TTC x National Ballet of Canada campaign; body shaming or a celebration of athletes?
In 2016, the National Ballet of Canada along with the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) went under fire for an ad campaign called "We Move You". The campaign features a series of photographs of National Ballet of Canada dancers posing in the train stations. The campaign, "provides TTC riders with enhanced beauty and art during their daily commutes with a series of stunning images and video featuring National Ballet dancers at various TTC locations across the city," (TNBC, 2016).
Image by Karolina Kuras
The campaign immediately received criticism from Body Confidence Canada Awards (BCCA). The statement released by BCCA in regards to the campaign says:
"In regards to the TTC and National Ballet of Canada joint campaign we have concerns about the body size, shape, and weight diversity, or should we say lack thereof, that this campaign unknowingly communicates. The body type of most ballet dancers do not adequately represent those of most Canadians and dare we say most TTC users."
This statement is partially true; the body type of most ballet dancers does not represent those of the general population. However, the general population does not train in an elite sport for 9 hours a day as their entire job. Part of the job of these dancers is to maintain peak physical fitness so that they can perform at their best without injury. The criticism from BCCA fails to acknowledge that these are athletes, and no, most of them probably won't be overweight simply due to the amount of exercise they do for a living.
An article by this.org backing the BCCA notes that eating disorders are a problem in the ballet world. This is entirely true; some dancers develop eating disorders throughout their careers because of the pressures they face to be a certain size. However, it is also a harmful statement to say that any dancer who is thin must be suffering from an eating disorder. Most dancers understand that food is fuel, and eating is necessary for the amount of dancing they do.
When we watch the Olympics every two years, the athletes are praised and celebrated for their athletic achievements. I have never heard someone say that the Olympics aren't body-positive because the athletes are muscular and in shape. Ballet is a female-dominated industry, and claiming dancers aren’t body-positive is likely a product of internalized misogyny. Olympians are athletes, and so are ballet dancers. So, why is it that when a ballet dancer is muscular and thin, it's a problem because they don't "represent those of most Canadians,"?
Instead of shaming the National Ballet of Canada and the TTC for putting these ads up, we should be celebrating the incredible art form that ballet is and appreciating the hard work these dancers put into their craft.
