The overarching problem with ballet is the body type. Ballerinas were once more sensual and voluptuous, but George Balanchine changed that in the twentieth century. His ideal dancer was one who had a slender body and long limbs that showcased the lines of his movement and positions. Balanchine is known today as “the foremost contemporary choreographer in the world of ballet” (New York City Ballet), and his long career produced an enormous amount of pieces and a number of dancers. His influence on the ballet was so great that his ideal body type became the universally accepted ideal. Unfortunately, Balanchine’s ideal body type is not easily obtainable and can be unhealthy if a person is not born with such genetics. This body is still the ideal of today, girls that are born with it are typically encouraged and praised for their talent more often than girls without it even if their skill level is about the same, for people like the aesthetic of the long and lean body doing the choreography. Because of that, girls that do not have this body have to work much harder in order to receive recognition for their ability. Most girls focus on improving so that they can be the best that they can be, but many girls believe that altering their bodies would help so that they, too, can look pretty doing the movement.
