Ballerina Says She Was Body-Shamed

[@larahedge8960]

My dance teacher would take anyone regardless of size, and I remember this one time at a state competition. Someone from another team made a comment about one of our girls being too fat, our dance teacher heard that girl and with her sweet tone told her, size doesn't matter, talent does, your team should include more talent and maybe you'll win like us one day. We won that year.

[@lesliewheeler7071]

😲 your dance teacher was awesome! I have negative memories of mine😓

[@alyssa7974]

@@raspberrysherbet5285 Does bigger size mean the participants won't enjoy her dance?

[@BabaBooey99]

Doesn’t change the fact that she was fat lol 😊

[@jasoninthea.m7471]

This is Sweet, Savage and wholesome all in one LMAO 🤣

[@itravisoni]

Size workout in the long run when we all take good eating habits Nobody should treat others rudely

[@robyn2124]

It’s so upsetting how body shaming is so normal in ballet or anything that requires your body to be on display. I find it so refreshing and relieving when I see a company with many different body shapes and sizes, I hope one day companies and schools will just hire and work with dancers because of their talent or abilities rather than appearance.

[@SunRise-lr7ch]

I feel bad g or the dancer who has to lift her and still perform his part.

[@hughmongus9969]

@@SunRise-lr7ch 😂

[@renny7057]

@@SunRise-lr7ch She isn't even overweight. Maybe that other dancer should bench press or eat more protein to gain some muscle. Weakass.

[@oniimely]

@@renny7057 TELL EM RENNY 😤

[@SunRise-lr7ch]

@@renny7057 she's overweight for that part. Other dancers had to compete for it and could step in. She obviously doesn't care enough about it. The one who has to lift and carry her shouldn't have to work harder. He won't get paid more for it and what would be the limit..should she be able to just keep gaining? She'd be slowing down as well and not able to hit her marks on time either.

[@Sas-qx3qo]

My sister is a professional ballerina, fat shaming is the norm in the school, in the stage and everywhere else. Esspeicaly this issue is prevelent in Eastern Europe where most of ballerinas come from.

[@jolyfrye1871]

If u cant keep your weight down. Find another profession.

[@Sas-qx3qo]

@@jolyfrye1871 I mean there's a resson why almost every country uses Eastern European ballerinas. In woke society's u can't raise / teach kids this way

[@becauseyesandisaidso3474]

@@jolyfrye1871 You don't need to be skinny to be a ballerina. Nor really to do anything else :/

[@becauseyesandisaidso3474]

@@raspberrysherbet5285 What I meant was , that you don't have to be skinny to do ballet , and that it's dumb that companies think that you have to be skinny

[@proffesserm6008]

Change that please ...

[@Lunastar1407]

I know a ballerina who worked in this industry. She weighed 105 pounds at the time and they were still pressuring her to lose weight. It got to the point where she would only eat a couple pieces of lettuce per day. It was killing her. Luckily she has retired from professional dancing and now teaches. I hope more women speak out about their experiences. Its the only way to force change. The industry is rotting from the inside.

[@JorgeRojas-ut3wj]

Liar.

[@camskayzz5169]

That’s absurd… I’m 13 and weigh 94 pounds, I wish I was a little closer to that weight

[@pissonthefloo]

it can occur in both women and men- along with boys and girls. but yes, we need more dancers speaking out about this!

[@dmswan3172]

Thai is totally outrageous - it appears that some “powers that be” in the ballet world have a skewed perception of what a ballet dancer should look like.

[@candy-ninja]

That's insane. She was only 105 pounds. How is she supposed to function at a lower weight???

[@naomichan.]

As a ballerina myself, NYCB should be addressing this. This is not what dance is supposed to be.

[@mrs.clemons1085]

Then dance, hip-hop, or contemporary, and leave ballerina for the ones who have enough discipline to get their bodies in shape

[@jolyfrye1871]

No one wants 2 c a fat ballerina...🙃

[@javiruiz8365]

@@mrs.clemons1085 exactly!!! She needs to only loose 10 pounds!!! She can’t be blaming Covid for her stuffing herself with fatty foods.

[@NoNameNumberTwo]

It’s what ballet has always been.

[@ohhi9195]

@@mrs.clemons1085 she is in shape she literally isn't even close to being overweight. She's toned too what do you want her to be? Underweight?

[@NicNakBraun]

It's a insane amount of pressure put on ballerinas. I'm so glad I got out of dance early enough my feet aren't destroyed or my self confidence.

[@rein7015]

❤❤❤❤

[@javiruiz8365]

@@raspberrysherbet5285 okay!!!

[@ilyaalister8193]

@@Namiasisteri got up on point a bit late, i was 14. I preferred lyrical and tap over point. I stoped at 27 but my feet will never be seen in flip flops or sandals. Sometimes its just genetics.

[@Namiasister]

@@ilyaalister8193 Oh, I didn't know that. Thanks for the info!

[@ilyaalister8193]

@@raspberrysherbet5285 lyrical is certainly a dance class. Perhaps your studio didn’t offer it. Lyrical is a kind if dance usually danced barefoot or with specific partial shoes made for the dance. Its leans for more on the acrobatic side of dance and can be done single or with a partner. I still teach lyrical at my local dance school. For most dances 14 is late to get on point and often doesn’t have the same physical repercussions on dancers feet as dances to come up earlier in pointe shoes. While many still may be growing the majority of the cartilage and joints have already formed solidified.

[@katfrankie6484]

While she sat next the her daughter❤️ wow, so sad she is not being glorified for her physical abilities. I am so sad for her to be faced with that decision… sending so much love and I hope your transparency opens many new doors and opportunities that you clearly deserve ❤❤❤

[@AidanTheLoverBoyOhDwyer]

i thought it was her dog

[@becauseyesandisaidso3474]

@@TheWicked4727 Does it matter? People aren't all cold hearted like you.

[@nemumami]

Quit ballet because of body shaming. Some of our dancers were on the heavier side but nonetheless did what was taught. On my side, I was literally underweight but was on the curvier side hence why I was teased for it. I would feel bad for the girls who bullied us but I think their eating disorder and bodily insecurities is enough for them.

[@NBC09]

She’s kinda not the ballerina look nor size

[@suppertimesims]

@@NBC09 bad bait

[@CadaverQT]

@@NBC09 How so?

[@jenniferwatts6534]

I didn't realize it wasn't common knowledge that ballerinas get badgered about their weight. It's happened always.

[@TightyWhitieTrash]

I’m a guy and I didn’t know lol 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@amandathemantis]

No we know, it’s just her body is absolutely fine in all areas of visual compliance and they still want lbs gone. Even the perfect body types get shamed.

[@bluediamond1414]

Ballet is a tough art. Physically it takes a toll and encouraging dancers to be underweight for aesthetic purposes is so damaging

[@dancingprincessmj]

Bravo Ashley!! Thank you for not staying quiet like so many of us ballet dancers do out of fear and humiliation. 🙏🏻❤️

[@weirdlyordinary8193]

My ballet teacher said that if you need to lose weight to get a part, it’s not worth it and they do not want what’s best for you. She warned us about how common it is to be body shamed and told us no job is worth having to lose weight. I’ll forever be thankful for her

[@MimiB229]

I know it's easy for me to say, but you should have just danced. Nobody in the audience would've seen anything except your amazing dancing. Find strength in this trial and don't give in the next time. Your daughter's self-image depends on it.

[@MimiB229]

Does that make any difference?

[@MimiB229]

She said, "it was up to me whether I danced that night," I understand it would be extremely hard to make that choice, but at least they gave her one. The pressure was probably immense, yet it would have all disappeared when she saw, and heard, the audiences response. It would not be easy but very satisfying.

[@fern7306]

@@raspberrysherbet5285 she could actually sue the company for discrimination 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@charliepea]

Being a ballerina, especially in her position, is big standards. I'm no ballerina, but there's a lot of rules she had to learn and weight is one of them. But I believe that as long as she could still dance beautifully, she can still perform.

[@AuskaDezjArdamaath]

If their #1 priority were the health and safety of their dancers, they wouldn’t be body shaming them into eating disorders. Shame on them.

[@kpoppy9635]

It's all a formality. They don't really care about their dancers health, as long as they can dance and look how they want them to on stage.

[@GorgieClarissa]

Same thing happened to kathryn morgan - who is a former Nyc ballet ballerina but it happened to her at Miama Ballet after they convinced her to join their company. She has her own youtube channel and explains it all!

[@GorgieClarissa]

Miami Ballet*

[@rafaelasabchucalovato9439]

Thing is: Kathryn has Hashimoto's. Her weight fluctuates regardless of her efforts, because the disease is hard to tackle. The stress started to take a toll on her there. To this day, I haven't picked my jaw from the floor regarding how MCB treated Kathryn.

[@jedimasterspidermad5173]

When I was learning to dance I was body shamed. I wish her the best.

[@kerrygligorovic9758]

This Ballerina shouldn't really worry too much about her weight because she didn't look too bad and she still look amazing even in her outfits while performing.

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

She still lost out on a job because of this.

[@macieporterfield316]

I’m a ballet dancer and it makes me sad that professional ballet dancers have to go through that

[@SagittariusQueen1980]

Poor woman, not like she gained 100 pounds, 10 pounds is not a big deal. She deserves her right to continue her dream.

[@CyberDancerDany]

@ALLisOn e if her dancing isn’t impacted negatively they had no right to body shame her

[@CyberDancerDany]

@ALLisOn e I’m not disagreeing. But it could’ve not impacted her. But I also agree that it could’ve. I do feel this was very poorly handled. She should’ve been told beforehand to lose weight, to do so at the very last minute is irresponsible and if the extra weight was a danger to her muscles they also put that dancers body in danger.

[@user-qr4jb5dp5g]

@@CyberDancerDany as a profesional ballerina, she had to have known all of that in the first place.

[@CyberDancerDany]

@@user-qr4jb5dp5g she should’ve, but if they didn’t tell her anything I can see why she didn’t find her weight to be an issue

[@korralayne2583]

@AliBruni143 If you think she's fat you need to check yourself into a mental institution.

[@anonymousb7201]

This reminds me of Diary of A wimpy Kid the school news paper that was headlined “Cheerleader gains a pound”

[@6gorks]

😄👍

[@bunnierivera3754]

Sophia Lucia is also a beautiful ballerina who was body shamed out of ballet. So sad!!!

[@Slobberknocker4006]

So she gained weight following an injury. Who the hell is shaming her for that? That's completely normal.

[@DorkyGirl]

They want you to be as thin as possible even if it means not eating. Being super thin does make you lighter on your feet but I think if the person willing to dance and can still do the dance right then their weight should not matter.

[@boomerdwight4560]

I feel super horrible for her. I would have gotten a auto graph from her is she was performing near us. She looks stunning and beautiful my sister would also love to meet her. My sister likes to dance

[@rjt318]

This is so common in the dance world I'm glad shes speaking out!

[@Itzduhhistorygirl]

Honestly people normalize fat shaming now a days and it's really upsetting 🥺😭 I also struggle with my weight and the last time I Wade myself I was 220 pounds and every time I looked in the mirror I just hated my body and I would look back at pictures of my younger self and compare my body to how it was then to now and back then I was 100 pounds lighter and I also live with my brother and uncle and my uncle fat shames me from time to time the only reason I don't speak up to him is because I don't like conflict and he wonders why I stay in my room all the time. 🙄🙄🙄

[@hannahduggan3599]

When you're super thin, you can feel your bones everywhere. Your face also gets very sunken in. One time, I was very sick and didn't eat anything for 4 days. My face was very sunken in and I felt like I was sitting on bones.

[@ollie4417]

i feel sad for her:(

[@agnesros739]

@@raspberrysherbet5285 ur all up in everyone's comments LMAO, pls get a life

[@reemalabed3694]

Bless her heart. That made me so sad for her. She's stunning and she dances very well. That's what should matter. She's at a healthy weight and you can tell she puts in the effort to perform her routines.

[@thebeautifulrose294]

I was a ballerina for five years and no one didn’t care about my weight I feel bad for her

[@BrittanyCocchino]

Sorry but health has never been the priority of NYCB. Balanchine was brilliant but Also a Monster when It came to the weight of his ballerinas. He would literally knock on your chest with his fist and Say "must see bones". The line between Genius and insanity Is all too thin.

[@krys1075]

I hope whoever is went up to her in her dressing room to deliver that message gets fired and never hired ever again

[@nysockexchange2204]

Nobody deserves to be body-slammed just for gaining 10 lbs.

[@kpoppy9635]

@@raspberrysherbet5285 she is being body-shamed...its just that the whole ballet industry body shames.

[@MariaElena-pz2ob]

Lord God Please Forgive People Who Judge Others

[@kellypatterson4412]

I can understand the 10 pounds being a safety issue if another dancer has to lift her, but for how her costume looks?! Then alter the costume! 🙄

[@Unknown_101_]

There’s a reason why a healthy body weight do exist. You can figure out a way that your body can be more flexible and look thinner with having the right amount of body weight for your size. Being skinny for aesthetic is never a reasonable. And it could be the issue why a lot of ballerinas get a lot more leg injuries even though yes they’re doing an extensive amount of legwork. having malnutrition makes your bones brittle.

[@iguana9173]

This is ridiculous she looks like she’s in good shape to me.

[@whitneyvise7911]

She is in better shape now than many humans achieve at any point in their life. But she isn't as slim (re:underweight) as the powers-that-be in ballet demand. She was somehow able to meet that "ideal" previously, but now she's being punished for it. 😞

[@moonparadise7312]

The amount of trauma this brought up 💀💀 these teachers deserve to be unemployed

[@SCGLE2025]

Lesson: never bodysham any girls or anyone else ever

[@nagyuz]

@@raspberrysherbet5285 okay... but she looks fine. she's clearly not obese or anything like that.

[@kpoppy9635]

@패 🐈 but it's ballet so everyone should look like a barbie doll.

[@TheRManProds]

ASHLEY BOULDER IS A GREAT DANCER!

[@SoCalJellybean]

A ballerina was body shamed… in other news, water is wet.

[@kwaikcheung75]

She looks fine and beautiful as a ballerina. Leave her alone and let her dance.

[@SmolBobisagoodcat]

I remember her from the Disney+ show "On Pointe" one kid named Brandon had pointe shoes and she wrote on them.

[@carolinaods8404]

Dishusting!!! She is so beautyful, a healty woman. I bet she is even better dancer than the ones shaming her. I would looove to see HER dance.

[@emmaolivera3018]

This video was too short to talk about how ingrained body shamming is in ballet.

[@TheRManProds]

I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE GOT BODY SHAMED!

[@blairlipscomb7378]

The ballet world: fat Me: why can't I have her body?

[@kakashigirl2139]

What the hell?! Don't people have anything better to do?! Whoever is doing this is probably jealous of her. She just should ignored them.

[@staringcorgi6475]

She doesn’t look fat so the criticism is just hate

[@nooshnoosh3862]

She is beautiful no matter what people say about her

[@AthenaPlayz]

I left multiple studios because of body shaming tho I wasn’t much different from the other girls there.

[@becky-kq2hb]

I’m so sorry that Ashley had to suffer this.

[@TomMcHugh-l4v]

So, what was the outcome ? Was Bouder replaced in the ballet and what happened to her career since then ?

[@hannaevelyn3545]

This is so upsetting! I hope Ashley keeps on dancing and keeps her head up though!

[@Jesuslovesyou326]

it's really sad how common body-shaming is in ballet. luna montana's video about accepting weight gain as a dancer goes into detail about this.

[@dianeyoung8068]

She is beautiful and she is a beautiful dancer.

[@TryHardVato]

I thought I read body slammed 😂😂

[@Mediocre_JT]

Would have been more worthy of being on the news than this garbage. Someone called her fat, big deal... This country is getting too soft. How does someone perform Infront of people let one insult bother them? Sorry for the rant.😂 It's just ridiculous.

[@luke14946]

Ballet Wrestling....

[@luke14946]

That would be if the male co-dancer dropped her....

[@EE-ed5qx]

If they hate then let them hate and watch the money pile up!!

[@amandalajoie1791]

Go watch her Dewdrop variation and let your mind be blown. She's insanely gifted. These dance companies care about the financial bottom line, just like the fashion industry. They take incredibly talented young women, use them for their benefit and throw them out with the trash when they're done with them. Ashley Bouder brought her talent with her to NYC Ballet - they didn't create her. But they want to destroy her. They're pathetic.

[@AlexAnder-bp2hx]

Who is body-Shamed a ballerina? kids watchings the show or the parents who take the kids???

[@mattpike7268]

You knew the standards, put down the Doritos.

[@korralayne2583]

Seems like you need to put down the stupidity and gain some common sense

[@LoriS-777]

If their #1 priority is the health and safety of their dancers, then why say anything at all. Who cares if the dancer weighs 98 lbs or 300 lbs. If they can do the performance and dance beautifully, what does it matter how much they weigh? This is unacceptable and disgusting. Actions like this leave life-long scares.

[@John-ww1jk]

Lol no

[@rainacherienne1010]

I’m a woman and prefer to watch beautiful people dancing and not dancing too. Fat ones repulse me, but also motivate me to leave grocery stores with no junk food.

[@avaheather1083]

She’s so beautiful I don’t understand why anyone would ever be so mean to her

[@NBC09]

Mean! OMG!! It’s work and she gain weight

[@luvlost03]

People need to focus on their own problems instead of others

[@moimarie2008]

For 1sec I thought this was a parody video bc I thought how is body shaming in ballet breaking news ??? 😭😭😭😭

[@only.am3li3]

Im glad that my teacher literally doesn't care about weight but she cares about just being able to dance well

[@ep8755]

I found this video after searching for her once I watched her performance of the Dew Drop Fairy in the Nutcracker. I was so impressed with her dancing that I wanted to see what else she had done, then this video came up. Ugh! It's so gross, these impossible standards put on ballerinas.

[@Rainingdogsandcats]

I hope to look half that good someday. She looks perfect.

[@miralynne8913]

Awesome that she spoke up!! I hope all dancers who want to be Tha change will support @azaraballett now. They care about their dancers health. Physically and mentally.

[@Melons-vg8dq]

I never understood why dancers made so much less than the orchestra. They have a shorter shelf life and should get paid. There is no justification for the high orchestra pay, taking market forces into account

[@vsbaretummysugastonguetech1540]

Good for her, for talking out!!

[@alrighty6898]

Is this really body shaming? Her career revolves around dancing and she gain weight and can no longer fit in the costume. Kinda her fault isn’t it. If I went into work wearing joggers and my boss sends me home because I’m not wearing a suit. Can I come on this show and cry about it because I put on weight during covid and can no longe fit comfortably into my dress pant?

[@shootfilmnotguns2023]

Nowhere did it say she couldn't fit in the costume. She didn't want to dance wearing sweat pants did she? The comparison is just stupid.

[@alrighty6898]

@@shootfilmnotguns2023 why would she wear sweat pants if they had a costume made for the dancer? That’s kinda dumb isn’t it

[@shootfilmnotguns2023]

@@alrighty6898 🤦🤦🤦🤦🤦🤦🤦

[@alrighty6898]

@@shootfilmnotguns2023 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ I can do that too. I guess people use emojis when they don’t have a rebuttal cause they know they’re wrong

[@shopping6175]

She did look a lot heavier than before.

[@RealKaleb]

News worthy 100%

[@veronicapappas3085]

It's a shame how people can criticize and body shame another person because of their body type my beautiful niece is also a ballerina and there's also a professional dancer and if somebody said that in front of me to her I would most definitely defend her because I'm not a dancer myself but it's never nice to do that to another woman or to a young girl because that ruins their self-esteem and it damaged their minds of how they think of themselves I think we all in this twisted society that we need to stop criticizing people and stop body shaming people because of their body for me if I see like a plus size ballerina or a skinny tall or short fat however the ballerina is I don't really look at their body type I look at how good they dance and how confident that's what it should be they should look at how they dance not what they look like or skin color or your big and tall or skinny or however it's a disgrace how people can be like that

[@xenafrostine]

Thats horrible they obviously only cares about fame and not how the dancer felt shes beautiful and deserves the best

[@seanagulan9481]

She deserves better!

[@itravisoni]

That's crazy that She thought too much about other people's stupid opinions.

[@MaryCircus]

The new guard is coming in pushing the old guard out.

[@shinemendwoor]

As long as her partner can still lift her without risk of injury, she should still dance.

[@chick-fil-agal2264]

So basically they were calling her a Sugar plump fairy 🧚‍♂️ how cruel she's fine the way she is.

[@steve-o5600]

She has been one of the top Principal Dancers at NYC Ballet for years. I don't get this. Granted, she doesn't look 15 years old and has gained some weight, but depending on the role that shouldn't make a difference, especially for someone who has been/is a star and is loved by audiences.

[@ericastones1052]

So she gain weight. Would you prefer she collapse from lack of eating. Too many young people suffer from eating disorders because of body shame.

[@shiny2423]

She looks amazing! I wish I was her size again!

[@sircasm6578]

If her feet can take it everybody else should be able to 🤣

[@kylaluvscats7727]

As someone who did ballet for 7 years when I was young, I understand this woman’s pain. My studio would always cast me unfairly because of my height and weight.. I would give all my effort in my classes multiple times a week, and still I was too tall and thick. They’d cast me as either a male character or a Rat in the Nutcracker.. To this day it hurts me, because all I wanted when I was that age was to feel beautiful in a pink tutu 😭 Thanks for ruining my self-image and dreams to that studio..

[@brunoto.7298]

You should have lost the weight ans stopped crying

[@Maspets]

@@brunoto.7298 You should lose the sociopathy.

[@cynthg9547]

Wow she's beautiful

[@PthaloGreen2]

Certainly one needs to be slender to do ballet at this highest levels. Ashley Bouder fits that criterion. Slender does not need to mean emaciated. She should not have been forced off the stage as she was. Shame on the NYCB.

[@jgbs8710]

Why is this news? Seriously??

[@nuclearmonster4259]

Why would you body shame her she looks nice.

[@NuMbA1AnGeLOFDeSTinY]

I wish I looked like her! Her body is gorgeous! They didn’t have to body shame her they could have had a simple dress resize! Very sad!

[@anaramirez2935]

Unfortunately, as we all know, this is standard in ballet, gymnastics, figure skating. Is anyone actually surprised. No. This is nothing new

[@SkyandMoon909]

Starving athletes is the epitome of misogyny

[@Redact_2]

That's messed up

[@margiet9050]

Ballet dancers tend to be body shamed, and it's horrible. like WTF

[@esstown]

Well I think she looks pretty damn good. I would have been sorry to have missed her on the stage.

[@Dea8769]

What a shame… omg😢 10 lbs really??? I think she is perfect … wtf is wrong with people anyway???

[@SunRise-lr7ch]

Another dancer has to catch and lift her while dancing their own part. ..you try it

[@Dea8769]

@@SunRise-lr7ch maybe she could have danced solo…. Ya think?

[@SunRise-lr7ch]

@@Dea8769 not in " the nutcracker suite" or any other classics. In fact the insurance companies may decide to cancel the productions coverage if they see a real risk.

[@sallymoen6371]

Professional ballet is a hotbed for eating disorders, all due to this kind of criticism. Who in the world said she had "problem areas"? I don't see that. Dancers have it tough enough, body shame is unnecessary.

[@ashleyrebora2168]

💀NYC Ballet was really concerned with how they’d look with a known ballerina that’s gained 10lbs dancing for them but they couldn’t care less with how they’d look not addressing obvious body shaming, make it make sense 🤦🏻‍♀️I hope Ashley remembers her worth, she’s too good for them.