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The Jewish Dancing Body: Body Image In Jewish Folk Dance, Alexa Berkowitz

Master's Theses

Throughout my life as a dancer, I often wondered if body image issues were purely found in Western concert dance (such as ballet and modern dance) and if folk dance instilled a sense of ownership over one’s body. It was apparent to me that being asked to stare at yourself in the mirror for hours on end in a ballet class, or any other dance style, forced you to see every tiny defect in your body. For me personally, this caused a lot of body dysmorphia and body image issues that I carry to this day. While some folk dance …