Changing Body Language: Body Positivity in the Performing Arts

Told to suck in my stomach, 

asked for my weight on a costuming sheet, 

pointed at what sticks out, 

“the role might go to the person who fits the costume”, 

“tight fitting clothes are better in headshots”. 

Throughout my years as a student of arts education, sentiments such as these have pervaded my theatre and dance experience. For a long time, the idea of success in the arts became intrinsically linked with my body image; my physical appearance was as important as any talent or education I could carry with me into a professional environment. 

Currently, I work in an after school program with middle school students, a time of intense physical and emotional change, and with it comes self consciousness and defensiveness. These students are quick to go after their own or peers' bodies as a way of self preservation. By the nature of the art form, the performing arts have a way of putting people's bodies on display and making their assessment an essential part of creation. In my years as a student, I have had many experiences where the theatre has emphasized and created insecurities about my body. I can only imagine that in a tumultuous time such as middle school, those things would be heightened in a vulnerable environment like the theatre. I believe that theatre education has an opportunity to not be a detriment to students confidence but a way to promote body positivity. 

One of the first steps to promote this is to help get the students to a place of neutrality about their bodies in the rehearsal room. Something that students can carry with them is their preconceived notions of characters' physical appearances. I have seen instances where the difference between a character and themselves can create a dysphoric feeling in rehearsals. As a student myself, I played the character #2 in a production of The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe where the character description clarifies she is “skinny”. I found that this created a lot of insecurity because I was constantly comparing myself to this descriptor. At this time, I was 20 years old and was far from the toils of puberty, which is why I feel it is even more important to begin creating a body positive environment at a young age. One of the first steps is to remove body-centric language from character descriptions (when communicating to the students). Removing any descriptors about body size is a starting place to prevent these comparisons and insecurities. 

In addition to character comparisons, another situation to institute preventative measures is in choreography rehearsals. There have been many instances where the technical adjustments I have been offered have felt more like a comment on my body as opposed to my technique. In my own work as a choreographer, I attempt to use language that focuses on the moves themselves as opposed to the position and minutia of body positioning. This kind of work can be achieved with small adjustments, changing language such as “suck in your stomach” to “adjust your hips and straighten the spine”; which is really the heart of that adjustment anyway. From my own experiences and shared conversations with other artists, comments that refer to making yourself smaller, bigger, or just different from your physical appearance can remove any benefit the adjustment might have and instead turn the focus on your insecurity. Language is powerful, it can hurt far more easily than it can help. The dance rehearsal does not have to be a place of unanimous self love but it can be a place to reduce negative self talk and body-related triggers. 

Although these are two specific instances of ways to reduce negative self-talk in the rehearsal process, these kinds of strategies can be applied in all aspects of theatre education. This art form is incredibly vulnerable, both emotionally and physically and using things like warmups, transitions, and adjustments can facilitate a more positive environment. Young students are going to feel uncomfortable using their bodies in the way that theatre and dance require. Acknowledging that discomfort and encouraging language that moves focus away from physical appearances and instead on the effects of movement and art can facilitate a better environment. 

Going into the next phase of my career as an arts educator means that I can take the negative experiences surrounding my body and use them to create positive experiences for my own students. I understand what it is like to have an art form that you love suddenly become a space of insecurity in your appearance. This has led me to include body neutrality and body positivity as a part of my pedagogy in the theatre. Although small language changes are not the end-all-be-all of negating insecurity, they are a helpful place to start for arts educators and their students.