About how much should a ballerina weigh?

Question:

About how much should a ballerina weigh?

One who is 13 and one who is 18

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Remember that muscle weighs more than fat. A dancer who is en pointe must have the proper amount of muscle to lift up onto pointe and work en pointe without killing her joints - she has to be in good physical condition because ballet demands a lot from the body.

Someone can be quite thin and not be in good shape, and on the other hand, a dancer can be stocky and be in great shape. If you look at ballerinas from the 40s and 50s you'll notice that they are NOT rail thin, like we think of a typical ballerina being today. They have a figure just like a normal woman has a figure from that era. It wasn't until Ballanchine came along that this idea of a very very thin dancer came into vogue and I think a lot of talented dancers have had to look at other styles of dance as a career because of a misguided idea about body weight and ballet.

When I was a teenager I remember that ballet class was the only place I didn't feel skinny - I was always one of those ribs sticking out and knobby knees kids and ballet class was full of girls just like me. There were one or two normal weight girls in the class, and they stuck out like sore thumbs, but one of them was a very gifted dancer.

So I think looking strictly at weight is misguided and can lead to eating disorders.