By Jemma Nicoll
Eyes shining with delight, Nia twirls and twirls as shimmering pink feathers soar in the wind swelled by her rapid movement. Encased in the fluorescent cage of a burlesque feather fan, she is mesmerised by her imitation of a Las Vegas Showgirl. Adorned in silver glitter-speckled shorts and a nude sports bra, Nia’s outfit for her upcoming dance competition fulfills its designer’s intention of creating that stark, naked illusion.
“I’m hot! I’m mean! You can’t have me! You can’t afford me!” screams her choreographer as Nia endeavours to channel the sensual character; coordinating the fan and challenging dance routine of high kicks, hip grinds and eye winks. She is training to win gold, alongside her troupe of six other mock-topless, feathered friends.
“This costume’s better than all of the other costumes because it makes my body look pretty… it makes me look beautiful,” Nia says.
Nia is eight-years-old.
“It is as if contemporary girls are in a great hurry to grow up,” says Marika Tiggemann in her latest study, ‘Contemporary Girlhood: Maternal Reports on Sexualised Behaviour and Appearance in 4-10 year-old girls’ , released June last year. Tiggemann and fellow researcher, Amy Slater, from Flinders University in Adelaide, are the first to document the appearance-obsessed behaviours of young Australian girls. Results show that an epidemic of girls aged four to 10-years-old are prematurely engaging with teen culture, and exhibiting hyper-sexualised behaviours through attention to personal grooming, clothing and bodily appearance.
The study of almost 1000 girls has forecast a bleak outcome for Nia’s generation, whose earlier burlesque display was seen by millions on Dance Moms: the show tracking the pre-pubescent stars of Abby Lee Miller’s Pittsburgh USA dance studio. The show is a growing place of worship for thousands of aspiring Australian dancers, and the wallet swallowing the income of their parents who recently paid hundreds for their daughters to attend classes with Abby Lee, on March 13 at Bankstown Sports Club. Despite being known for its overtly sexual content and verbally abusive teaching tactics, Dance Moms fever has infected the country.
“As a society, we have yet to see the consequences of an entire new generation of girls brought up in a highly sexualized environment.” said Tiggemann.
“If the focus on appearance…becomes their habitual way of viewing themselves, then this is liable to have negative consequences for their well-being as a teenager and as an adult woman.”
According to Tiggemann’s results, by the age of eight, 28 percent of Australian girls are dissatisfied with their physical appearance, 76 percent are particularly fussy about what they wear and are frequently asking: “does this look good on me?” and13 percent are exiting the house with a made-up face.
And out of all the things little girls love to do, there is one common denominator that surpassed all activities listed in the study: 96 percent love to dance.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reports that at April 2012 there were 727,000 girls aged five to 14 years participating in an organised sport outside of school. Of this figure, 418,100 were enrolled in a dance school (58 percent), up from 390,400 in 2009. The rate of Australian girls participating in dance lessons is rising by annual increments of tens of thousands; it is certainly happy days for current and prospective studio directors.
The Lolita Effect
“Come on we’ve got these good bodies now, and they’re not going to last forever so let’s show it while we’ve got it. Come on, put it out there girls, you’ve got it. Now flaunt it!”
Deborah Watson, primary school teacher and Learning Support consultant, animatedly re-enacts an overheard dance teacher working with the school’s lunchtime dance groups.
“How old were the dancers? Eight, nine, 10 years old,” she says. “Then there were four girls in this particular school who had more solid builds…they pulled out because their parents said they don’t feel comfortable in those costumes, but the teacher wouldn’t make allowances to alter the costumes for them. I spoke to a mother whose daughter is self-harming too, since quitting dance group from being teased.”
“You fit the costume or you’re out, is the idea.” she says.
Watson is a serial ‘mystery shopper’ of Sydney dance studios. The mother of two daughters, aged nine and 15, has spent the last 12 years embarking on a series of ‘free trial classes.’
“I heard a parent once ask why the kids did so much abdominal work at the beginning of the class, and the teacher’s response was ‘because we’ve all got midriffs for our costumes this year, and the girls need to have flat abs’.” She vividly describes the hot pink, sequined equivalent of a string bikini, with fishnet stockings and black jazz shoes.
Social researchers call it the ‘Lolita Effect’; a term to describe the imposition of sexualisation through mass media messages, on young girls whom are yet to reach the required development. Watson is convinced that local organisations are flying under the radar in fuelling the Lolita Effect.
“In this other school, nine and 10 years old girls were heavily made up. What struck me was the eyeliner, this is what they chose to wear to class to fit into the group dynamic,” she said.
“The girls had crop tops and tiny shorts. There were only two girls that had a full leotard and they were very much over here on this side,” Deborah gestures left, “and those in the crop tops were over here. It was very clear who was in and who was out.”
The Eisteddfod Battleground
Dance eisteddfods, hundreds of them, are dotted around the country. They are a magnet for studios to gather, compete and showcase the works of their students.
Sydney adjudicator, performer and high school teacher Melissa Lukins, is disappointed by what she has critiqued at eisteddfod events: “I’ve observed as an adjudicator the unusually sexual nature of young dancers’ facial expressions, their movements, costumes and general attitude towards dance performance.”
Lukins lists countless influencing factors.
“‘Dance Moms’ has seemed to propagate this…. as students see other dance schools presenting this type of choreography they pressure their teachers to fit in with the culture. It is alarming,” said Ms Lukins.
At the Front Line
It all became too much for Dodie Wilson, another NSW adjudicator and retired studio director, who is actively opposing the culture she has witnessed in her 25 years of work in Australian eisteddfods.
“Once it’s on stage, it’s seen. It’s out there. You can’t take it back. The minute that child gets on stage in an inappropriate costume… too late, everybody’s seen it,” Wilson says.
“The minute they’re flashing their private areas, it’s done. In front of brothers, uncles. And that child…that eight, nine, 10, 12 year old child has been, in a way, violated. They have done what they were told to do.”
Wilson is paving the way in the local eisteddfod scene by hosting a ‘child safety’ competition event that is the first of its kind. With the glitz and the glam, come guidelines.
“They must wear stockings at all times…two-piece costume items must be seven centimetres from the bust, and I have actually banned particular movements,” she said.
The syllabus outline distributed to participants spells out the consequences of entering the event, launched in Seven Hills Sydney last October. Immediate disqualification applies to dancers where costumes do not cover seven centimetres of midriff, where lyrics contain sexual content, and if choreography includes the banned movements.
“Any music or movements that seem to be breaking the rules or are inappropriate, a bell will ring, the music will start to fade and we will motion the child on stage to curtsey…the routine will be stopped.”
Perhaps teachers should submit their music and costume selections prior to the event, to minimise the risk of humiliating a child onstage.
Wilson says she has had an overwhelming amount of positive support through private messages over social media, however she is disappointed that little public support has been offered to counteract the backlash received from online groups.
“Teachers are scared. They are scared to be part of the change, for whatever reason in case five years down the track it changes back again or it just doesn’t work,” she says.
“Will you lose students? Maybe. But then you’ll know you’re doing the right thing.”
Amongst other influences, Wilson attributes the hyper-sexualised studio culture craze to RG Dance, infamous for its former director now facing child sex offence charges. She describes their competition troupes as mechanical in precision with faultless technique, miniscule outfits and adult-themed concepts. They won gold each time.
“Teacher’s saw this, they believed they had the secret. So they copied.”
How will the sexual messages shouldered by young dancers today potentially affect adulthood?
“I believe they will be so brokenhearted, that they will have nothing to do with the dance industry when they’re older,” she said.
Dance, Sex and Science
According to medical doctor turned sexologist and writer, Patricia Weerakoon, the increase of girls engaging in dance communities, determines the need to assess studio culture in line with documented hyper-sexualised behaviours.
“Everything that goes into the brain, especially during that rapid development of childhood, will influence the brain’s wiring. As the child grows, and the more sexualised their culture [is], the more the brain will recognise at building those sexual circuits. It will recognise it as something that is normal or good.”
The University of Sydney’s Honorary Senior Lecturer in Health Sciences has spent 40 years as a medical practitioner, sexual health educator and sex therapist. Dr Weerakoon’s concern for what she calls ‘raunch culture’ stems from years of research into childhood brain development.
“It’s called Neuroplasticity,” said Dr Weerakoon.
“From the time the baby is developing in the womb… the brain adapts based on what is going on. In a child’s brain, everything from birth through to teen and young adulthood, that time of quick and rapid growth is a time where [there] is a huge amount of brain wiring and rewiring.”
“And what we know is that [the brain] is influenced by social environment, the environment that the child is in. Everything that goes into the brain changes the wiring,” she said.
Dr Weerakoon holds grave concerns for the wellbeing of the post-millennial generation, whom she believes will be the most sexualised people to walk the planet.
“They see themselves in a way that empowerment, being powerful, being popular, means you have to make yourself sexual. [Because of cultural pressures], girls are making themselves sex objects, and are willing to give sex, be sexy, dress sexual,” she said.
“If you are running a dance studio, you have a great responsibility because the music you play and what you are teaching, everything you say is working into their brain.”
Dr Weerakoon urges parents to speak up: “Parents must be parents; parents must say no, parents must say: ‘for my child, this is not right’. You have to be proactive… because I guarantee when you stop one avenue of sexualisation others will spring up… But be proactive to do something about protecting kids,” she said.
“And teachers need to do the protecting from their end too.”
Call for tighter regulation
For dance teacher of 18 years and mother of four, Elizabeth Wever, her experiences within the industry demonstrates an urgent need for improved teacher training.
Wever was subjected to strict dieting and exercise regimes from a young teenager, an endeavour of her dance teacher to assist in achieving the ‘correct size’ of a dancer.
“I yoyo dieted and struggled emotionally with weight issues as a result until my twenties…when I quit dancing as a result of being told too many times I was not the right body shape for a dancer.”
Mental and emotional recovery was a long and arduous road.
“I am long past caring about the judgment of others about my body shape…however it breaks my heart to think that other young girls are being subjected to this type of scrutiny,” she said.
Wever and Watson are concerned that dance teachers are not undergoing thorough training or regulation procedures.
“There is not enough regulation in the dance industry,” says Watson.
“If we can regulate the fitness industry… if we can regulate after-school care… you can’t even work in vacation care unless you have a certificate. But you can go out and open a dance school and teach dancing to all with no qualifications.”
“How many dance schools out there have a Working with Children check? Do parents even look at that?” asks Watson.
A number of tertiary institutions across Australia offer Dance Education certificates and degrees, a compulsory qualification for those seeking employment in the public school sector. However this is not mandatory for studio ownership. There are no required certificates or standardised procedures.
The national peak body for Australian dance information is Ausdance. Despite the range of online resources available to encourage the aspiring teacher, on the Question and Answer page of their website, it states:
“Q: Do dance studio teachers have to obtain a dance teaching qualification?
A: No.”
Mental Health in the Studio
In May 2014, The Frontiers in Psychology Journal published that anxiety and depression accounted for the highest disease amongst Australian children today. Aside from external stresses of divorce, grief, and life transitions, experts rank internal factors such as irrational belief systems and pessimistic tendencies as high risk factors for mental health issues.
So do dance teachers hold any responsibility for engaging with mental health matters, and the internal consequences of teaching practices?
“Of course,” says Jane Cuneen, Principal of Caringbah North Public School, a large primary school in Southern Sydney. Cuneen is also the mother of an aspiring young dancer.
“All adults who have the privilege of teaching young minds have the responsibility to develop the child socially, emotionally and spiritually as well as physically, regardless of their specialty.”
Cuneen is saddened by comments of dance teachers regarding bodily expectations and the need to be ‘sexy’.
“Is it that these teachers don’t have the training that says comments like these are detrimental and have long lasting emotional and psychological effects on our girls?”
“Most parents don’t even know that these comments are being directed at their daughters. Because most dance classes are closed doors, we don’t know how our kids are being treated.”
Watson agrees.
“When those core beliefs have been set up, those things that your parents said was ok and that your dance school said was ok…. well to challenge them is a very hard thing. What happens when those core beliefs let you down?”
“In 10 years time we’ll be picking up pieces of these girls that are damaged.
“But it can be avoided.”
There are 172,311 posts currently under the #tilttuesday hashtag feed. Then there are 3,434 under #tilttuesdays for those who prefer plurality and 324 for #tilttuesdayy for those rejecting mainstream spelling. The list continues of the variations of categories young dancers enter in Instagram when posting their ’tilt’ photographs (on Tuesday).
A’tilt’ is when a dancer extends their leg up to 180 degrees away, and tilts their torso slightly to one side, or ‘off-centre’, so the leg reaches maximum height and split. It can be elegant when executed correctly, an impressive display of flexibility and strength. However should the dancer not yet possess the level of strength to execute the ’tilt’, they grab hold of their ankle with both hands and push the pelvis forward in order to take the stress off the hamstrings.
This can produce a distorted display of exposed body parts, as girls as young as eight capture, caption, hashtag and post for the worldwide, weekly phenomenon of #tilttuesday. This has become the most popular online fad for young dancers who seek the connection and approval of fellow artists around the globe.
Conversations overhead as a studio director suggest division among dance teachers over the craze, many encouraging their students to participate and even do so themselves. It’s ok; they’re stretching and having fun, they’re not intentionally posting in an overtly sexual way. I disagree.
Open your Instagram application. Click ‘explore’, type in ’tilttuesday’ and start your own search. Among the thousands of young girls, many in sports bra and booty short attire in dance studios, on front lawns or in bedrooms, you may stumble across the image that caught my eye in particular: a girl of around age 16, striking the position in white translucent boyleg underwear; the shadows of her pubic hair and the physical outlines of genitalia clearly visible.
Continue scrolling; aside from the “You’re not doing it properly”, “Your tilt is normally better than this” and comments targeting thigh wobbles, belly rolls, breasts, lack of visible abdominal lines and attacks on dancers’ bodies and skill, you will see comments like this:
“Love to f**k you in that position.” This Instagram handle has posted zero photos and maintains a steady stream of two followers; we can only assume his online activity is simply to peruse and predate.
“Need f**k.”
“#wouldhit.”
“Do you ever dance naked?” This user is a Chelsea Football Club fanatic who regularly posts photos of beautiful young girls.
“Are those stripper bruises on your thighs?”
“Close your legs, it stink.”
“I’m single, that’s all I got to say.”
“Wats poppin tonite??”
“DM me.” Or ‘private message me’; repeatedly from the same user on multiple photos on the #tilttuesday feed.
This is, in my view, a pedophile’s playground.
Dancers innocently upload images, eyes are drawn to their private areas and men unashamedly publicise their approval. They express their desire to sexually act on the posed dancer, a minor, a child. They are open about their enjoyment of the image.
Comments are not deleted nor images removed. Instagram provides no zero privacy settings.
No blame is to be cast on these dancers. A 10-year-old girl has not yet mastered the ability to assess the consequences of an image. She is simply playing copycat with her peers, her dance teachers, and succumbing to the pressure of what needs to be performed in order to gain the acceptance that Instagram ‘likes’ provide.
There are 172,311 #tilttuesday images worldwide subject to the scrutiny of perusing eyes. If you check back next Tuesday and see for yourself, that figure will no doubt have risen. It is not until she is well into adulthood after potentially wrestling with body image, mental health issues and more, that she may look back and regret the online broadcasting and exposure of her fragile, precious little body in such a way. She may one day ask her teachers, parents and guides, ‘why didn’t you say something?’
Jemma Nicoll is a UTS Journalism graduate and freelance writer. She directs Inspire Creative Arts, a dance school in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire and is involved in mentoring and self-esteem development programs for girls.
30 Responses
Thanks for this article. Makes me even happier that I found the dance studio I did 6 years ago. My 2 daughters (aged 10 & 8) go to A1 Dance Studio in Lalor Park, Sydney. It’s a great studio – modest, age appropriate and not high pressure. I had an issue with a costume one year when one of my girls was 6 and the Principal changed the costumes. Really happy with this place and my girls love it.
Makes me glad my kids dance at PAWS in Penrith. Costumes, music and dance moves are always age appropriate and it is a family friendly positive environment.
Our dance school, the Vicki Hunt Dance Academy in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, is very good for all ages of dancers. The Principal is qualified and registered and only uses assistants who have studied dance in a formal training setting. She uses a variety of costumes that are age appropriate and also respectful of all figure types. There is no yelling, no pressure, her goal is to make dancing fun and accessible to all students. The children have lots of fun dressing up as characters from children’s stories and have been very successful with their musical theatre performances. It is really sad to see dancers from other school so stressed and under such strict rules when they are so young and just want to be fit and have fun. Many of them make the welcome change to our school and never look back. We do also have elite troupes for those who may see dancing as a career path and many of these have gone on to successful careers.
glad our daughter has signed up for Auskick
Shout out for Oasis Dance Academy, Annandale. Beautiful school, positive & nurturing.
If you live on the Sunshine Coast in Qld, the Machaneh Christian School of Dance’s ballet is of a very high skill level. They have classes for all ages in Classical Ballet, Jazz ballet, Tap And Drama. It’s gorgeous and you can have good clean fun and do well. It’s a not for profit organisation.
My daughter dances at PAWS in Penrith and I am so glad! Her costumes are always age appropriate and are never revealing. The music and dances are also age appropriate and songs with sexual undertones have never been used. She has done dances to Hi5, Dora etc. the themes concerts have always been child friendly such as Lorax, Rio etc. The teaching staff are fantastic with the kids and the owner of the dance company always ensures that child safety practices are implemented as a priority. Children are not allowed to leave the premises in their leotards. I would not allow my daughter to dance anywhere that sexualised children as I am very aware of the importance of child friendly and child focussed practices.
This is exactly what men want – girls being indoctrinated into becoming males’ disposable/interchangeable masturbatory objects! Where did the idea that teaching girls to become mens’ disposable sexualised objects originate from? Why from mens’ hugely profitable pornography industry of course and yet as usual ‘the dots are not being joined up.’
Men for centuries have claimed that females aren’t human but merely exist for male sexual exploitation/rape and now given mens’ pornography and mens’ pimp industries are being accepted by Society as normal and acceptable, it makes sense that girls are now being targetted and trained to accept mens’ women hating lie their sole value and worth is by enacting ‘mens’ disposable sexual service stations!’
Not forgetting of course the fact these female hating dance classes are profiting by promoting mens’ claim that females aren’t human but merely mens’ disposable sexualised robots.
There are existing laws criminalising male sexual violence against girls but this too is viewed as something separate from malestream media’s obsession with portraying/promoting girls as males’ disposable sexualised commodities.
The fact existing laws criminalising male sexual violence against girls contradicts malestream male owned media’s propaganda that ‘portraying girls as dehumanised sexualised commodities’ reinforces mens’ lie females of all ages exist for male sexual entertainment/male sexual exploitation/male sexual violence, continues to be ignored by the great and good white men (sic) in political power.
I do not think the men in political power would remain silent if it was boys being indoctrinated into accepting they are disposable sexualised commodities who only exist for women to rape and sexually exploit! But because boys are not the ones being indoctrinated into believing their sole value is by being a ‘dehumanised masturbatory object’ this means mens’ deliberate and systemic dehumanisation/male sexual exploitation of women and girls is not a real violation of female human rights!
Inspiration Dance Academy at Jannali (Sutherland Shire, Sydney). Choreography, songs, costumes all age appropriate.
If you are happy where your kids dance, I encourage you to speak up when things do arise that you’re not comfortable with. From my experience when I did this, parents were relieved. But we need to keep doing this and be prepared to change schools if needed. No position in the team or future promises of career should not dictate what we accept for our girls.
Thanks, this has been a really helpful. I have a almost 6 yo who has been nagging me about dancing for a few years and I have been thinking about getting her into some lessons.
In reply to another’s comment – I don’t think this has a lot to do with men, I think this has more to do with mothers and young girls doing what they think makes them & their daughters popular and successful.
My child went to a school in Laurieton, NSW and I was not happy with the ‘adult’ choreography that the young kids were made to do. Very inappropriate. Some principals talk how much they care for the children but yet put them on stage dressed in hardly anything and give them routines that would be better off in an over 18’s club.
We are now very happy at an age appropriate school. Let kids be kids!
I’m pleased this has received attention. This issue with dancing has concerned me since my oldest daughter was a pre-schooler. I avoided typical dance schools not because I’m prudish but because I believe its an odd thing to worry about what will become of our daughters and their choices and safety but then expose them to sexualised dance classes. I don’t understand that. We travel 50 mins to a dance class that doesn’t believe young girls are older teenagers or young women. A much closer dance company recently included in their end of year’s concert video the 9yo’s running their hand up and down their leg in a sexual way during a dance routine. When i expressed my concerns about this particular dance to someone whose daughter attends a younger class with the company, the mother agreed it was seedy and she was uncomfortable about its appropriateness, but wasn’t worried enough to pull her daughter out of the group or find another less sexual dance company. I was going to join my daughter to a slightly closer dance company than the one we attend, but in the extensive rules, it stated very clearly that no underwear is to be worn in any class – so I guess when a girl begins menstruating that could be pretty complex! I think its much easier to to just go along with what everyone else is doing – less thinking, less driving, more fitting in with everyone. BUT, we have to think about the messages we’re sending our children, including our sons – they see the dances, the videos, their sisters acting it all out at home too. We create the environment by choosing the classes we enrol our children in, so ultimately we’re responsible when we pay money to dance companies that sexualise girls and directly or indirectly, young boys too.
We have involvement with an academy in Windsor (Hawkesbury) called Hawkesbury Creative Arts Academy. It was formed after the first principal was shocked at the gyrations and costumes worn by very young dancers. Spurred to action the academy was formed and now provides tuition in music, dance, drama, gymnastics, etc…
So happy that there are so many options out there that offer an alternative.
I was horrified at the amount of primary school aged girls who attended the ‘Dirty Dancing the Musical’ at the Lyric Theatre recently. It was an ‘M’ rated movie. The dancing was brilliant, but I felt very uncomfortable little girls were watching it with their parents full approval. No wonder they want to dance in a ‘sexy’ way when they are allowed to watch a live performance of adults dancing in sexual ways.
thank goodness my daughter attended Linda Shaw Dance Centre in Woonona.
Fantastic teacher, appropriate routines and costuming and inclusiveness for all body types.
Shout out to Studio 2324 in Raymond Terrace, NSW: Always age-appropriate choreography & costuming for both girls and boys. A highly qualified Principal who operates with a level of integrity I value. The philosophy is constructive and the studio has a positive, safe learning environment. I am grateful such studios exist 🙂
i think it’s disappointing to read an article that ‘stereotypes’ dance schools. Not all schools are the way described in your article. My daughter dances at school that is very positive environment and developes the girls as emotionally and socially also. Yes there are some out there and it’s really bad. Ultimately it’s the parents responsibility to choose a suitable school. If the service gets used they won’t change their ways. Their is always a choice for parents.
Dance magic ambarvale in sydney south west is a beautiful dance school full of family fun and age appropriate costumes it all about FUN and fitness and friends and of course trying your best you may not always win as long as you have a go . Life isn’t about always winning and if you cant loses great fully then how are you going to cope in the world as an adult dance magic ambarvale keep up the fun and lets find the magic of dance once again.
The writer of this article Jemma Nicoll owns a dance school called Inspire Creative Arts. I encourage all of your children to go there. They are warm, welcoming and have the most inclusive environment I have ever witnessed for my child. Definitely a recommendation.
In WA, I would recommend Sefton Dance Academy. Inclusive family environment with the wellbeing of their dancers its first priority. This has been a really interesting article and something to be mindful of always. This problem is not only in the environment of dance culture, but when kids are watching music videos, you tube unsupervised or racey tv shows and movies. This problem of ‘sexification’ is EVERYWHERE. Don’t just look at dance schools and alienate them… Dance is positive for self esteem, allowing kids to express themselves and tap into pop culture in a way that is fun and energetic. Be mindful of all the good dance schools and the wider problem to gain perspective here.
I think the other thing that needs to happen is dance schools that teach this sort of highly sexualised but “tricky” and seemingly technically virtuosic choreography (like RG did and Dance Moms still propagates) need to stop being rewarded for it at comps and eisteddfods. It is hard not to reward performers who can do multiple turns and all kinds of gymnastic tricks because audiences love the shock value of this sort of thing and it does require a lot of training to achieve but if it is presented in an overtly sexualised manner and damaging to tiny growing bodies (and minds) it should not be considered A grade dance and needs to stop being encouraged.
Hi Kym, thank you for your feedback and it’s wonderful to hear you have found a studio that opposes the culture described. Absolutely – not all studios fit this, and there are some beautiful, nurturing environments available for our kids. Anne you are right – the benefits of dance are enormous and there is a lot we do well. However the trends exposed here are prevalent, real and alarming enough to warrant a discussion on what we need to change. It’s only one ‘sexification’ avenue of many, but without shedding light on this – it’s an avenue that could only grow as demand for studios does. So this is a valuable conversation to be having now! Jemma
Hi Kym,
I started a new dance school in Sydney this year partly to combat the ‘Dance Moms’ mindset. I actively discourage my students from watching it as it promotes unhealthy teacher/student relationships. Thankfully, only a few of my students do watch it. Unfortunately, those that watch it regularly struggle with self-esteem and jealousy in my classes. The problem with Abby Lee Miller is that she has no formal qualifications in teaching. This will ultimately be at the detriment of her students. That aside, I’m repulsed by the overt sexualisation of young dancers.
I’ll be posting this article on my website for parents/students to read.
If anyone is looking for a wholesome place for their child to learn to dance holla my way 🙂
Caitlin xx
Owner/Teacher
Malenka Dance Collective
info@malenkadancecollective.com.au
http://www.malenkadancecollective.com.au
My daughter has been at Ettingshausen’s (Kirrawee) for over 4 years now. I’m pleased to say that music, choreography and costumes (no midriffs etc) are all age appropriate. In addition to this the students are taught to be a part of a team that supports each other and supports other competitors. Manners and dance etiquette are enforced. It is up to parents to make informed decisions about where their child dances.
My daughter was in a studio which was doing all the things that the article described. At first I accepted it as nobody else seemed to be worried. Then eisteddfods came and I saw things I could no longer accept. Then I found out that none of the teachers at the studio were qualified and were very sexualized girls that had come through a very unprofessional environment. One of the teachers said to my daughters friend, ‘you have great boobs why don’t you promote them more.’ This was to a then 13 year old. But, when I spoke up about the lack of professionalism, sexualisation of the girls, social media behaviour etc my daughter was kicked out of the studio via a Facebook message sent to my daughter. Places like this need to be shut down. The whole industry needs regulation. Teachers must be qualified. I didn’t know if was possible to teach dance without qualifications so never bothered to ask. Not even a ballet teacher and they have 500 enrolments. Well, luckily for my daughter we found a lovely studio Danze Gallery at Albion Park Rail. It is like a big family with some very wise leaders. Shop around, ask questions about the qualifications of teachers, etc and everyone needs to keep speaking up if they don’t like what they see!!
Thank you Jemma for all of your research & to opening our eyes as to how depraved, disturbing & dangerous this dance culture of children so young as 4…8… We as adults are aware of pedophiles & pure warped lonely men perving on girls-the age is unbelieveable. See through clothes? No underwear? Pubic hair? Not seeing defintion in the abs? Little girls don’t have abs! How are they going to even menstruate? Teachers won’t allow larger builds-hello bulimia, anorexia, self harm, etc etc. The teachers & parents are doing it for their own ego. The girls, for acceptance & to please mum, their teacher, to be recognised for something & to be someone the rest of the kids want to be friends with. So sad.
When I was a stepmother, I, my x, his parents & obviously the mother went along to the daughters school dance performance in posh Vaucluse. Well, I have a very open mind, yet we all, except the mother, gasped in horror when we saw this gorgeous 9 year old strutting around – ‘workin’ it, like a professional stripper. Good on you Mum. This was in the late 90’s. I taught the daughter how to read, read out loud properly & to write…she loved it. Her Mum taught her how to apply heavy makeup & act & dress 10 years older…The young woman is successful now as a dancer, wanna be actress & really enjoys the attention of using her sexuality…it’s so sad. It’s so narcissistic & dangerous. Drugs anyone? Oh well her parents are proud…zzz…
I’m so proud of my friends that don’t allow their kids to watch music videos & change the radio when sexualised music comes on. Let kids be kids for goodness sake…Now with the openness of sexuality, teenage boys are getting the pressure too. Oh dear…
Further to the #tilttuesday discussion – it’s no wonder it has the following it does when global dancewear retailers encourage it on their own social media pages. ‘California Kisses’ are American but huge Aussie following – 278,000 on Instagram. They post models and clients (we are talking as young as 6 here) in their dance bra/crop/booty short gear which is attracting the same sexual gratification comments as you describe in this article. Predators let loose on their page and they keep the comments there for thousands of girls to see and respond to. Why is that?? Absolutely disgusting.
Thank you Jemma I really appreciate you writing this. I grew up doing jazz and ballet and I could see these issues starting to arise as i got older. From what I’ve seen with friends daughters since then, things have gotten worse. I was relieved that my daughters weren’t super keen on dancing as I just didn’t want to have to deal with all those battles. Sad because i had really enjoyed ballet and jazz. Thank you so much for exposing what is happening. It is useful to share this info with other mums. Many of them have a gut feeling that things aren’t right, your article puts words to those feelings and will make it easier to raise objections.
I posted this article on a dance parents chat page and they blocked me. The reason was that they thought I was trying to harm dance. They made it personal saying things like ” she must have had a really bad experience to be making these comments” etc.. Point is they think it’s normal. Kids in bikinis with makeup, and tilt is ok as it is a form of art. One woman wrote that pedophiles wouldn’t care about these photos as they only like kids in schools uniform. Please!!! Yes and the other issue is the lack of credentials needed to run a dance school. When you have untrained people teaching our kids we can only expect this. My daughters old studio had no qualified teachers, kids teaching kids. They were modeling very sexualised behaviours to students. When I questioned about these issues my daughter was sent a PM over Facebook telling her she was no longer welcome at her studio. Dance needs to be regulated, we need some intelligence at the top. The whole industry needs to be exposed so people see what is going on and they need to understand the consequences of their poor practice and ethics.