How “Well” Are Dancers, Really?
Last year’s Netflix hit “America’s Sweethearts,” a docuseries about the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, displayed some maddeningly contradictory attitudes toward dancer health. One moment, performers were body shamed for failing to meet the team’s punishingly narrow standards; the next, they were scolded for not properly “fueling” themselves during practice.
For many dancers, those scenes were all too familiar. In an era where companies and schools are publicly embracing wellness initiatives, it’s now less socially acceptable for directors or choreographers to tell dancers outright that they need to lose weight. But many still face pressure to do so, as well as to perform through injury and under intense stress, as ongoing lawsuits against Richmond Ballet and San Francisco Ballet allege.
Dancers and health professionals agree that despite the rise of the wellness movement, they still see many of the same old harmful ideas, often repackaged in new language. So what would it look like for dancers to be truly well—and how can we get there?
Why Is Change So Hard?
First, the good news: Monika Saigal, a registered dietitian nutritionist and author of Nourishing Dance: An Essential Guide on Nutrition, Body Image, and Eating Disorders, says that a growing understanding of dance’s demands on the body has prompted a real perspective shift. “I do think one of the positive changes is that dancers are increasingly being regarded as athletes—artistic athletes,” she says. “I think there’s also a bit more awareness around mental health issues and a greater understanding that physical health, mental health, and performance are all linked. And it’s good to see that more schools and companies are offering educational workshops on nutrition and mental health topics.”
For change to stick, leaders in the dance field will have to acknowledge that they may be replicating the abusive systems they came up through, says Jess Spinner, a former professional dancer who is now a health coach for dancers. “Many of them have not dealt with their own experiences,” she says. Christian Warner, a freelance dancer and choreographer in New York City, agrees. In one company he danced for, “leadership didn’t even know how much they had contributed to dancers’ pain,” he says. To help stop the cycle, Saigal recommends education for artistic staff about the language they use when speaking to dancers about food and bodies, to avoid reinforcing harmful tropes.
For many companies, truly embracing strong, well-nourished, healthy dancers would mean accepting a change in aesthetic. “That’s about challenging biases, because sometimes people have a certain idea in their head of what a dancer looks like,” says Saigal. “But I think that diversity brings so much beauty and uniqueness.”
Building Trust
At institutions that have the resources for wellness staff, it’s critical for that staff to build rapport and trust with artistic leaders, says Rachel Recinos Abair, the health initiatives program director at ODC in San Francisco. “We need to build a rapport with the artistic directors, and make sure they’re aware that we’re keeping an eye on these things,” she says. “We need to be able to talk openly with them about concerns that we have for the dancers.”
Even when companies have wellness staff, Spinner notes that dancers are often afraid to take advantage of their services because they don’t want artistic staff to know they’re having a problem. To alleviate this issue, Abair says, wellness staff should communicate clearly with dancers about confidentiality.

“Part of the introduction I do with new ODC dancers is to explain that almost anything that they share with me is kept confidential,” she says. Ensuring that wellness services are available outside rehearsal or class hours, so dancers can use them less conspicuously, may also help more people feel comfortable taking advantage of them.

Shifting Resources
Some dance companies simply don’t have the budget for full-time wellness staff or in-house gym and recovery facilities. However, they can still provide resources, like referral lists of outside medical practitioners, to allow dancers to seek help independently. And change may sometimes be a matter of shifting priorities, choosing to see dancer wellness as a vital part of the budget rather than an extra.
Most of all, Saigal says, dancers need time: time to eat, time to rest, and time for cross-training and recovery. Jason Harrison, a strength and conditioning coach who works with dancers from companies including New York City Ballet and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, says most dance companies focus on rehabilitation for performers who are already injured. This is important, of course, “but a sports-performance approach is the piece that’s preventive of injury, and that’s still what’s missing,” he says. Better integrating cross-training so that dancers don’t have to go elsewhere for it could help. For example, ODC/Dance has a strength and conditioning class for company dancers built into its weekly schedule.
At the very least, says Warner, treating dancers with dignity, respect, and honesty will go a long way toward helping them stay healthy. Even choreographers and directors with few resources can provide sufficient breaks and time and space for a proper warm-up.
“Your body can’t be at its best when you’re busy protecting yourself in the room,” Warner says. “I think that we have to understand that this is a physical practice that is also inherently emotional and spiritual, and use that as a driving force for better care.”