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Article in the Sunday Times - "doping" in dance?


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Didn't see this in the links

 

"The clinical director of one of the country’s leading ballet companies has called for an anti-doping body to combat misuse of steroids, performance-enhancing drugs and supplements in the dance world.

Nick Allen of the Birmingham Royal Ballet has spoken out after an investigation uncovered evidence of steroid and amphetamine abuse in ballet and other dance companies."

 

 

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ballet-drug-abuse-prompts-call-for-anti-doping-body-qh2hf3k7l

 

 

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Probably because it wasn't included.  The articles don't always show up in the searches.  An example of that is a review linked today that had been published by the FT a couple of days ago but is not visible on the arts page.  It would have been missed completely if the author hadn't tweeted it.

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Didn't see this in the links

 

"The clinical director of one of the country’s leading ballet companies has called for an anti-doping body to combat misuse of steroids, performance-enhancing drugs and supplements in the dance world.

Nick Allen of the Birmingham Royal Ballet has spoken out after an investigation uncovered evidence of steroid and amphetamine abuse in ballet and other dance companies."

 

 

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ballet-drug-abuse-prompts-call-for-anti-doping-body-qh2hf3k7l

 

Oh dear. I think I'd always assumed that the control, precision, awareness etc needed to dance well would very quickly be damaged by drugs and so this wouldn't be a major problem. I suppose the difference with dance as opposed to sport is that it's not competitive (I mean in the sense that sport is) so if a dancer takes drugs the main issues are their own health and any legal issues - they aren't 'cheating' in the sense that sportspeople are. But clearly dancers do need to understand the dangers involved; and companies have some sort of duty of care towards their dancers, and also need to be able to rely on them not damaging their bodies recklessly. So it's in everyone's interests to deal with this if it is a real problem.

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I imagine dancers are aware of the dangers of recreational drugs and avoid or indulge in similar percentages as other young people.  Is alcohol considered a drug in that context?

 

Dancers used to frequently be given cortisone shots to get them dancing through pain, in most cases requested, but I don't know if that is still the case now that the side effects are better known.  I discovered back in the summer during a chat about the Olympic ban on Russians that performance enhancing drugs can be bought over the counter in Russia, though the dancer who told me this said he doubts that will be the case much longer.  He wasn't keen on them, being the kind of guy who regards his body as a temple, but said that on a tough tour of one night stands he had taken them pretty much out of necessity.

 

If dancers take these things out of choice that's one thing, but being made to take them is another matter.

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I imagine dancers are aware of the dangers of recreational drugs and avoid or indulge in similar percentages as other young people.  Is alcohol considered a drug in that context?

 

 

Some are, some do not care. And I know principals in top companies who do not care

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