Body Image and Mirror Exposure: The Impact of Partial versus Full Mirror Use on Beginner-level Ballet Students

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the impact of partial versus full mirror use on body image in a beginner-level ballet class. At the end of a seven-week period, researchers distributed an online survey inclusive of qualitative questions to two groups of female collegiate students enrolled in separate beginner-level ballet courses taught by the same professor. One group had full access to the mirror during class, while the other only had access to the mirror during center work. Results show that differences occurred between the two groups regarding how comfortable students felt in their ballet attire, how they sensed their bodies changing over the course of the semester, how they utilized the mirror during class, and how they understood the mirror’s purpose in relationship to their embodied practices. Ultimately, students with less mirror time experienced more holistic, full-body transformations by the end of the seven-week period.

KEYWORDS:

• Ballet
• body image
• mirror

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Emory University.