New York City Ballet Dancer Jenifer Ringer Defends Herself

New York City Ballet dancer Jenifer Ringer is speaking out against Alastair Macaulay, the New York Times critic who criticized her for being too fat for ballet. In a review about a New York City Ballet performance of "The Nutcracker," Macaulay had written that Ringer (as the Sugar Plum Fairy) "looked as if she'd eaten one sugarplum too many."

This morning, Jenifer Ringer appeared on the "Today" show, where she spoke about past struggles with eating disorders and her reaction to the New York Times critic.

Ringer pointed out that if a dancer becomes too thin, she won't be able to handle the physical demands of the profession. She also pointed out that the New York City Ballet had dancers of all different body types who were able to look gorgeous and perform beautifully.

Ringer was understandably hurt by Alastair Macaulay's comment, but she felt that she was at the point in her life where she was able to move forward from it and to realize that he was entitled to his opinion (an opinion with which she disagreed). She was also grateful for the outpouring of support she has received.

New York Times has a clip of Jenifer Ringer's appearance on the "Today" show.

Macaulay has received such an onslaught of hate mail that he wrote a follow-up editorial. According to the editorial, Macaulay's critique had been described as "appalling," "heartbreaking," "childish, "hurtful" and "incompetent."

Macaulay defended himself by citing hypocrisy in the readers. Why had nobody commented when he wrote that Ringer and her partner had danced "without adult depth or complexity" (a more severe criticism in the writer's eyes)? And why didn't anyone object when he described specific male dancers as "portly" or "obese?"

Macaulay ended the response by arguing, "If you want to make your appearance irrelevant to criticism, do not choose ballet as a career."

I'm of two minds on this one. I consider myself very lucky to be an instrumentalist, because I'm in a field where appearance is a relative non-issue. Nobody sees the players in the orchestra, so we're not under continual pressure to maintain a certain weight.

On the one hand, Jenifer Ringer came across as poised and gracious on the "Today" show. She makes a valid point that having a more "womanly" body type does not take away from her ability to perform in her role as the Sugar Plum Fairy. And I agree with her that there are dancers of many body types who are able to dance beautifully.

Still, I have to wonder about a double standard. Readers were so quick to condemn the New York Times writer for his comments against Jenifer Ringer. Yet, In the very same editorial, Macaulay had also criticized a male dancer named Jared Angle for being too heavy. The writer claimed that the male dancer seemed to be "sampling half the Sweet realm."

Why wasn't anyone defending the male dancer? Apparently it is considered misogynistic to criticize women for their body types, but perfectly acceptable to make fun of heavier men.

If, for example, an opera critic had described a singer as too fat to play Don Juan, I doubt readers would have batted an eye. In the entertainment world, similar double standards apply. Healthy body image advocates rushed to Jessica Simpson's defense when she debuted her "mama jeans." Yet nobody defended Kevin Federline when he was teased for putting on "daddy weight."

I see nothing wrong with promoting healthy body image. I just think that it needs to go both ways. If readers are so quick to defend Ringer, then why not extend the same courtesy to Jared Angle?

Sources:

City Ballet Dancer Responds to Times Critic, New York Times blogs

Judging The Bodies In Ballet, Alastair Macaulay, New York Times

Timeless Alchemy, Even When No One Is Dancing, Alastair Macaulay, New York Times