Every generation of dancers remembers certain teachers as “the greats”: figures who demanded excellence, instilled discipline, and shaped careers. Many students hold these teachers in deep reverence. Yet an uncomfortable truth often remains unspoken. Some of these same teachers also caused harm through coercion, humiliation, or emotional abuse.
When harm and achievement are intertwined it creates what psychologists call cognitive dissonance. Leon Festinger’s classic research describes this as the discomfort of holding two conflicting truths. For those who thrived under such teachers, acknowledging the abuse can feel like pulling apart their entire identity. The mind often denies or minimises harm in order to protect self-coherence, clinging instead to the narrative of greatness.
Research in trauma psychology shows that denial can operate as a defence against re-experiencing pain. Glorification becomes a way of safeguarding the self from destabilisation. Sociologists John Jost and Mahzarin Banaji describe this as system justification: the unconscious drive to defend the very structures that once oppressed us, because doing so preserves a sense of order and meaning.
It is also important to place this in context. Many of these teachers operated in times when authoritarian models of instruction were normalised across education, sport, and the arts. Naming harm in hindsight is not about discrediting a generation of dancers or suggesting that their achievements were invalid. It is about understanding that what was accepted as discipline in one era can, with clearer knowledge of psychology and nervous system health, be recognised as harmful today. Normalisation does not erase impact.
The cost of glorification is significant. Individually it can prevent healing by keeping old wounds unacknowledged. Collectively it sanctifies harmful pedagogies as “tradition” or “tough love.” Generationally silence leaves younger dancers either repeating the cycle or carrying the burden of breaking it.
The question worth asking is not whether these “greats” produced results, but at what cost those results were achieved. Artistry and excellence may have been cultivated under strict regimes, yet harm should never be justified by the outcomes it produced. To move forward, dance culture must hold space for both realities: the brilliance that was achieved, and the damage that was endured.
How do we move forward?
- Acknowledge complexity. Hold space for the truth that artistry was achieved, while also naming the harm. Both can be real at the same time.
- Break the silence. Sharing lived experiences disrupts cycles of denial and opens dialogue for change.
- Shift language. Retire phrases such as “you’ll never make it if you…” or “you’re hopeless at this” and replace them with specific, actionable corrections: “Notice how your ribs lift when you breathe. Try grounding through your feet as you repeat that phrase.”
- Prioritise nervous system health. Recognise signs of overwhelm, such as blank stares or sudden freezes, and adjust pacing to protect learning capacity. Safety and regulation are as valuable as technique.
- Educate across generations. Create opportunities for teachers of all ages to reflect on past methods, learn updated approaches, and understand that identity can remain intact while releasing harmful traditions.
- Define excellence differently. Success should include not only technical and artistic outcomes but also wellbeing, agency, and longevity in dance.
Real change does not come from erasing the past, but from transforming how we understand and respond to it.
In Season Three of the Dance Real Podcast I interview innovators who are paving the way forward, reshaping ballet and dance culture with integrity, courage, and care.
What do you think needs to shift for dance culture to move forward?