Body-shaming in prestigious ballet schools worse than elite sports, claims leading lawyer

Body-shaming of aspiring dancers by some of the world’s most prestigious ballet schools is worse than anything experienced in elite sport, a leading lawyer representing affected performers has claimed.

Dino Nocivelli, who recently helped former Royal Ballet School student Ellen Elphick reach a financial agreement with the organisation after she alleged suffering body shaming during her time there, said he was representing at least five other performers with similar claims that range from experiencing abuse in the 2000s up to the present day.

But he warned that the abuse he had seen in the ballet training world was unlike anything he had seen in high-profile sports such as football and athletics.

He is now calling for an urgent meeting with culture secretary Lisa Nandy, claiming more needs to be done to safeguard dancers during training.

He said: “In many cases, the way that people perceive other people’s bodies [in ballet] and treat them isn’t right, and we’ve had allegations of quite improper things. I do a lot of cases within sports, so I know how hard it is to make it as a professional, and to make it to the top of the game.

“I fully get that to make it as a ballerina, you have to be physically fit. But in terms of what we’ve heard from our clients, being told or encouraged to skip meals, or for people to be smoking or making themselves sick, with people making serious comments about people’s bodies, it’s very damaging. I haven’t seen this in any other sport in my entire career.”

The partner at law firm Leigh Day specialises in actions for survivors of abuse, and has worked on cases relating to misconduct within youth clubs and religious institutions as well as sports.

His client Ms Elphick, who attended the Royal Ballet School between 2009 and 2012, starting as a 16-year-old, claims she had suffered lifelong psychological damage after suffering alleged body shaming.

The Royal Ballet School reached a financial settlement with Elphick, but has said it does not accept liability for the ex-pupil’s experiences and has not issued an apology

Nocivelli said other dancers are now making similar allegations about being body-shamed which he said had had lasting impact on their physical and mental health.

One woman is working with Nocivelli to bring a claim against a school she attended between the ages of 11 and 19.

She told she had “always wanted to be a ballerina” and felt like a “poster girl” at the institution, but was left “mortified” after being diagnosed with a hormone deficiency and prescribed medication that resulted in changes to her body and figure.

She said: “I never developed an eating disorder, but I developed disordered eating. My relationship with food is not normal, and I have since been officially diagnosed with body dysmorphia.

“I stayed until I was 19. I graduated, however I didn’t go into a career in ballet. My mental health was so bad, I decided I needed to leave the ballet industry completely. I find it too painful to be part of that world. I certainly wouldn’t allow any daughter of mine to go away to boarding school to train in ballet.”

In his letter to Nandy, asking for a meeting, Nocivelli states: “My clients strongly believe the culture in the ballet world needs to change and that more must be done to safeguard the well-being of students and allow them to be heard. I would like to please request a meeting with you to discuss this issue and how we can take this forward.”