How One White Guy Created The Thin Ballerina Ideal

This week I speak with anti-diet dietitian Fumi Somehara, who is all fired up about the thin ideal and how it impacts on the world of ballet. Fumi is passionate about all things dance, and her perspective on how the thin ideal came to dominate the ballet world is fascinating. She talks about Ballanchine, a very famous choreographer from the mid 19th century, who had an obvious preference for very thin dancers. Ballanchine also happened to be brilliant, and wildly popular, so much so that his body preferences became the only acceptable body type in classical ballet. Join us for an absolutely fascinating chat about a whole range of ideas: about how ballet is traditionally not just sexist, but classist and racist, how a few brave females have pushed back against these systems of oppression within ballet world, and how Fumi thinks that maybe, just maybe, the world of dance might eventually force the outside world to embrace body diversity!   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.