Students: Eating disorder culture at ballet school

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Students: Eating disorder culture at ballet school
Photo: Valentin Flauraud/AP/TT

Former and current students testify in a review by the magazine Vi about an "eating disorder culture" and abuse at the Royal Swedish Ballet School in Stockholm.

The newspaper spoke to 21 people who attend or have attended the school, which accepts students from grade four. Several of them testify to a culture where children starve themselves, a school administration that does not take the problems seriously and teachers who make comments about weight and appearance.

If someone was hungry and wanted a glass of milk, she would become completely hysterical, says a former student about a dance teacher who, according to the student, claimed that milk made you fat.

Others testify to abusive treatment and what was perceived as sexual advances from teachers.

"It's terrible when I hear it. It shouldn't happen," the school's principal Annakarin Östlund told the newspaper about the allegations.

We should never comment on looks and bodies, or how much someone eats.

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By TTEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for our readers

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