With international dance competitions facing growing scrutiny over their focus on dancers’ bodies and appearance, the 36th Annual International Association for Dance Medicine & Science (IADMS) Conference in Melbourne in September could hardly have been more timely.
One of the key sessions brought together host Dr Claudia Lawson with Marie Walton-Mahon OAM, Dr Beth Shelton, Professor Gene Moyle and former principal artist Jenna Roberts. Together, they brought perspectives from research, psychology, dance medicine, education and lived experience to examine how harmful practices in the studio can be recognised, challenged and changed.
The discussion reinforced an important message. We need research to understand patterns of harm and identify where change is needed. But research is strongest when grounded in the real experiences of dancers and teachers. Listening to those closest to the studio can challenge assumptions, reveal what is really happening and help us understand what works, what doesn’t, and how healthier studio environments can be created.
Here, we bring together the research findings and the perspectives of a dancer and a teacher.
What Does the Research Say?
Research has consistently identified dancers as a population at increased risk of eating disorders. A systematic review and meta-analysis found dancers had around three times the risk of experiencing an eating disorder compared with non-dancers. More recent research examining professional and pre-professional dancers has identified both individual and environmental risk factors, including perfectionism, low self-esteem, body dissatisfaction and experiences within dance environments. Environmental factors can include pressure to be thin, negative comments from teachers and being selected less frequently as a dancer. These individual and environmental factors are likely to interact, increasing risk for some dancers.
More broadly, around one in five professional dancers experiences clinically significant mental health symptoms (20.8%), while more than one in four reports a current need for psychological support (26.9%). These rates are higher than those reported in the general population and similar to those seen in professional athletes. Anxiety, eating disorders and burnout-related symptoms are particularly prominent in dance, reflecting the combination of performance pressure, perfectionism, injury risk and body-image demands within elite dance environments.
Protecting dancers from body-image concerns, disordered eating and eating disorders requires education and awareness, but these alone are not enough. Clear policies and pathways are also needed within dance environments, including the capacity to identify concerns early and provide appropriate support.
This is particularly important because some of the factors that contribute to risk can be embedded within the culture and demands of elite dance. High standards are fundamental to elite performance, and perfectionism can be a powerful driver of excellence. It can support self-regulation, artistic development and the pursuit of becoming the best dancer possible.
However, perfectionism can become a risk when high standards turn into a fear of getting things wrong. Excessive self-criticism and fear of mistakes can undermine wellbeing and creativity, while increasing the risk of burnout and psychological distress. Perfectionism itself is therefore not necessarily problematic. Rather, the way high standards are pursued can determine whether it supports a dancer or becomes a risk factor for poor mental health. Research into perfectionism in high-level dance has similarly found that perfectionistic striving can have both helpful and harmful dimensions.
The signs that perfectionism is becoming harmful can be easy to miss. Chronic performance pressure may first appear as harsh self-criticism, fear of mistakes, a growing need for external validation, reduced enjoyment, emotional exhaustion or difficulty recovering from training.
These responses can look like commitment and professionalism, particularly in an environment where high standards and dedication are valued. When they persist, however, they may signal a shift from healthy striving towards maladaptive perfectionism, burnout and more significant mental health concerns.
Recognising these early signs is therefore an important part of supporting dancer wellbeing and reducing the risk that individual vulnerabilities and environmental pressures develop into more serious concerns around mental health, body image, disordered eating or eating disorders.
A Dancer’s View: Jenna Roberts
For so many years, I was taught to listen to my body while simultaneously learning to override it. Stress fractures, fatigue and pain became part of the landscape of professional dancing, and pushing through was often seen as commitment.
It wasn’t until I retired that I began to truly understand what my body had been trying to tell me. Life after dance brought its own unexpected challenges, including infertility, nine rounds of IVF and, ultimately, using an egg donor to build my family. I would never say that ballet caused my infertility, but that experience profoundly changed my understanding of health, recovery and the long-term impact of how we train.
I think the most influential directors were those who demanded excellence without breaking a dancer. They understood that challenge and care can exist together. It has made me question the traditions we continue to pass down in ballet, particularly the idea that pain and suffering are somehow proof of dedication.
Audiences see the beauty and discipline onstage, but rarely the physical and emotional cost behind it. Retirement has given me a different lens through which to view training, and I now believe our responsibility is not only to develop exceptional dancers, but to help them build a relationship with their bodies that will sustain them long after their dancing careers end.
The Teacher’s Perspective: Marie Walton-Mahon OAM
As teachers, we hold an enormous position of trust, but we must never confuse that responsibility with ownership of a student. A dancer is not our dancer; they are a young person whose physical and emotional wellbeing has been entrusted to us.
Many practices have too often been normalised in dance training: training through pain, public correction or humiliation, ignoring the need for rest and recovery, and language or behaviours sometimes disguised as discipline.
Today’s young dancers are also navigating pressures that previous generations did not experience to the same degree. Social media has created an almost constant culture of comparison: of bodies, flexibility, technique, success and achievement. At the same time, an increasingly competitive training environment can leave young dancers feeling they must always do more, achieve more and be more. When this is combined with frequent competitions, auditions and the pursuit of perfection, the emotional load on a developing dancer can be enormous.
We now understand that the consequences can extend far beyond the studio. Injury, under-fuelling, disordered eating and burnout are not isolated problems. Evidence increasingly requires us to examine the culture surrounding the dancer, and to recognise that the words we use, the expectations we create and the behaviours we model can have an impact long after a dancer leaves our studio.
We cannot rewrite the past, but we have a responsibility to learn from it. Today, we have research, clinical knowledge and lived experience that previous generations of teachers did not have, and with that knowledge comes responsibility.
Tradition should never be used to justify harm. Excellence and wellbeing are not opposing goals. We can demand discipline, resilience and artistry while still protecting the whole person in front of us. Our words matter. Our practices matter. And the wellbeing of the dancer must always matter.
Deep Breaths
These are big issues for dancers and teachers alike. But the more openly we talk, share experiences, examine the research and acknowledge the risks, the better equipped our industry will be to support healthy, sustainable performing artists into the future.
Where Can You Go for Support?
If you or a dancer you support needs help, speak with a GP, psychologist or other appropriately qualified health professional.
Teachers and dancers can also consult The Australian Ballet Body Image and Disordered Eating Guidelines, developed by The Australian Ballet in association with the National Eating Disorders Collaboration. The guidelines address prevention, early identification, access to care and support for a safe return to dance.
-Dr Claudia Lawson
This article appears in the October–December 2026 issue of Dance Australia, available now.
Panellists
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Professor Gene Moyle, Registered Sport and Exercise Psychologist
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Dr Beth Shelton, former National Director, National Eating Disorders Collaboration (NEDC)
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Jenna Roberts, former Principal Artist, Birmingham Royal Ballet
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Marie Walton-Mahon OAM, Founder, PBT Worldwide
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Dr Claudia Lawson, Panel Moderator, Sports Doctor, Emergency Department Registrar
References
Arcelus, J., Witcomb, G.L. & Mitchell, A. (2014). “Prevalence of eating disorders amongst dancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” European Eating Disorders Review, 22(2), 92–101.
Nordin-Bates, S.M. & Kuylser, S. (2021). “High Striving, High Costs? A Qualitative Examination of Perfectionism in High-Level Dance.” Journal of Dance Education, 21(4), 212–223.
Parker, E., Mitchison, D. & Hronis, A. (2026). “Intrinsic and Extrinsic Risk Factors for Mental Health Difficulties in Dancers: A Systematic Review.” Journal of Dance Medicine & Science.