Body Talk

In ballet, there’s no such thing as perfection—especially when it comes to bodies. In our April/May issues we spoke to top dancers and directors about how shape and size affect their casting in Too Fat? Too Thin? Too Tall? Tall Short? “So You Think You Can Dance’s” Melissa Sandvig opened up about being put on weight probation and being chided for eating a banana because it had too many calories. NYCB ballerina Wendy Whelan admited to feeling defenseless after being criticized for looking too angular and crooked: “Even now, it can still feel harsh when a critic remarks on my “physicality” as a flaw in my dancing, because of all the effort I put into my body. It’s my own personal house of cards, a serious work of art that I’ve spent decades building.”

Dance/NYC and Dance/USA Taskforce on Dancer Health are holding a town hall meeting to discuss the dancer aesthetic, and how performers can achieve it without sacrificing their health. NYCB principals Jenifer Ringer and Jared Angle, who were singled out in December by The New York Times critic Alastair Macauley for looking heavy, will be there, along with Richard Gibbs, MD, and other dance medicine professionals. May 16 from 6:30-8:00 at the Abron Arts Center in NYC. http://dancersbodies.eventbrite.com/