Dance First, Think later

charlichic @ 2007-07-08T15:58:00

2007-07-08T06:01:03Z

OK, every one on my friends list, I need your help!

Im currently in the process of writing a new novel, and I need your faviourate girl names! I dont care how many you can give me, one or one hundred, but I need some new ideas! They can be unisex too.

THANKS!!

Luv Loz xoxo

Rant

2007-05-12T12:30:02Z

I do realise that I havent posted in a while. But yeah, schools hard, ballet exams are hard ... what do you expect?

STUPID FREAKING ANKLE.

WHY'D YOU HAVE TO GO AND SHATTER ON ME? WE WERE DOING SO WELL!

Yes, as you can tell, i miss my gymnastics. I love ballet, yes, but its just not the same. its not the same rush, no where near. I thought that maybe if I worked hard enough at ballet, I would block the pain of gym, but noooooo. Grrr. I was so dumb. So completely and utterly stupid. y ankle hurt, so bad I crashed into the vauling horse and made a fool out of myslef. Warning sign?? Yes. Ignored it?? Even bigger yes. Stupid?? YES! What do I do? I tape it and get back out there. Bars come, I can barely push off the spring board. I wonder why? BECAUSE MY BODY'S TRYING TO TELL ME SOMETHING, THATS WHY! Beam comes, my ankles are shaking so badly that I lose my balance and almost fall. Big deal, they've hurt before this, why should I wimp out now? Why not just push through it? Jeeze I was dumb. Its all my fault, of corse. I should have listened. I should have seen the warning signs. But nooo, floor comes, last of corse. Yay for exhaustion. But I did it all well in the warm up, now I just have to work on perfection. Split leaps, good. Turns, pfft, they're always bad. Now, round offs. Nice hurdle, kick off the floor. then, BANG. Two MASSIVE cracks that my friends mum said she heard from the back row of the staduim, and Im back on the floor. Crying, looking around for help. "Oh great work Laura" I think "Both ankles broken, thats a nice way to spend life in a wheelchair". I was crying out of fear rather than pain. I was scared, terrified that I would lose gymnastics forever. With good reason, too. I did, didint I? Now all I have is that stupid ankle, and the fear of breakig it angain. Oh, and the arthritis. Lots and lots of arthritis. My ankles both sound and feel like cement mixers.

Oh the joy.

Yeah. And thats my rant.

*End rant*

charlichic @ 2007-04-09T14:51:00

2007-04-09T04:53:43Z

Why does Easter mean chocolate? Chocolate always makes me so sick :(. Plus side was that my family know me well enough not to get my any chocolate, downside is that I baby sat both Saturday and Sunday, so I had lots of chocolate then. I cant eat junk food any more, which is a good thing I suppose. It just makes me waaay too sick haha.

Hope every one had a good easter!
Luv Loz xoxo

charlichic @ 2007-03-03T12:55:00

2007-03-03T01:58:04Z

Yay! Went shopping today and got my pointe shoes!! Im happy with both pairs, but we'll see what Shaynie says. I have to take one pair back next weekend. I really like the Freeds, but again, we'll see what Shaynie says.
Bolldy hell those toe pads are expensive! They were almost half the price of the pointes themselves! But I need them, I dont want to get feet that are so covered in blisters that I cant walk.
Tried on at least 25 pairs though. I have weird feet haha. Wide at the toes and waaay narrow at the base. But thats ok, Id rather get the right ones then rush and get ones that are going to break my ankles lol.
Well thats all from me.
Luv Loz xoxo

charlichic @ 2007-02-27T16:18:00

2007-02-27T05:18:38Z

To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all - Oscar Wilde

charlichic @ 2007-01-10T20:12:00

2007-01-10T09:16:03Z

"her body is wasting away she now weighs just 60lbs and her heart and major organs have shut down, they are going to wake her up from the coma tonight to give us a chance to say good Bye to her"

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

How could this happen? What good are hospitals if they cant save her? I cant believe they let it get this far. How could tey just let her waste away like that? 27 kilos and taller than me ... thats crazy.

Amy, we love you, please wake up

Mals song

2007-01-10T03:42:39Z

Mal's Song

When the stars shine bright through the engine's trail
And the dust of another world drops behind
When my ship is free of the open sky
That's a damn good day to my way of mind

There's a barren planet you never can leave
There's a rocky valley where we lost a war
There's a cross once hung round a soldier's neck
There's a man's faith died on Serenity's floor

But I stood my ground and I'll fly once more
It's the last oath that I ever swore

Chorus:

So, take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me
Take me out into the black
Tell 'em I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me
You can't take the sky from me

When you see a man and he's standin' alone
Well you might just take him for an easy mark
And there's many a man has tried his hand
And there's worse than wolves in the borderland dark
From the savage men to the government hounds
Try to take what's yours and tear you through
Ah, but them that run with me's got my back
It's a fool don't know that his family's his crew

Don't you tell me what I cannot do
Don't you think I've got to run from you

(Chorus)

When you've walked my road and you've seen what I've seen
Well you won't go talkin' 'bout righteous men
You'll know damn well why I want to keep to my sky
Never cry 'neath nobody's heel again
I've seen torment raked 'cross innocent souls
Seen sane men mad and good men die
I've been hounded, hated, married and tricked
I've been tortured, cheated, shot, and tied
You won't see no tears when I say goodbye
I've still got my family and my Firefly

(Chorus)

Christmas time once again

2006-12-26T00:57:40Z

So Christmas time has onnce again crept up on us. Dinner with famous people on Christmas Eve was interesting ... if you didnt play golf you pretty much didnt exist ... fine by me. My cuz told me that he read my story and he said "Its phanominal (I know I cant spell) You have such a command over the english languge. I'd pay money for this." Then my uncle said if I sent him the manuscript he'd find me a publisher. YAY!!
I must have been a good girl this year, because from Santa I got over $250 worth of stuff from the Australian Ballet, including 2 tickets to go and see their production of Swan Lake, a new poster, and a 2007 calander. I also got a tin full of kit kats which will proably rot in my room before I work up the corage to eat them

Other Pressi include:
-The second Elle Chronicals book (Im getting the final one in the after christmas sale)
-Charmed season 5 and 6
-Evanessence and Delta Goodrem piano books
-New PJs
-My ballet DVD
-5 free passes to Hoytes
-A sewing machine
-Shower stuff
-A DVD player
-Money
-Stick it! (from Kat)
-the new GHD hair straightner
-the promise of new dance leos from mum, but after Ive lost the weight I want to lose so they actually fit me.

Christmas lunch was great, with just mum me dad and james. I got the best photo with my two boys! They're sitting on my lap and we all have santa hats on! I cant wait to see how it turned out.

I hope every one had a great Christmas!!
Luv always
Loz xoxo
I hope everyone

charlichic @ 2006-12-05T19:20:00

2006-12-05T09:20:21Z

"Shes lost heaps of weight though"

charlichic @ 2006-11-13T15:35:00

2006-11-13T05:35:09Z

He screams, he hits, he abuses me.
I can't cry
because then Im a selfish cow with no respect
I can't scream back
because then Im a bad daughter who doesnt care her mother is dieing
I cant hit back
becuase then he crys
all I can do is take it
and i cant even do that any more

charlichic @ 2006-11-12T16:38:00

2006-11-12T06:38:37Z

I've imagined the conversation a million times in my head, and some how I've managed to come up with a million ways they'll say "no". Most involve lauging in my face. I'm so scared. There has to be at least one way that they'll say yes, but I just cant see it.

Im so over the fucking exams. I dont care if I fail. I dont care if every other person out there is smarter, and studying. I. DONT. CARE. English .... meh i can do it .... Science .... who gives? .... History .... passible .... Geo .... not a hope in the verse .... Math .... refer to geo ...

My weekend sucked.

All exept the dance consert which was freaken awesome and I scored a free trophy.

Im passed tired. Im passed caring. Im doing my HSC, then I'll care, coz i'll be doping things I WANT TO DO.

Yeah, as you can tell, my moods not the best right now.

charlichic @ 2006-11-12T14:56:00

2006-11-12T04:56:19Z

A pretty poem

Just to Dance

by Linda Staten

Just to dance--
just to let the music take you
in a way that seems to make you
feel suspended every time you leave the floor...

Just to soar--
in a moment free and aerial
to rise magically ethereal,
like an angel in a gossamery swirl...

Just to whirl--
and to nimbly pirouette
into a twirling silhouette,
high on pointe, with muscles taut down to your toes...

Just to pose--
with body sculpted, statuesque,
to execute an arabesque,
and with fragile, artful grace sustain your stance...

Just to prance--
to step in flawless syncopation
with the corps in tight formation,
marking time with every heartbeat, every turn...

Just to yearn--
to be poetry in motion,
and, with disciplined devotion,
to create a thing of beauty and romance...

Just to dance!

New Layout

2006-11-04T04:58:16Z

Yay! New layout! Though I can't seem to be able to see the background image ... so if any one knows how to make the background image show more I'd love to hear how!
But other than that nothing much is happening.
Ballet concert in a week.
Not ready. Haven't gotten my goals yet.
Exams in a week.
School is finnished in 2 weeks.
Can't wait.

Luv Loz xoo

charlichic @ 2006-10-25T14:00:00

2006-10-25T04:02:16Z

"When the emotion becomes too strong for speech you sing; when it becomes too strong for song, you dance."

Even Cinderella gets a fairy Godmother

2006-10-23T08:48:37Z

Why can't I be normal? Why can't I cry?
It seems that every one has someone they can call on to help them through a hard time, and I have no-one. Don't get me wrong, I love my friends , they're all I have ... but I can't talk to them
I can't talk to any one.
No-one would ever understand.
I can't take it any more. Im sick of every one, I laugh at the simplicity of their problems. I wish I was better, I wish there was a cure. But there isn't, just learning to hide it, so they think Im better, and they leave me be.
Dancing used to help, and maybe it still does, but now its so sreious, I can't just do it for fun. It's work-work-work, at home more than at the studio. And with school closing, stress is on, I cant get away.
I can never get away
Even Cinderella got some one ... her life sucked ... but who do I have? I can hear you reading this, thinking "You dumb fuck, open your eyes and see the friends you have ..." But no matter what you say, you shall never know, and even if you did, you could never understand.
You'll never understand
And if you nod and pretend to, the rumour spreads ... and I know I can't trust you ... you'll "just tell one person" then they'll tell another .... and my life will be ruined ...
I hide it from you ... I learnt to hide it when I was first laughed at when I was three ... now its killing me ... slowly ... surely

You'll never understand

charlichic @ 2006-10-22T20:16:00

2006-10-22T10:21:02Z

From random sites

YOU KNOW YOU'RE A DANCER WHEN...

**You stay up for three hours the night before a performance sewing ribbons on pointe shoes.

**Being corrected isn't considered an insult

**You rant and rave about the joys of stretching yourself out in every direction and your mother wonders where she went wrong.

**You learn how to make light of a mistake on stage.

**Leotards and tights become more comfy than clothes.

**You suddenly have the urge to curtsy instead of saying thank you

**Changing costumes in the wings in one minute becomes easy

**You're able to untie and retie a pointe shoe in 45 seconds flat

**Dancing with blisters becomes the norm.

**Listening to Nutcracker music is a curse

**You become a master in the field of toe health care

**When waiting in line at the mall you stand in first position

**You fall asleep in the splitz because "it's such a comfortable position!"

**You're constantly broke because you're destroying pointe shoes at a constant rate of three per month.

**You worry more about having water than food

**You wonder why the average person goes to touch their toes and can't get past their knees without groaning.

**You go to grab something off the floor and your leg shoots up to a perfect penchee.

**You forget how to count past 8

**You're able to sew anything in a quick fix.

**You think the best cure for a sprained ankle is to dance on it.

**You recycle everything fom tights to pointe shoes to leotards

**You find that odd things like masking tape and paper towels are more useful than band-aids.

**The studio becomes your second home

**Your bedroom is clean as a result of never being in it.

**Your dancebag is a pigsty as a result of always being in it.

**Potentially hazardous sports are off-limits until after Nutcracker season

**You hear football players complaining of "turf toe" and laugh at the simplicity of their toe problems

**Karate is a no-no because you find it hard to kick with flexed feet and uneven hips

**Instead of jogging, you run turned out and on the ball of your foot.

**You're not sure if the mirror has become your friend or your enemy.

**You put on your pointe shoes to reach high places

**You use your swingset to practice fouettes

**You dance down the hallway instead of just walking

**You walk with your feet turned out without even thinking about it

**You have a permanent crease in your hair from all those buns

**The top shelf in your cupboard is filled with old dance shoes

~You buy it because it says "DANCE" on it

~You own more dance clothes then you do school clothes

~You are thinking about buying stock in bobby/hair pins, band-aids, and hair ties

~ You can state exactly how many calories are in a Big Mac and eat it anyways

~ The outfit you are planning to wear to the school dance becomes less important then the moves you are going to do

~ You can't listen to music, you have to DANCE to music

~ Your friends start paying you to stop dancing

~If you lift your foot, IT'S POINTED

~When you stand up normally you realize you are in fifth position

~When you wait in line, you do releves and plies while you wait

~Whenever you walk you have your hands in low 1st prep position, with your arms rounded and consider it normal

~You know you're a dancer when you hear a song on the radio and start counting to the beat

~You count 5,6,7,8 before 1,2,3,4

~You know you're a dancer when you write "point" in any context it always has an E at the end

~You know you're a dancer when you see an empty aisle in the supermarket and instantly take it as an opportunity to practice your across the floors

~When you're wearing tennis shoes you try to stand on your toes like you're in pointe shoes

~You don’t sit and watch TV you stretch and watch TV

~Your hair has a permanent bump from wearing it up so much

~You start doing kicks down hallways, or when you hear a song that has a great kickline in it

~When you go to the store before/after dance in your tights and bodysuit and walk around like they're normal clothes, Cause they are

~You look at dresses to see if it could make a good costume

~You make up dances to songs on commercials

~Your friends look in your purse and there's random bobby pins all over

~You call up a friend to come to an open dance class with you instead of the movies/shopping

~Monday morning, you go back to school and your voice is lost because you've been cheering for your dance team at competition all weekend

~You take French at school to know more dance terms, and how to spell them

~You practice tap under your desk at school

~You feel more comfortable with your hair in a bun than down

~Any floor that's hard suddenly becomes a practice floor

~Instead of daydreaming in class you go over your dances in your head

~You spend all your free time on D4H

~ If your hands are full, you use your feet to open the door - you have the extension, why not?

~ Your friends outside of dance know almost as much about dance as you do - this happened as soon as they became friends with you!

~You know you're a dancer when you're giving someone directions, and you catch yourself using the terms "endeour" and "endedon" instead of "left" and "right"!

The colour screwed up .. sorry

charlichic @ 2006-10-14T05:56:00

2006-10-14T07:11:21Z

Hey guys!
So with the hols over I guess its time I showed my work ... here are my first lot of firefly and ballet icons!

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
8. 9. 10. 11.12.13.14.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
8. 9. 10.11.12.13.

charlichic @ 2006-10-12T19:36:00

2006-10-12T09:38:39Z

Two reasons why Im NOT as crazy as you all seem to think

Q. My daughter is 15 years old and has been studying ballet for eight years. She is maturing now, and she is so obsessed with her weight that she hardly eats anything. People who know ballet say this is typical and not to worry. Does she have to be so thin, and should I be concerned?

A. Contemporary ballet style and choreography require the ideal ballerina to be long-necked, long-legged, small breasted, and thin -- very thin. Professional dancers may easily weigh 25 percent less than standard estimates of their ideal weight. In a recent study of a major ballet company, for example, the height of the female dancers ranged from 5'2" to 5'8" and their weight ranged from 94 to 127 lbs. Even for serious, young dancers, 12- to 17-year-Olds, "ideal" dance weight is about 10 lbs. less than is recommended for their age.

Because of this intense focus on the body shape, you should be concerned. Ballet dancers are possibly the most obsessively weight-conscious subculture in our country today, says Lawrence M. Vincent, a physician and a former member of the Kansas City Ballet Company. "It's not unusual to find a dance company or a dance school audition in which students with the improper 'look' are eliminated from consideration before dancing even begins," says Vincent.

Dancers' dilemma. You would think that the physical demands of dancing could solve any weight problem a dancer might have, at least among professionals who practice six hours a day, six days a week. However, the intermittent, stop and go nature of ballet training does not burn enough calories to keep the weight at the very low levels required by the art.

So, to stay appropriately slim, most dancers eat very little. In surveys of the Cleveland Ballet, Ballet West, and the American Ballet Theater, for example, performers reported eating an average of 1,358, 1,420, and 1,673 calories per day, respectively. In addition, some dancers use laxatives or diuretics and resort to binging and purging to keep their weight down.

All of this can lead to fatigue, dangerous eating disorders, a high incidence of muscle and skeletal injuries (particularly difficult-to-heal stress fractures), and in many instances an early end to a promising career. Also, in the long it can cause osteoporosis.

What to do. To be a successful dancer, your daughter will have to keep her weight below the average for her age and height. The sylph-like body has been the aesthetic ideal for a ballerina for more than 150 years, and this is not likely to change. Yet, to stay healthy and to meet the physical and mental demands of dancing, she has to consume enough nutritious food each day. At a minimum, that's 15 calories for each pound of her ideal dance weight. And this amount of energy, regardless of weight, should not fall below 1,400 calories a day. It's very difficult to plan an adequate diet on fewer calories than this.

In addition, 60% of these calories should come from carbohydrates, 30% from fat, and 10% from protein (which is the standard distribution for healthy people, dancers or not). Ballerinas on low calorie diets may also want to take one-a-day type supplements to insure that they are getting adequate amounts of critical vitamins and minerals, particularly calcium, iron, foliate, zinc and vitamin B-6 .

Ideally, you and your daughter should consult with a registered dietitian, preferably one who understands the physical requirements of ballet. Solid nutritional information is needed to manage a diet that on one hand insures the willowy ideal of a ballerina and on the other the other hand provides for the strength, endurance and vitality of an Olympic athlete.

The Incidence rate of Anorexia in ballet dancers

Introduction:

Anorexia is a growing disorder in our society. Eating disorders affect thousands of people throughout the world. A select group, young female ballet dancers are molded into thinking that the only way to succeed with their dream is to be thin. Exploring causes of eating disorders leads to the young girls' obsession with weight. Why is there such a high incidence of anorexia nervosa in ballet dancers? The causes of anorexia will give an indication of why ballet dancers are at high risk of getting this disease. It will explore what drives them to be thin and why no simple means will end their obsession.

What is Anorexia Nervosa? :

Anorexia nervosa is a serious psychological and physiological disorder. "Due to cultural ideals of feminine beauty, young women feel a strong desire to be thinner than their bodies naturally tend to be." (Counseling Centre, State University of New York and Buffalo, 1995) As a result, they change their eating patterns and they may develop eating disorders. An anorexic will avoid eating to the point of emaciation where the damage done to her body is irreversible.. Some anorexics also are compulsive exercisers. This is a common trait in a dancer due to her busy schedule of dance classes. This disease is most commonly found in young girls in upper middle class families but it can develop in both sexes of all ages. In accordance with information given by the Counseling Centre at the University of Virginia, the development of this disease is generally at the age of 11 or 18, the beginning of adolescence and the end of adolescence, both beginnings to a new phase in life. Approximately sixty percent of anorexics develop bulimia an eating disorder where the patient will binge-eat followed by self-induced vomiting or the use of laxatives. About twenty percent of anorexics die; however, with psychiatric help, approximately one third over come this disorder, as observed in Something Fishy.

An anorexic is diagnosed by having a body weight twenty percent below the expected body weight of a health person at the same age and height of the eating disorder patient. The patient demonstrates a fear of gaining weight or of becoming fat. They may feel too fat even though their body weight is well below the normal weight for their height. An anorexic shows all signs that she suffers severely from malnutrition.

Causes:

Anorexia is triggered by many different events. The first cause of anorexia in a girl is perception of her weight. Anorexics know they are heavier than the rest of the people around them or they feel that they are heftier and they want to do something about it. They feel that the quickest way to lose weight is to not eat at all. They think that if there is no food going into their bodies that eventually the body will use all of the stored energy, fat, and then they will be thin. This is a fallacy. Ironicaly, when a person stops eating, the body goes into starvation mode (meaning that the body believes that the body is starving and will utilizing less energy to operate) losing very small amounts of weight. It conserves food. When the body receives food, it then stores it away until the next time food is obtained. At first this method may seem to work and the subject loses weight, but as the body adjusts to the lack of food, it learns to use the energy it is given stingily.

Another reason for becoming anorexic is the need to obtain perfection. A perfectionist desires excellence in all aspects of her life. She will stay up all night to make sure her closet is in order alphabetically or iron all of her clothes once a week to make sure they do not become creased. A perfectionist will scrub her nails each morning to make sure they shine. She will stop eating to fit her opinion of the ideal, impeccable person. A perfectionist seeks flawlessness and when she finds that flawlessness is not met she will do something to make it ideal. If an obsessive person thinks to be perfect is to be thin, then she will diet. A perfectionist also likes to be better than her equal. If she sees someone with a waist an inch smaller, her waist must be two inches smaller. She must be better than all others.

Anorexics sometimes desire control over their lives. People who fall towards anorexia for control feel they have a lack of control in their lives and the only thing that they control is what they put in their bodies. Their teachers control their marks and their parents control what they do, wear or the time they must arrive home at night. Their friends control where they go and that leaves one thing left in life to control: their diet. A person desiring control feels that her life is out of control and she is falling out of control. They feel that they have no life, no meaning and they feel that nothing is theirs. The one thing they find that is theirs is their body. They can control their body, put what they want into it or put nothing at all. Anorexics also shows signs that they feel incompetent. When a person feels that she is no good at anything and find she has the control not to eat for extended periods of time, she find she is good at something. If a person who gets poor grades in school, is told by her parents that she will never do anything worthwhile, is told by her siblings that she is stupid, it hurts the person and makes her feel incompetent. When they start to lose weight and people around them say they look good or that they are finally doing a good job at dieting, the person is inclined to please even more. "If people like me like this, wait until they see me a few pounds lighter. Then wait until I am even lighter than that."

A person who feels dependent on other people in her life can also be driven to anorexia. If an adolescent feels that her parents are choosing her clothing, friends or controlling public behavior she may seek independence. Some youths may choose to rebel by getting their bodies pierced, but others may look for the a secret and more subtle independence. People who seek independence and achieve the feeling of independence through dieting generally come from loving families. Few anorexics are unloved and are unwanted by their families, in the situation where they are unloved abuse is usually involved. These youth need room to grow up. They find this by relying on themselves to lose weight and put into their bodies what they want when they want.

Some reasons for anorexia are deeper than a need for control or independence. Some people have deep emotional conflicts that are unresolved. Children of abuse have a higher incidence of anorexia than a child who comes from a home where she and other family members are respectful to each other. When a child has been abused physically or sexually she is accustomed to the abuse and feel that is the only way life is. If the abuse stops when she is older she feels that because nobody else is abusing her, she has to abuse herself. She does this through abstaining from food. A child who grows into an adolescent who is still being abused may be told by their abuser that they are fat and ugly. They may be told that they have to lose weight and the fastest way for them would be to not eat. Their abuser may drive them to this saying they eat too much and should not have another piece of pie.

Deep emotional conflicts can contribute to the disease. The saying sticks and bones may break your bones but names can never hurt you, is fun to say when you are younger or to say it to youngsters, but names can affect a child emotionally until they get help to deal with these unresolved feelings. When a child is told that she is fat, ugly or unintellectual often enough she believes those comments. As she grows into an adolescent her hips begin to widen, acne appears on her face and fat begins to deposit in places that it never has before. These names that she was called as a child begin to become true in her eyes. She looks in the mirror and sees a fat girl. She feels she has to do something about her appearance. She buys cleansers for her face and starts to wear make up so she will color her apparent ugliness, but to get rid of the fat she diets. Just a little at first but as she looses weight her hips are still big and she decides to stop eating to acquire small features similar to when she was younger.

A common reason for older patients of anorexia to develop the disease is depression. Two aspects from depression can contribute to the disease. The first is when a patient becomes chronically depressed, all she thinks about is herself. She has no time for her relatives and she has no time to eat properly. A depressed person can just forget to eat for long periods of time. Once she has not eaten for a while it feels right for her, by then she is anorexic as well as depressed. The second reason a depressed person can develop anorexia is that they are self absorbed, usually trying to figure out some mid-life crisis. One thing that might contribute to her feelings of self worthlessness is that she is over weight. She sees the opportunity that her life will turn around if she does not eat for awhile. If she were a few pounds lighter she too would be happy. The lack of food usually makes depression patients even more unhappy for now they are hungry, underweight and depressed.

Causes due to outside Pressures:

With many pressures on a ballet dancer, the greatest pressure is on being lean. This pressure is what drives a dancer to be anorexic. A ballerina has many pressures on her but the pressure to be thin comes before all others. The pressures of media are the first pressures that a young girl will notice when developing into a young woman. She will be looking through a catalogue looking for new clothes and see that all of the models have beautiful, little figures. She will see pretty girls with no acne or noticeable birth marks. She will get the impression that the pictures are how people should look when they become older. As a young dancer gets older she will see pictures of the best dancers in the world. They are characterized with narrow hips, little or no fat deposits, slim middle, small breasts, delicate looking arms and their height is short. A young dancer who views this feels that unless she shares these characteristics she will never be the girl in the picture. The media pressure girls to be perfect. They do not display people who are anything but the ideal and this can have a lasting effect on young girls.

Dance teachers also pressure their young students to be like their slender heroines. In classes they are told to hold up their stomachs, making them look thin from a side view. Once during class, Kristi, a girl who was interviewed, was told by her dance teacher not to eat before class because it made her look fat. This put her off eating because she went to over seven classes a week, this left no time to eat. The girls look up to their dance teacher, whom as their mentor has the control to forecast the girls' outcome of eating patterns. If she makes it an important issue, to the girls, to be thin to be a good dancer then the girls are more likely to become anorexic and lose the weight to satisfy their teachers expectations. If the teacher does not pressure the girls to be thin, they have a better chance of not falling into the cycle of anorexia.

Pressures put onto a girl from her parents are hard to deal with. If a girl entering adolescence still has some baby fat on her, she may not realize that the fat on her will be used wisely by her body to fully mature into womanhood. This lack of knowledge may deter her, and think that she has to get rid of this extra fat that she has. If parents tell their children that they are fat and need to lose the weight the children listen. As far as they are concerned their parents are always right and would never tell them something that did not need to be done. Parents who allow their daughters to feel fat because of something they may have said are just as much to blame for the development of the disease as the daughters. This is because the daughters have always looked up to their parents. Then if their parents start to find fault with their daughters and their figures the daughters will immediately respond by loosing weight immediately.

A great pressure on girls to be thin are the boys around them.. When girls reach adolescence boys start to become interesting and important to them. The problem is that girls feel boys want a slender, beautiful girlfriend. The girls feel that they are not a desirable weight they will not have a boyfriend if they weigh too much. At the age of adolescence, boyfriends are very important to the girls and if the girls feel they can not have a boyfriend because of their weight, then they will diet. Boys also contribute to the cause of anorexia because girls at the age of adolescence values the opinion of the boys. If the boys say that they are fat then they will believe it. This can also drive a girl to anorexia. The third reason that boys may contribute to a dancer's anorexia is because a professional female dancer is lifted and carried by the male dancer. If the female dancer is too fat then the male dancer will not be able to lift her effortlessly. A girl at a young age may feel that if she is fat now that no boy would be able to lift her when she is older. This is important to a young dancer. (back to top)

The ballet physique:

A ballerina could start her training as early as four years old and through the years that she comes out of being a toddler to becoming a school girl into adolescents she notices many things.. She will see a lot of changes in herself. Some of these are good, boys become cute, her breasts start to grow, hips widen, her menstrual cycle begins and she becomes taller. Some things about growing up are not good. For one thing there is the problem in a ballerina that her breasts will grow too big to conform to the figure of the perfect small ballerina. Hips start to fill out and the "ballet bum" begins to lose its shape. Girls see that all of the famous and really good ballerinas are the thin ones, with no breasts, no hips and no stomachs. Why is this shape the desirable shape for the ballerina?

The origin of the dance figure was in the eighteenth century. A young dancer by the name of Marie Camargo became a prominent figure on the stage. She was light footed sure of her steps and shorter than all of the male dancers on the stage. Her timing for her career was perfect. This was about the time that it became fashionable to go to the ballet. Camargo became famous and every young dancer in the world wanted to go to the same dance company so that they could share in her lime light. The company would not let any new dancers in who were taller than their star performer. As girls reached five feet five their dreams would be smashed at the realization that they would never have Camargo's figure. This new dancer also redefined the shape of the classical ballet dancer. Before her debut on the stage the ballet dancers were not traditionally small, but due to her popularity, the new figure became mandatory to succeed in the world of ballet.

The look of the dancer is the "genre of the veritably, length of spine, the open stance and the lean look" (Street, 1994). This is derived from the court dance which attempted to portray a regal demeanor. (back to top)

Why dancers have such a high incidence of the disease:

A ballet dancer is very aware of what her body looks like. At each practice she attends she wears skin-tight clothes and dances strenuously in front of large mirrors. A dancer has to look at herself for many hours in a day and this can cause a realization in the dancer. The general public may look in the mirror for a few minutes a day, hardly aware of what they really look like, but a dancer has no choice but to stand in front of a mirror and compare herself with others in the room. Seeing others thinner than she, could prompt a dancer to lose a few pounds to look as small as the other dancers in the room. As each one does this the room of dancers becomes very small. Anorexia seems like the best way to become the smallest dancer in the class.

Another reason dancers would want to be small is that they have to jump high, spin fast and balance on their toes for extended periods of time. If a dancer weighs much or her weight changes frequently these steps are difficult to execute. A dancer has to know her body weight and be able to balance with no exterior problems. "Extra weight changes the balance of the body. It takes more strength to get up in the air, more time to do the move, and it's harder to land." (Chiu, 1996) A dancer also has to be conscious that a man has to be able to carry her for extended lifts and holds. Knowing she can dance better with a smaller weight convinces a dancer that she must stay thin at all costs.

A dancer is usually seeking perfection in the steps that she executes. If she does not she will never reach a professionals level. Because a dancer is a perfectionist, she has to be flawless and better than her peers. A young anorexic dancer, when interviewed stated that, "she had something that other people wanted. They wanted to look like her and it was a sense of power, control and accomplishment that she could be like that." (Dyson, 1995) This also gives the dancer a feeling that she has an edge over the other dancers and sometimes this edge is important.

The ultimate goal for a dancer is to become a professional. The truth is as stated by a dancer, "In the real world people who are not thin do not get jobs." (Emily Martin, personal communications, December, 1995) In the dancing world this is true. All dancers know that to get into a dance company of choice they have to look like the other girls in the ballet world so that when they get on stage they all look the same. The dancers know this and before applying for a dance company make sure that their bodies conform to the ideals of the dance company. The edge (being smaller than all other) that is gained through anorexia may be what gets them into the dance company. Those girls that do not have the figures have to find something else to do with their lives. For some this can be too much and that will drive them to anorexia to get into the company the next audition.

Dancers are usually from a moderately high socio-economic background. As discussed previously, the children from the high socio-economic background have a higher incidence of getting anorexia than any other group. With the pressures of their family life and of dancing these girls are at a higher risk than any other group in society (of getting anorexia).

The primary reason that a dancer will develop anorexia is traditionally a ballet dancers are slender. When it is known throughout the world that the best dancers in the world are thin and only the thin ballet dancers get jobs, it is easy for a dancer at a young age to think that anorexia is the only way for them to become and stay thin. To a dancer the pressure to be thin is very great. Before anyone looks at the way they dance or the way they move, the way they look is the first thing noticed. "An ideal has been set in place in the dance community which reflects the general publics desire to see thin women on stage." (Dyson, 1995) (back to top)

Effects of Anorexia Nervosa:

The effects of anorexia nervosa are severe and sometimes irreversible. It can cause three changes external, internal and psychological. The external changes are: Thirty percent or more of body weight to be lost leading to emaciation, dry skin, hair loss and growth of fine body hair. The internal changes that occur in the body are: Irregular or complete loss of the menstrual cycle (amenorrhea), low blood pressure, Oedena (swelling), loss in bone density, liver damage, dental problems, infertility, loss of insulating layer of fat leading to extreme temperature sensitivity, cramps, diarrhea, dehydration, slowed or irregular heart beat and dilation of intestines. The psychological changes in the body are: Withdrawal and isolation in society, impaired neuromuscular functions, fainting spells, insomnia, weakness, hyperactivity, depression, electrolyte imbalance, psychological, physical and biochemical disturbances, and eventual death. It is said that up to thirty percent of anorexics die from complications due to the eating disorder, or commit suicide as a result of the emotional turmoil in their lives.

Conclusion:

Although eating disorders can affect everyone, the incidence in dancers is almost one hundred percent as estimated by the CAAWS. "Most dancers have been through some kind of eating disorder, it's just that we don't see it. We don't discuss it." (Kehree LaCrosse, dance teacher, personal communication, January 1996) The ballet dancers in our society have been told by the general public that if they are not thin then they will not be considered ballet dancers. Because of pressures put on a dancer to be thin she will find her peace in developing an eating disorder. These disorders can cause many disturbances in the body sometimes resulting in death. Why do we put one elite group in our society through such emotional and physical turmoil? Do we really need to have thin, frail girls dancing across a stage? Our society is killing a group of individuals because of the traditional way we view the ballerina. (back to top)

by: Kristi

charlichic @ 2006-04-09T17:31:00

2006-04-09T07:32:16Z

YOU KNOW YOU'RE A AUSSIE 90s KID IF...
~YOU'VE WORN LEGGINGS AND FELT COOL~
*YOU HAD A HUGE FRINGE AT SOME POINT IN YOUR CHILDHOOD*
~YOU REMEMBER READING AND WATCHING "GOOSEBUMPS"~
*YOU TOOK PLASTIC CARTOON LUNCH BOXES TO SCHOOL*
~YOU REMEMBER THE CRAZE OF YO-YOS AND TAMAGOTCHI'S
*YOU STILL GET THE URGE TO SAY "NOT" AFTER EVERY SENTENCE. NOT.*
~YOU COLLECTED POKEMON CARDS~
*YOU WATCHED THE ORIGINAL POSTMAN PAT, FIREMAN SAM AND NINJA TURTLES*
~YOU REMEMBER WHEN THE NEW BEANIE BABIES WERE ALWAYS SOLD OUT
*YOU USED TO WEAR THOSE STICK ON EARRINGS, NOT ONLY ON YOUR EARS BUT AT THE CORNERS OF YOUR EYES*
~YOU KNOW THE MACERENA BY HEART
*"TALK TO THE HAND" ENOUGH SAID*
~YOU REMEMBER BUM BAGS~
*YOU COLLECTED TAZOS
~2 WORDS, SPICE GIRLS
*Blinky Bill Was Cool..
~CAPTAIN PLANNET HES OUR HERRO~ i loved that show! used 2 sing the song all the time even have me singing it on video somewhere
*YOU USED TO PLAY HAND CLAPPING GAMES "my boyfriend gave me an apple my boyfriend gave me a pear"

RE-POST THIS IF YOU ARE A AUSSIE 90s KID AND CAN RELATE TO ANY OF THESE

charlichic @ 2006-03-10T16:06:00

2006-03-10T05:15:01Z

Hey every one,
I just thought i'd update so u wouldn't think i was dead. I went for a run last nite. A owl followed me, and i didnt have a camera! :(. Liz came and talked to us in german today. It was cool, coz wen eva Simmonds left the room she started talking about parties and things. Im not talking to Kat now. Shes peeing me off. Im not meant to be talking to Kiz either, but im not really that pissed of at her. She said sorry, and me being the forgiving person that i am, i almost forgave her. lol jokes jokes, I forgive u kiz! Any way, I'm going to climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge 2moz! AND I GOT THE 5TH SEASON OF CHARMED ON DVD TODAY! Im in a gooooooooood mood at the moment.
g2g, Charmed is on!!!
Luv always
Loz xoxo

Stuff

2005-11-29T06:52:39Z

Hey guys!
Not much to tell at the moment. Im not getting that horse, coz i wont have tie now im going into year 10, and have to do y school certific. I got 66% on my science yearly which im pretty proud of it since i didnt study at all i didnt even cram! I cant wait for the hols, coz i have about 3 stories that havent been finnished and another 5 story lines i have to write stories for. Any way ... The gym was on the weekend and it was painful for me to watch, coz i cant go baq! *tear* O well I'll get over it! We have a history excursuion on the same day we have a math test and as long as no 1 tells the teacher this we get an extra day of study! Its been raining pretty badly aty and we had a MASSIVE storm on saturday nite. It was HUGE!!! Its storming now. On sunday the Duke of Ed ppl had to go out on the camp and one girl got Hypothermia and had to be air lifted out.

O well I've updated now HAPPY KIZ???

lol

Luv always

Loz

James

2005-11-06T04:38:10Z

My brothers a fuck face! He destroyed all my DVD's, and Mum and Dad sat there and let him!!!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! I'm so peeved! It seems he gets away wth EVERY THING! Dad just said, "well, you wont miss them!" And I found something we'd been looking for for weeks, and james riped it out of my hands and yelled out "I found it! I found it!" So he got the credit! I cant wait till im old enough to leave and never c him again!

Sorry, I'm just really pissed
Luv Loz

Baby sitting

2005-11-05T23:07:31Z

I went baby sitting last night. It was good fun. The kids were gr8, they didn't fight or n e thing! They went to bed when I told them, and after that I watched Panic Room, and them some other gay movie untill Adrian got home at about 12:30am. I took a Taxi home, and the driver was a grumpy asehole! Today I have to do our science assginment all by my self, coz Kat went horse riding! And i have heaps of other assginments and tests as well. Thanks Kat!

O well, i'd better go get started

Luv Loz