How Perfectionism in Dance is becoming a Mental Health Crisis
There is an unhealthy link between dance and perfectionism. Once seen as a positive trait, researchers are now finding perfectionism to be dangerous and linked to a long list of mental health issues.
Perfectionism is a growing epidemic
Thomas Curran and Andrew Hill’s 2017 meta-analysis noted increased rates of perfectionism across generations among undergraduates from the UK, US and Canada.
Perfectionism has been linked to depression, anxiety, anorexia, bulimia and suicide.
Dancers are particularly prone to these illnesses and there is sadly not enough help provided by the industry.
The same drive to succeed that makes dancers great also predisposes us to depression.
I have struggled with dance related anxiety throughout my career and have noticed it in colleagues.
Why are dancers often perfectionists?
Dance is a relentless art
There is always another audition, performance and critic.
And we are often at the mercy of casting directors who decide when our next pay cheque will come.
The basic need for survival over powers the love for art. This pressure is overwhelming and striving for perfection becomes a natural instinct.
Our bodies are our instruments
We spend hours looking at our bodies in the mirror, correcting flaws, perfecting lines, and sculpting muscles. This can result in unhealthy obsessions with the self , so that when we are critiqued, we internalize it as a direct judgement on us.
Furthermore, dancers often go on strict diets and self medicate in ill fated attempts to keep our instruments at optimal levels.
We are trained to see our flaws first
From the start of dance training our flaws are constantly highlighted, with little focus on praise.
We therefore learn to focus on the worst in ourselves.
I often notice that even if I only make one mistake during a performance, regardless of what went right, I feel like I failed.
Dance training focuses on dancers needing to be tough
When I was completing my BFA in performance dance, a ballet teacher bragged to my class about how tough she had to be to make it as a principal dancer in a prestigious ballet company.
While they were touring Europe, the company caught a nasty stomach bug; instead of canceling the performance, they employed someone to stand in the wings holding a bucket, so the company could continue performing while running off stage to throw up.
This story not only highlights the harrowing problem of perfectionism in dance, but demonstrates how this mentality is passed on through generations.
Dancers are often encouraged to dance through pain and injuries, to “suck it up” or be left behind. This discourages us from speaking up when we are suffering. Afraid of being seen as weak, or losing the role of our dreams, dancers will often suffer in silence .
Overwhelming competition
From ballet exams, to dance competitions, dancers learn to be competitive at a young age. This is amplified when we start auditioning for professional jobs and realize quickly there are more dancers than jobs available. We need to be the best not only to get the job, but also to keep it. Employers often remind us how replaceable we are as a threat, disguised as a way of keeping us “motivated”.
The industry is failing its dancers
By ignoring this epidemic, the dance industry is continuing to create harmful practices within the art form. We need to do better. Companies and training institutions should consider seeking help from psychologists to create a more holistic approach to dance as an art. Knowledge is power, and when we can talk openly about our mental health without feeling weak or threatened, we will finally break the stigma.
