Why do dancers keep dancing when they’re injured, which risks making it more serious?

Truth be told, there are all kinds of reasons why dancers refuse to take a break when injury threatens.

All dancers are taught that pain is beneficial, because muscle pain after a class is seen as a positive. If you do a workout and don’t feel sore the following day, you didn’t try hard enough! Unfortunately, it means we dancers develop a high pain threshold, so when we feel bad pain – due to an injury – we (mistakenly) think we can work through that, too.

That’s particularly the case when it comes to pointework – which even at the best of times, can be painful for some dancers. I’m lucky that I have a “peasant” foot so I tolerate the strain of pointework well, but not every student is so fortunate.

For professionals, there are other reasons to resist pandering to an injury. Professional ballet is very competitive – if you have a rest to get well, rival performers will walk into that plum part or perform that coveted solo, and you may struggle to break back in when you get back. Also, some dancers are paid only when they work – if you don’t perform, you don’t eat!

The final reason, and a fundamental one, is lack of good nutrition. There’s plenty of discussion in the major ballet schools and companies about fostering good body image – but in practice, there’s not much evidence that the culture has improved. There’s still pressure on girls to be bone-thin.

Many female ballet dancers are chronically underweight, to the point where their menstrual cycle is disrupted (as happens in anorexia), and it’s not simply because they work so hard. It’s not unusual that their diets are restricted or unbalanced, with not enough protein or fats to maintain muscle and bone health. Far too many students eat like a sparrow at mealtimes, and snack on chocolate between classes to keep themselves going.