To your health - The Dancers' Health Survey, part 1

Dance Magazine, Nov, 1996 by Linda Hamilton

Do you like the way you look? Are you satisfied with the food you eat? Ever been pestered by someone for a date? In the most comprehensive survey of dancers' health ever undertaken, Dance Magazine asked you these and a host of other questions. And you answered--by the mailbag full! Here's what you told us.

Thank You!

Several months ago many of you did the dance world a great favor by completing our mail survey about health concerns and other problems that dancers may have while training on the job. In return, we would like to share the results with you.

The following report provides vital information on a number of previously overlooked but important topics in dance. One of our primary goals at Dance Magazine in doing this research is to help reduce occupational stress for dancers, now and in future generations. Therefore, we are offering practical suggestions with the hope of generating programs aimed at prevention and early intervention. The results from our second survey, bound into the April 1996 issue, will be part of an upcoming article.

Who Are You?

As you can see in Table 1, most of the dancers who answered our survey are female students. Over half (52%) are eighteen years or older (average age, twenty-five), and 21% have a college degree. Forty-five percent of the college graduates majored in dance. Almost all (91%) of our dancers were excellent (53%) or good (38%) academic students. In response to the question "How important is/was it for you to dance professionally?" four out of five dancers (84%) said it was very (56%) or somewhat (35%) important. The average time spent dancing is fourteen years.

        Table 1
      Who Are You?

                   Female     Male

Student            80%       35%
Professional       12%       35%
Other(*)            8%       30%

(*) This group includes teachers, choreographers,
directors, administrators, journalists, professors,
and therapists.

Substance Abuse

Do you use cigarettes, alcohol, or recreational drugs? Compared to the general population (eighteen years or older), the rate of cigarette smoking for dancers of the same age is 8% below average (17% versus 25%); they smoke, on average, one pack a week. Two-thirds (69%) of dancers also consume about three alcoholic drinks weekly. The national average for drinking alcohol is 67%. Lastly, illicit drug use for all ages is five times lower than average (7% versus 37%). The drug of choice is marijuana (71%); no dancers in this survey use heroin or cocaine. Among the different groups of dancers, professionals use significantly more recreational drugs than everyone else (15% versus 2%). This problem is higher in male dancers.

Sexual Behavior

Are you sexually active? Two-thirds (69%) of our dancers (eighteen and over) said "yes," making dancers 13% lower than the national average (82%). The majority (86%) practice safe sex (men, 100%; women, 84%). In terms of sexual orientation, female dancers are predominantly heterosexual (96%), with only a I small percentage homosexual (0.4%), bisexual (1%), or asexual (2.5%). Male dancers are equally divided among heterosexuals (47%) and homosexuals (47%); 6% are bisexual. When asked about AIDS, one-third (32%) of our sample personally knows someone with the HIV virus and 37% know someone who has died of an AIDS-related illness. One out of five dancers (23%) has been tested for HIV, and 7% are HIV-positive (men, 10%; women, 7%). This number represents 2% of our sample. According to an informal survey by Dance/USA (1992) of twenty-eight I dance companies, HIV affected 3.5% of the personnel compared with 0.6% of the general population. Importantly, 60% of our dancers who tested positive told their colleagues; only one out of three (33%) was offered emotional support.

RX Here's What You Can Do

Overall, dancers appear to be healthier as a group than the general population. They are thinner and more active, smoke less, and use alcohol in moderation. These benefits, however, must be weighed against the higher rates of depression, eating disorders, and HIV, for which additional services are needed. In addition, professional dancers appear to be at particular risk for problems related to mood and substance abuse, while having the least coverage in terms of health insurance. We believe that health insurance should be available to all dancers at a reasonable cost. A nonprofit organization soon to be developed, called the Dance Professionals Association, is planning to explore this possibility. For further information or to help out, contact Faith Petrides at (212) 535-3757.

Sexual Harassment

Have you ever been sexually harassed as a dancer? This behavior is defined as any form of unwanted sexual attention, whether verbal or physical. Based on a national survey compiled by the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault, one in four schoolgirls and one in six schoolboys will be sexually harassed by the time he or she is eighteen years old. In our survey, 16% reported being sexually harassed, with male dancers being the most common targets in their late teens. The ratio of male to female harassers is seven to one.