Debunking the Myths about Dancers

Everything we knew about dancers, we learned from Black Swan. sErEniPiTy103's post has opened our eyes! –Sparkitors

I’m a dancer, and I’ve noticed that people have a lot of ideas—right and wrong—about my kind. I’m here to separate the fact from the fiction when it comes to dancers. Here are five commonly held beliefs, and what I have to say about them:

1. All dancers are snobs.

This one is, of course, FALSE. We hold our heads up high (literally and figuratively) because we’re confident—and because it helps with our balance. I’m not going to lie and say we’re all the sweetest people you've ever met, but we are not universally stuck up and mean.

2. Even when dancers are in pain, they slap a smile on their faces.

True. When we’re dancing en pointe and our feet our bleeding, we smile through the pain and keep on dancing. Dancers are not as fragile as we look. We’re used to smiling through our suffering, and your average non-dancer will never know the difference.

3. We work (just as hard, way less hard) than football players.

That would be “just as hard.” My fellow dancers and I work on what we do 25 hours a week…on top of which, we have to look graceful, pretty, and proper while doing it.

4. We are all anorexic.

So not true. We do eat, and we do tend to burn off a lot of these calories dancing, just like any other athlete. Trust me when I say that we eat when we’re hungry.

5. We have no time

All too true. Once you put 25 hours of dance on top of school and homework, the idea of a social life can start to seem like a joke. If you ask a dancer to hang out, his or her response will probably be “Sorry, can’t, I have to dance…but maybe some other time!” That “other time” may never come.

Are you going to start thinking twice about judging dancers?

Related post: 7 Things Everyone Should Know About Dancers

Wanna write for SparkLife? Read this first!