Former students at two prestigious ballet schools told the BBC that teachers pressured them to lose weight. It caused many people to have eating disorders.
Britain’s two most prestigious ballet schools have a ‘toxic’ culture of bullying and body shaming, former dancers say For the British Broadcasting Company BBC.
The BBC has interviewed more than fifty students of The Royal Ballet School and Elmhurst Ballet School who studied at the ballet schools between 2004 and 2022.
Many of the students said that they got sick with eating disorders during their studies. Others said they had mental health problems.
A dancer who studied at Elmhurst Grace Owen told the BBC that at her graduation party in 2020, her ballet teacher humiliated her and several of her classmates.
According to Owen, the teacher said that all but one or two of the girls had to lose weight or they wouldn’t get a job. Owen said the teacher’s comment made him feel “worthless”.
Both ballet schools denied to the BBC the accuracy of the former students’ accounts.
According to the BBC, every year hundreds of Britain’s most talented children take part in entrance exams for these schools that train professional dancers.
Only the best get in. The youngest of them are only 11 years old.
Ballet dancers are expected to be slim and athletic. The training program of ballet schools resembles the training of professional athletes, describes the BBC.
Royals as patrons of schools
The Royal Ballet School, based in London, is one of the most prestigious ballet schools in the world. King Charles is the president of the educational institution.
Queen Camilla in turn acts as a patron of the Elmhurst Ballet School.
Former pupils at the two schools told the BBC that teachers viciously criticized their bodies and suggested that pupils should lose weight.
In addition, teachers praised those who lost weight. According to the students, this made their eating disorders worse.
One retired ballerina told the BBC that she has taken legal action against The Royal Ballet School over the treatment she experienced.
The schools told the BBC they were working to change their internal culture to prioritize the health and wellbeing of pupils.
According to the dancers and their families, the change has been slow and the schools have failed to take care of the children and young people they were responsible for.