday. I talked to quite a
few of my dance friends and was
surprised to figure out that they
had thoughts of quitting aswell. I
thought I was alone, but the major-
ity of friends I talked to were also
experiencing anxiety, depression,
body dysphormia, disinterest, and
burnt out of training everyday. Why
is it that nobody addresses the
mental health strain this sport can
bring upon in teenagers? If were all
feeling the same way, why is it not a
topic that’s ever discussed with us?
It took me a while to process my
thoughts, but I ended up coming
back to dance because it brought
me comfort that I had other people
around who understood what I was
going through. We talked to one of
our dance teachers and she wanted
to help us in any way she could. We
created monthly sessions to just
talk and rant to each other, and we
even had a yoga instructor come
meditate with us monthly.
We need to break the stig-
ma of mental health issues in the
dance world and the only way to
be able to do that is to speak up.
This starts with dancers, teachers,
choreographers, and even parents.
Losing your passion for something
you once loved is a feeling that no-
body should experience.
9
10

Body Image
and
Expectations
in the
Dance World

What do you picture when you

think of a ballerina? I’m guessing
you pictured a fragile yet toned wom-
an or man with no fat on their body,
long legs, and flexibility yet graceful
strength. It’s okay if this is what you
pictured in your head because this is
what society has labeled as the per-
fect “dancer’s body”. Society and
the media trick young men and wom-
en every day into believing that their
body type is not good enough for their
sport. Especially in the dance world,
obtaining the perfect body type is near
impossible. A lot of aspects of balle-
rinas that are wanted by so many are
physical attributes that aren’t change-
able. This causes unrealistic expec-
tations and goals for dancers, and
they feel like they aren’t good enough
unless these unrealistic looks are met.
Nobody is born with all of the desired
physical attributes of a “dancer’s
body” so it creates a negative body
image that will be persistent for the
rest of his/her life. It drives dancers to
believe they will never be or look good
enough no matter how hard they try.
11

It doesn’t help that dancers all dancers and break the stereotypes.
stand in front of a mirror at the studio. Body dysphormia and eating disorders
It’s natural for young men and women have become very popular with to-
to obsess over their look, but standing day’s youth and we need to show love
in front of a mirror in skin tight clothing to all body types starting now.
for 20+ hours a week makes this even
worse. Dancers are also expected to
wear costumes that are extremely re-
vealing to show off their bodies. Some
people aren’t comfortable with that
and it drives them away from the sport.
All bodies are built different and the
media doesn’t show that. The media
shows tall skinny dancers with natural
flexibility. It creates an uncomfortable
environment for so many dancers, and
it’s our job to create body positivity for
12
13

Advice for Burnt Out Dancers

1. Make time to rest, and set a good sleep schedule.

2.

Do not be afraid to reach out for help. Whether
you’re more comfortable reaching out to a
parent, friend, dance teacher, or mental health
professional; just talking out your feelings will
help.

3.

Going through phases where you want to quit is
normal. Remember why you fell in love with the
sport in the first place.

4.

Stop setting unrealistic goals. Create a small
goal each month, and reward yourself when you
accomplish it.

5.

Listen to your body. It’s natural for your body to
need a break. Relax, and return to dance when
14
15
My Dance Family
It’s to no surprise that many
dancers consider their dance stu-
dio as a family. Between growing
up with the same peers always
around to learning most life leas-
sons from dance teachers, dance
studios really do create a fami-
ly-like atmosphere. “Everyone at
my studio has seen me at my worst
and best. We have been there for
each other through all the blood,
sweat, and tears,” says current
dancer Katie Williams. “It’s such
a special experience that’s unique
to this sport. We help each other
grow as dancers and people every
day.” The more time a dance team
spends together, the more they can
trust each other and learn to dance
as one. That’s what is special about
growing up as a dancer. It’s not
comparable to other sports where
each player has their own specif-
ic position/job. Dancers have the
tough job of learning all styles and
tricks, and then learn how to dance
the same exact way as their group.
“It’s a tough job to handle, which is
why creating a tight bond and trust
with all your teammates is essen-
tial,” says Katie Williams.
To thousands of dancers, a
dance teacher is considered a sec-
ond mother. Depending on the level
of the dancer, they could even
spend more time with their teach-
er than their actual family. “I can
speak on behalf of so many danc-
ers when I say that I’ve learned the
majority of life lessons from my
dance teacher. I’ve been dancing
with her since I was two years old,
so she’s really been there for me ev-
ery step of the way. She can be ex-
tremely tough on us, but it’s all out
of love and has impacted the way
I’ve grown up for the better,” says
current competiton dancer Hannah
Grubbs. “There’s been numerous
times I’ve come into the studio after
a bad day, and my dance teacher
never hesitates to take time out of
her day to make sure her dancers
are okay. It’s really a family atmo-
spher because every single dancer,
teacher, and even parent would
never hesitate to drop what they’re
doing to help me out.” Having this
bond with the members at your stu-
dio is a special thing. Never take it
for granted, and always remember
that these people are what make life
and the sport so beautiful.