First legal settlement for alleged body shaming at Royal Ballet School

It is believed to be the first settlement of its kind for body shaming in ballet, with the claim having been brought by former student Ellen Elphick, who is represented by Leigh Day abuse team partner Dino Nocivelli.

Ellen was a student at the famed Covent Garden site in West End of London from 2009 to 2012, starting her time at the school when she was 16 years old.

While at the school, which she attended until she was 19, Ellen developed an eating disorder resulting in anorexia, which Ellen believes is the result of body shaming during the intense programme of training at the Royal Ballet School.

In her first year at the school, Ellen says she was made to stand in front of a mirror while a teacher pointed out areas of her body on her buttocks and leg that she would cut off if she had a knife, stating that she was disgusted with the size of these parts of Ellen’s body.

Ellen also recalls being poked in her buttocks and thighs without permission while holding a pose, and having her head forcibly twisted by a male teacher when facing the wrong way in a pose.

In her second year, Ellen recalls losing three kilograms and being praised by her teacher, who made the class clap for her weight loss.

She says she began drinking coffee and making herself sick on a frequent basis, as well as smoking cigarettes in an effort to suppress her appetite – an act endorsed by a teacher who Ellen says allowed her and her classmates to smoke when on a tour to America in 2010.

During her third year at the school, Ellen had photographs taken of her to send to companies for potential employment, one of which she says a senior teacher reviewed and circled her buttocks in while stating that this was her ‘issue’.

Ellen says that the constant comments from teachers about her body made her feel ashamed, and resulted in her feeling low and anxious about her body.

Ellen asked Dino to represent her in a civil claim against the Royal Ballet School. The school management did not admit liability for the damage that Ellen has suffered. It also did not offer or issue Ellen with an apology.

In her claim, Ellen alleged body shaming by numerous Royal Ballet School teachers which she says was a breach of the school’s duty of care.

A consultant psychiatrist diagnosed Ellen as having previously suffered atypical anorexia and suffering from body dysmorphia which she continues to suffer to the present day.

The abuse Ellen says she experienced meant she was unable to pursue a career in the world of dance. Therapy has been recommended which Ellen’s civil claim settlement means she will be able to find.

Ellen said: “As I reflected on the training I had experienced at the Royal Ballet School, and the eating disorder I developed, I felt there could have been different approaches in teaching in the years I was there.
“I have had children coming to me with issues they had had and I started to realise there is a huge issue for people in my year who had had similar treatment to me.
“I decided to bring a legal claim, which I am making public because I want to bring awareness so that children can go into dance and not leave it damaged as I am.”

Leigh Day partner Dino Nocivelli said: “The settlement of this case is an important step in finally highlighting not only the body shaming and abuse that so many ballerinas have had to suffer but also the significant impact on them.
“It is time that the ballet community now finally accepts the duty of care it owes to its dancers, accepts where failings have taken place and the harm caused, and changes significantly for the better.
“We continue the demand we made in 2023 that the Government conducts an inquiry into body shaming and abuse in ballet. We cannot stand by while another generation of ballet dancers suffers.
“While this may be the first case that has settled ever for body shaming in ballet, we continue to represent a number of ballet dancers and we will continue to fight for our clients’ rights to accountability, justice and closure.”