Step 1——questionnaire survey

Purpose: To collect information on the physical and psychological impacts on dancers brought about by body image standards in the Chinese dance industry at this stage.

Conclusion: By collecting and analysing the current situation of 120 dancers, it was initially demonstrated that the current stage of the Chinese dance industry’s body image standard has brought a negative physical and mental impact on the dancers, and that a lack of professional support (dietitians, rehabilitators and psychologists) can be significantly observed, and that the scientific validity of the body image standard has yet to be investigated.

The questionnaire collected data from 120 professional dancers, the following documents are the detailed data information：

Step 2 —— Inviting professional dancers and designing interview questions

here is a list of the ones I interviewed:

1. Alina Zhantieva
   • Graduated from the Russian Ballet School, now works at the Russian Bolshoi Theatre.
2. Ma Faxing
   • Attached to Guangzhou Ballet and Dance Academy, graduated from the Ballet Department of Beijing Dance Academy
3. Liu Yu
   • Russian Ballet and Dance Academy
4. Xiaoxiao
   • Graduated from the Ballet Department of the Shenzhen Art Academy and worked at the Chongqing Ballet after graduation
5. lulu
   • Dance Department of South China University of Technology, currently studying in the Department of Modern Dance of Dankook University in Korea for her postgraduate and doctoral studies.
6. daney
   • Guangdong Academy of Arts

Interview Questions

Step 3——Interventions for dancers

Purpose: To understand the experiences and thoughts of the dancers through in-depth one-on-one interviews with them, to share with them the pre-collected data, to raise awareness and action, and to validate the accuracy of the pre-collected information

Conclusion:

1. Dancers’ awareness is raised to recognise the negative effects of extreme body image demands on the mind and body. By sharing the data dancers know that they are not alone in facing the problem, and at the same time it enhances their reflection on the body image requirements of their students when teaching in the future.
2. dancers said that there are more dancers experiencing the challenges of extreme body image standards in reality than in the data.
3. The dancers attributed this phenomenon to the demands of industry leaders and popular aesthetic stereotypes.

Step 4——Documentary filming

Purpose: To broaden the impact of the documentary film, to make the plight of the dancers more real, and to serve as part of the material for a later intervention with the general public.