Every week, tens of thousands of children go to Ballet Classes at their local clubs. The most talented compete for a place at one of the top ballet boarding schools. There, they train like elite athletes, with one aim to join a professional ballet company. It really was that, like, billy elliot moment, where you get the letter and i ran up to my room. India thompson was 11 and living with her family in yorkshire when she was offered a place at the Royal Ballet School in 2007. I was just like. Wow this is it now, like, this is my life. The Junior Section of the Royal Ballet School is for children aged 11 to 16, and it nestles in the heart of londons richmond park. King charles is its president. Its the top Ballet School in britain, and widely regarded as one of the best in the world. It is an extraordinary place. It produces fabulous dancers. Some of the best dancers of our time. For india, it was a dream come true. I couldnt wait to pack my parents off. I was like, bye and they were probably like, oh, god they probably felt awful, but i was like, see ya india says, when she reached puberty, in her second year at the school, she had herfirst encounter with the unwritten ballet code. I, you know, started to get, like, boobs and a bum and things like that, and i wasjust like, well, what is this . So then it all starts with all the you need to lengthen out. Comments. Which doesnt mean anything to anybody, really, unless you know what it means, which means you need to lose weight. Id get pulled out of classes to go and sit in the principal� s office so that she could talk to me about Lengthening Out and what am i doing to make it happen . Its not happening so you cant be trying hard enough. Theres only so much you can fight as a kid sat there. Im trying my best, i promise. I promise im trying my best. It didnt matter how good my technique was. How good a performer i was. It was all about that. Lengthen out is a term used in ballet to describe improving the balletic line and posture of the dancers body. Many dancers weve spoken to, including india, say its also used as code for losing weight. I just sort of went inside myself. I dont even really think i knew who i was any more, cos i always thought i was this, like, ballsy northern kid. She says, at age 14, she was sent to a school nutritionist. The nutritionist did say that i had a good diet, but that the school wanted me to lengthen out, so we were going to have to find a way to do that, which would be to not eat carbs. The Royal Ballet Schools says its inconceivable a student was told to stop eating carbohydrates and that its nutritionists provide Healthy Eating advice to maximise performance. Indias story isnt a one off. Weve spoken to more than 50 former students from the uks top schools. For the two and a half years that i was at the Ballet School, i was. Intimidated, humiliated, and left feeling very scared, and quite frankly, broken. Jacob was 11 when he joined the Royal Ballet School in 2014. He says some of his teachers were physically intimidating, unpredictable and cruel. I felt that, when i was upset, which was a lot of the time and i would cry a lot of the time outside of the class that i couldnt ever express that in the ballet class, because it would just bring about more cruel behaviour. We were so worried about ourselves, focusing on ourselves were we pleasing her, were we behaving in a way that wasnt provoking this wrath . That we couldnt really stop and reflect on whether she was actually providing the training that we wanted. Now, the school and this teacher would perhaps say, well, what we were doing was preparing them for what is ultimately a very tough industry. I would say it wasnt preparing us, because it obstructed our learning, it obstructed our growth as a human and as a ballet dancer. So it was completely counterproductive. You dont prepare anyone for anything by cruelty. Im not saying that the teachers are bad people. They think theyre doing the right thing. Theyre doing exactly what was done to them. The Royal Ballet School says theres a positive and respectful culture when it comes to teachers interaction with students, and any complaints are fully and swiftly investigated. Elmhurst in birmingham is also regarded as one of the worlds top Ballet Schools. Its patron is queen camilla. Last year, between them, elmhurst and Royal Ballet School received more than £7 million in public funding. Both offer means tested support to help families pay fees. Harriet royle was 13 when she was accepted to elmhurst. I remember they gave us a tour round, and we got to see some of the girls doing ballet. You got to look at them through the window and i just thought, i want to be with them. Harriet had some body image issues when she arrived at the school, and had episodes of bulimia shortly afterwards, which the school knew about. At the time this playful video was taken in november 2014, she says she felt fit and healthy. A month earlier, shed had an appraisal. The feedback i was given was that i needed to work on my fitness, my aerobic fitness. And were you not fit enough . I felt like i was fit enough. I thought, well, if im able to keep up with the boys, why is my aerobic fitness not good enough to do what the girls are doing . Just didnt make sense. So what did you think . Im just being told to exercise more so id lose weight. I was kind of, like, well. Let� s do it, then. At first, harriet� s mum was supportive of her doing extra fitness work and sensible weight loss. Four months later, having lost a significant amount, harriet had her next assessment. Theyjust said that they were. Pleased that shed worked hard and worked on everything that theyd advised her to do. And one of the female. Ballet teachers had said, carry on doing what youre doing, cos its working. So, harriets interpretation of that was, because shed lost some weight, then they want her to lose some more weight. Harriet says she started to get more attention from the teachers. And did that feel good . I guess it did, yeah. It was kind ofjust validating that what youre doing is. Is the right thing. And so you carried on . Yeah. To the point where it feels like you. You know, you cant really stop. At the Royal Ballet School, india says she was going to extreme lengths to try to please her teachers. I mean, its silly when you think about it now, but id wrap my legs up in clingfilm to, like, try and sweat it out and, like, try and sleep with it round my legs. Um. Yeah. India dropped carbs from her diet, and says she saw results. I lost weight, and everybody was really nice to me. Once somebody� s made you feel the way that i was made to feel, as soon as somebody says, well done, that is just like, oh, my god, ive been waiting for this forever indias weight loss had another consequence one weve heard about from many female dancers. My periods stopped completely for quite a while. And i remember having a conversation with another girl who was having struggles with. With. An Eating Disorder and i said to her, my periods have stopped, and said, what. What� s that all about . And she said, oh, dont worry, its normal. The impact disrupted periods has on dancers health has been studied by dr nicky keay. It was concerning. Those female dancers whose periods were very late starting or didnt start, it really impaired their bone health. Thats why youre at risk of stress fractures. So, yes, there are potential long term consequences. India and harriet were trying to fit a vision of a classical ballet body. Super slim ballerinas are an aesthetic familiar to all of us, even if youre not a ballet fan. In the 19705, Legendary Ballet Choreographer George Balanchine famously told his dancers he wanted to see their bones. This so called Ideal Ballet Body became the norm, and schools tried to produce the type of dancers the Big Companies wanted. It used to be, youre too fat. But it is coded now. Youre not right. Youre not fit enough. Youre not committed enough. Now, you cant say certain things, but there are other ways of saying them. Ballet schools say theyre working hard to change the culture, that they now encourage Healthy Eating and weight is monitored only to review the students physical development. How does that work in practice in an art form where athleticism is essential, and the ballerinas need to be light enough to be lifted . Unfortunately, sometimes it can be misinterpreted as in order to achieve these amazing performances, you need to be thinner, but actually thats not correct there comes a Tipping Point where actually too thin means too weak. Throughout early 2015, harriet had been on a mission to drop weight. In march, her mum, michaela, told elmhurst she was worried about her daughters Mental Health. The school assured her they were monitoring the situation. At this point id also slipped into a bit of denial, that there was, you know, a very big problem. She continued to drop weight, including while at home for easter break. A week after she was back at school, her parents came to watch an audition. She got changed into leotard| and tights, and i had to leave the building cos i was shocked by herappearance. It should never have ever got to the stage where i should have had to say to the school, i need to bring her home. The images youll see next are distressing, and were showing them at the request of harriet and her family. In the weeks and months after leaving school, harriets condition worsened. Just over a year after starting at elmhurst, she was diagnosed with anorexia. About 15 months, and £20,000 later, shes in hospital. Looking like a skeleton. Was there a period where you thought you might not come out of it . Yeah. Theres lots of times where i didnt. 0r didnt care if i did. Piano music plays padua eaton was offered a place at elmhurst aged 11, in 2008. I remember having a calendar on my wall, and counting down the days. Yeah. To dance and attend a famous Ballet School was all shed ever wanted. It felt like you were stepping into another character and could escape reality. But she says her dream soon started to crumble. Around 14, 15, i started getting depressed. My body started changing. I started getting a shape like a woman. And is that a problem . Its a problem to them. But in the real world, its normal. Padua started to struggle with her Mental Health. She had been a star pupil, and School Management put in measures to support her, including extra breaks to help manage her panic attacks. So, even though i was allowed these breaks, it was difficult to actually get them. Do you really need to go now . Should you go . Can you just stay . Just stay. My Mental Health problems were annoying for them. Thats how i felt. Like i was a burden. It was all tied to the culture being submissive and quiet and not causing trouble. How low did you get . I wanted to kill myself. And i tried killing myself. Padua says she was put on antidepressants by the school doctor, and a side effect was weight gain. She had been due to play the lead role in a school ballet. When i put on the weight, i asked the teacher about it. I said, well, am i still going to do this role . And he said, well, no, because youre not going to be able to fit in the costume, so youre not going to be the principal any more. So i didnt get that part. That one small comment really affected me, a lot. Padua says she then started to lose weight. It became really addictive, seeing the weight go down. In all that time, none of the teachers said to you, youre losing too much weight, too quickly. Not a single comment. There was only comments about looking good. Ballet dancers are nearly three times more likely to develop Eating Disorders than the general population. Dr nicky keay says this can be down to Personality Traits typical of dancers. Some of those attributes are really positive, important ones, like perfectionism, you know, self motivation, determination. But those traits can also potentially mean the individual is vulnerable to developing other types of behaviours which are not so helpful in terms of controlling what theyre eating and disordered eating. Gayle sturrock is a psychotherapist whos counselled hundreds of dancers. What kind of conditions in dancers would you generally see . They would have anxiety, panic attacks, self harm, suicide attempts, depression. Its an educational setting, youre a developing young person if youre told youre not good enough, youre useless, constantly, that gets hard wired in. You know, you believe that after a while, dont you . It can be one comment that causes an Eating Disorder. Retired ballerina Ellen Elphick says it was a single comment from a teacher during parents evening at elmhurst that set her on a path to an Eating Disorder that lasted 15 years. She sat with my parents and basically said to their faces, whilst i was sat there, that i was soft and i needed to tone up. How did it make you feel . I felt really ashamed that my body wasnt right, and that it was so bad that she had to talk to my parents about it. I was 13. And i started making myself sick, so. Yeah. That was the snowball effect, really. Did you start to lose weight, then . Mm hm. Ijust looked like a grey ghost. And thats when i won all the prizes. Its that positive reinforcement that i think is more damaging in a lot of ways. Because it said to me, well, obviously this is working, youve got picked for everything. At 16, she got into the Royal Ballet School. Two weeks in, she says she had a one on one with a teacher, who described the perfect line a ballerinas figure was supposed to take. She got me side on, on the barre, and just kind of got me in first position, standing sideways, and just basically said to me, if i had a knife, this is what i would cut off. And she literally cut my entire bum off, kind of all of half my thigh, basically, and then a third of my calf. I was just filled with, one, hate for my body, because thats my muscle i cant get rid of my muscle. And just that shame again. Jack milburn was dancing before hed even started primary school. Whenjack came to me and said, all im interested in is ballet, yeah, its a bit of a, right, ok, you know . But i soon came round, and it was great to go and watch him do it. Jack got into elmhurst in 2009, when he was 11. The following year, his body began to change. He started putting on a little bit of weight, as. He started to go through puberty. As everybody� s body does change at that age. Yeah. Jack told his parents his Ballet Teacher would target his physique in class. You need to lose some weight. Thats why you cant get off the floor, you know, thats why you cantjump as high, because youre too fat. And this is in front of a class. We would ask him, every single time we spoke to him, have you had any more incidences with the teacher . And it was more or less after every class. Obviously, as soon as he told me what was going on. Rightly or wrongly as a parent, as a father, i wanted to go. Sorry. Soon afterwards, aged 13, jack was assessed out of the school. His parents say they were told by a teacher he wasnt committed enough. Didnt mention anything about his body, but hes not committed. He was stood up over the table and. Its very intimidating. Youve got no fire in your belly, jack have you, jack . you know, what do you want a boy to say to an adult thats stood over the table like this . Jack carried on dancing through his teens, trying out for ballet companies, but never made it through the final round of auditions. In 2019, days before his 21st birthday, he took his own life. Voice quavers its sad that he didnt say he was feeling really pressured, because im sure that was it mm. 0r his. The whole process of him getting. Sorry, i. The whole process of him getting, from when he auditioned at 11 to 20 years of age, hed battled all that way, and then. The inquest into jacks death found that he had struggled with depression at times, and had sought medical help two years before he died. To be clear, elmhurst arent responsible for what happened to jack at the end of. Yeah. But i can only say there was a possibility that it did leave a lasting impact, some of the way he was treated. Theyre working towards being professionals, but at the end of the day, theyre still 11 years old or 12 years old. Theyre still kids, and they have to be treated as kids. Ballet teaching has evolved over the past decade, and schools have strict guidelines for Staff Behaviour and safeguarding for children. And many emerge from Ballet Schools with positive experiences and jobs at the end of it. I would like to think, i in generalterms, were moving to a better place. You dont have to be cruel, i you just have to be realistic. We are now talking about healthy, strong, resilient dancers thats what were focusing on. In 2020, elmhurst invited bbc cameras in to demonstrate how they were helping young dancers deal with body image issues to avoid Eating Disorders. Female voiceover here, there is a dedicated team, | helping to support the young dancers with their mental and physical wellbeing. My names grace owen. I went to elmhurst in 2017. There till 2021. Grace says there were measures in place to support dancers, but claims she and her classmates were regularly body shamed by some teachers. Just a few weeks after bbc cameras came into the school, her class was having a graduation party. Our Ballet Teacherjust changed the atmosphere and essentially said, all you girls, bar one or two people, need to lose weight, otherwise youre not going to get a job, essentially. It just makes you feel really unworthy. Like, everything ive done work really hard in class, perform as best as you can but all you actually care about is how slim you are. This is what grace looked like when she says she was told by her teacher she was too heavy to get a job in a ballet company. Like, is it possible to lose more weight . Youre just very self critical. And yet, i dont think you realise until you step out of it, and youre like, i was actually fine. But youre so caught up in it. Itsjust toxic. Grace says that one day in 2020 another teacher humiliated her and some of her classmates. The students had been told doughnuts would be available as a treat after their lesson. One of the Ballet Teachers said, none of you can have them, except for one person. So, implying that she could eat them because she was of the right weight, and no one else, everyone else, basically, youre too fat for them. How did that make you all feel . Well, i think we alljust looked around and thought, how are you supposed to react to that . It just makes you feel really worthless, and. Just rubbish about yourself. Neither school wanted to be interviewed for this programme. In a statement, elmhurst says it promotes good physical and Mental Health, and acts whenever issues are identified. It has pioneered a Ground Breaking health trust scheme, providing Bespoke Health and wellbeing support. It has a modern teaching approach, placing highly disciplined training within the framework of strong safeguarding principles. On the points we put to elmhurst, it says it recognises certain elements, but clear duties of confidentiality prevent it from commenting. However, it says School Records vary in some significant respects from accounts given to the programme. Ellen elphick danced professionally after leaving the Royal Ballet School. Shes now begun legal action against the school for the treatment she says she suffered there. Ellen elphick ithink it broke me a bit. I think royal broke me, and i dont think i ever really got put back together. Am i one of the lucky ones cos i still had that career . Maybe. But that doesnt mean ive not been left with lifelong issues that im just going to have to find some way to deal with. The Royal Ballet School says nothing is more important than the happiness and continued wellbeing of its students, and its continuously improving and innovating to protect their health and welfare. When issues arise it has well established processes to ensure they are addressed swiftly. The school strives to work towards excellence, and does so with integrity and passion. While the Ballet Schools insist theyre doing everything they can to improve the culture, these dancers believe theres still much to do to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their successors. I think the industry wants to change. Mm. I think they want to say that they want to change. But deep down, they still want the stick thin ballet dancer. That situation and environment. Possibly contributed to me almost not being alive, so i feel like its important that theres changes made. Live from london. This is bbc news. Security forces in iran mobilize around the family home of mahsa amini, one year after she died in police custody. The worst hit libyan city derna is being sealed off by the authorities, to allow rescue teams better access. This comes five days after huge flash floods devastated the country. And Government Officials admit it will take a while to Ban American Xl Bully Dogs in england and wales. In south africa, the State Funeral is held for chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi who died last week aged 95. Hello, youre watching bbc news. Iranian Security Forces have been mobilised around the family home of the kurdish iranian woman, mahsa amini, on the First Anniversary of her death in custody, which inspired months of mass Anti Government protests. Her father was briefly detained as he was leaving the house and warned against holding a ceremony at her grave. The iranian authorities have tightened security across the country to try to prevent a new wave of street demonstrations. Overnight, Anti Government chants were heard in a number of towns and cities, while slogans have been
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