Has anyone watched the Starz series Flesh & Bone? It’s set in the world of the New York ballet. I watched a few episodes over the weekend and it’s okay. I feel like the show has growing pains – they don’t know if they want it to be a suspenseful drama/thriller or something a little bit lighter about the internal workings of the ballet world. The series stars ballerina/actress Sarah Hay, and Hay gave a lengthy interview to the NY Post to promote the show – you can read the full piece here. Much of the piece is devoted to trying to explain the strangeness of the ballet world to outsiders, which I found interesting. But I was fascinated by Hay’s story about being told that she couldn’t be a ballerina with DD-cup breasts.
‘Flesh & Bone’ shows the realities of the ballet world: “Everything goes in and out of style. [Ballet] is sort of a dying art form. There’s so much weirdness about it people don’t really understand. I’d say 100 percent of [the show] is real. It’s just that it’s a drama, so it’s portrayed more intensely, but I’ve seen things happen that you wouldn’t believe. People get so hung up in their egos . . . and they take it out on people.”
Ballet makes people weird: “Eight hours in front of a mirror all day can make you either crazy or crazy… If you don’t have a personal life, that obsession is real.”
She’s considered “fat” because of DD-cup breasts: “I had a lot of controversy about my figure,” says Hay, who is a size 0 on bottom and a DD on top, making for a figure so curvy, it doesn’t fit the typical mold for a dancer. One teacher even pulled her offstage during a production, handed her a sports bra and said, “Your breasts are distracting me.” Hay was crushed. Some suggested she get a breast reduction but Hay says, “I like my body. I don’t want to have to change it for anything — even if that means I have to take a step down as a dancer. I don’t think I’m ever going to sacrifice my figure for anyone else to accept me… I was always ‘the fat girl’ or ‘the heavy girl.’”
Her style: “I like vintage clothes, a lot of ’80s band shirts. I wear a lot of my boyfriend’s clothes too… I prefer to be covered. I don’t wear a lot of low-cut things. I’d rather keep the attention to my brain, my face.”
The last time we really discussed how larger breasts affect how a woman is perceived, it was when Ariel Winter announced that she had gotten a breast reduction at the tender age of 17. I think it is a matter of perception, and it’s also about how comfortable you feel with your body. While I’m big-busted and sometimes they’re a pain in the ass (or a pain in my back, more often than not), I do think that being big-busted is part of what defines me and how I define myself. It’s difficult to even imagine having a job/career where your body’s supposed imperfections were being put under that kind of microscope, to be told, flat-out, that she should get a breast reduction because they’re “distracting”? Douchebag. Now, all that being said… I watched some episodes and she really is a top-heavy ballerina. I wouldn’t say it’s “distracting” or that she should get them reduced, but I did notice and I was even more impressed that she looked so graceful while being so top-heavy.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Getty.
I’m in awe of her having a dancers figure (especially Ballet) and still maintaining DD cup size.
When I lose weight it’s the first place it goes from on me.
I can definitely believe she’s gotten some hassle about it.
I had a friend that was very thin naturally. Always kept her D cup. When she got really thin she was a C. When healthy in an athletic build for track she was a DD. All on a 5’2″ frame.
My cup size doesn’t change. Different types.
That is an atrocious dress but the show sounds interesting. I used to do ballet and I can more than imagine the comments she got/gets on her body.
That dress is horrid.
Her dress looks a bit like a Christmas chocolate wrapper.
The show is definitely worth a watch if you get the chance, it’s so over-the-top and melodramatic in places, but very addictive. Having said that, it does get flat out silly towards the final third.
I love that the entire ballet corps cast is actually made up of dancers (who are actually pretty great actors). No jump cuts needed to hide dance doubles going en pointe.
The ruffles over the bust is like she is giving the finger to everyone who told her that her boobs are too big.
Yeah, I want to check out the show, too. I did a little ballet when I was younger, I was obsessed with it for a while, reading everything I could. I still find the ballet world fascinating.
She reminds me a tiny bit of Jessica Chastain.
Why on earth would you put a huge ruffle on DDs? That (ugly) dress is for an A cup.
How does she wear a strapless with DD? I can’t go without a bra even at home, and I’m a DD as well.
built-in corsage keeps everything in place.
Holdup. Corsage? Or Corset?
Pinned flowers with ribbons offer the best support out there. And agree corset.
lol, FLORC.
Just kinda OT: MY friend is a KK – and had to have a plastic moulded shelf built into her wedding dress!
I’m amazed they allowed her to advance in her career having DD cups. Ballet is all about lines, and if your lines are distracting, you are not going to go far.
My question is how far did she advance? This is the first time I hear about her, is she a known ballerina in the States? I see now she is an actress.
She trained at the School of American Ballet and has danced with several smaller companies. I had a friend who danced with her in Pennsylvania. But I think she’s been dancing in Europe.
Also – of the myriad ballet dancers very few are known by name.
When I was dancing full time professionally, I had 7% bodyfat and still had B cup – back then I was considered “busty”! Now that I’m several years removed from dancing, I’m sporting an E cup – I can’t imagine dancing with truly large breasts because even at a B, they hurt during jumps! Good on her for being happy and dancing!
Do you think she really is a DD? I mean, that dress above looks it but on the show she doesn’t look that big. A bit busty but not DD with the tiny waist that all ballet dancers have.
I think she probably is. She has a tiny frame and the cup sizes actually change with the band size. I wore a 32 DD for years – it’s a much different size than a 40 DD!
Cup size is related to band width. If she’s actually a size 00, then she’d probably a 32 in the band, which makes a DD…decently big on her frame, but honestly not quite as big as people think. To give you an idea in terms of comparison, I’m 36DD – which actually makes me two entire cup sizes bigger than her. The advent of breast enhancement surgery has really messed with our perception of what typical breast size is. The women you see sporting huge bolt ons with tiny waists are more likely in the DDD-F range.
Yes she is that big if not bigger. Since most women don’t actually wear their correct size,would dare to say she is larger than a DD.
I think about the jumps as well. I’m a straight A-cup and I hate jumping because, among everything I hate about it, I feel my breasts bouncing. With DDs I’d literally crawl along the floor.
I think it’s interesting that Sarah Hay says ballet is a dying art form. I don’t think that’s necessarily true, but it does need someone to redefine and modernize it, as Balanchine did in the 1960s and 1970s.
A year ago, people might have said that the Broadway musical was an ossified and dying art form, but “Hamilton” has proven to be an excellent re-invention, with a big multicultural cast and rap overtones.
In general, I think live entertainment will become more popular as we all get gradually tired of staring at glowing rectangles all day.
Exactly, even big stars like Diana Vishnova and Tamara Rojo have said things like that. Ballet needs a constant renovation and the creation of new pieces. Sadly, the lack of support by the governments are really hurting it.
Given how many great dancers and companies are out there I really don’t think ballet is a dying art form.
All dance training starts with ballet.
In Russia, some ballerinas are revered like Elizabeth Taylor or Marilyn Monroe. Maybe in smaller cities ballet is dying, but NYC and Moscow and Rome and London will always have ballet.
I’m a former dancer, I simply became too old in my mid twenties. I watched this show beginning to end. The ballet parts are spot on. The other workings and story lines are… Weird. I agree with the growing pains, and not knowing what it could be. It’s basically Center Stage on a coke binge. Lol.
In the show they even reference her chest. Most dancers would have had a reduction. It’s refreshing to see her hold true to herself.
I really loved the dancing and much of the character development, esp. her roommate and Irina, even the horrible director had a good arc. They overloaded the show with the strip club/Russian mobster storyline I think. A shame it doesn’t seem to be getting a second series, the dancing was wonderful and I would have liked to see where it went.
I absolutely agree with you. I loved the show, especially all of the drama that centered around the company, but felt things went to crazy town with how incredibly strangely dysfunctional her personal life was and then throw in the whole stripclub and Russian mob plot line and it was just too much. I would love to see a second season, but it looks like it isn’t going that way.
It’s not just ballet by the way. I danced modern jazz and was also told that my b00bs were distracting. I don’t think it makes the teacher a douche-just typical. Dancers bodies are “supposed” to fit a certain mold and have certain lines. Go out and Google the big name ballet, modern, and ballroom dancers and most of them are pretty flat chested.
I mean, Misty Copeland is something like a large b-small c cup and she still gets grief over being to busty.
I watched and really enjoyed the show. She is stunning and dances for a German company at the moment.
Oh, boobs! I got hell for it in dance/gymnastics when I started to bust out. Like I could help it. And the dance world will kill your self esteem. Especially when you are younger. Sigh. I am still in search of a bra where I don’t feel them bouncing when I run.
At 15, my cheerleading coach asked me and another girl to get breast reductions. I went to a Southern Baptist school and simply said ‘f*ck off’. I got in trouble, but so did she!
Have you tried Moving Comfort bras?
Have you tried Victoria Secret’s Knockout or Incredible bras? I’m in the DD range, and I find they do a great job of keeping the ladies locked down for intense exercise.
I’ve had bad experiences with VS. Wires, bands, fabric all break down faster than others for greater a price. A side store of Under Armour makes amazing female workout gear for busty girls, dancers, or athletes that need to buckle down their chests.
Panache makes excellent sports bras and has a variety of sizes. Visit an actual bra shop where they will measure you correctly. VS and main line lingerie stores are full of bra lies. Although Nordstrom’s, often has bra fitters that know what they are doing and will measure you correctly. They carry Panache. I was measured correctly, went from a 34 F (american sizing) to a 32 JJ (british sizing) Which would be around 32 N in American sizing. That was how far off I was in wearing my correct size. DD in bra world is on the average to small size….but we have been brainwashed to think its large. My bra fitter said a lot more than 80% of women are wearing the wrong size, she said more like 95%. It has changed my bra life. This includes a sports bra from panache. They no longer jiggle and are fully supported when exercising.
The ballet world does seem like a treasure trove of weirdness. My daughter has a comic book about a teenage dance school and it is so odd! There’s a “fat one” who’s like a millimeter bigger than the others and she’s always dreaming about food. It seems like a real set-up for issues.
I like the gold dress, though! As a fellow busty lady, sometimes you just have to forget “flattering” and wear what you like.
Do you know the name of the comic by any chance?
FLORC is right, Dance Class.
Thank you!
Are you talking about Dance Class? It’s the only 1 I know of.
Don’t know this show but seeing Ben Daniels is in the picture is enought to make me want to give it a try.
And my first thought was “Isn’t Meg ryan the star of Flesh and Bone?”
Ben Daniels kills it as the artistic director – who is one crazy motherfu*ker. The things he does to his dancers and the other people in the company turned my stomach, and I can totally believe there are people in the ballet world exactly like that.
He’s the reason why I watched it. I loved him in House of Cards and prefer his accent than the American one he has to use for the show.
The show is NOT lighthearted at all and never tries to be, its dark, and heavy so don’t expect any feel good emotions or laughing watching this one.
Didn’t the writer for Breaking Bad also write this show?
Hadleyb – he’s the reason I kept watching it until the end, I’ve had a minor, but persistent, crush on him for many years now.
I found the show to be pretty bleak, and it always seemed like they were trying pick up where Black Swan left off and shock the hell out of the audience for no good reason. They really didn’t need to go to extremes to make the story interesting. I find the trials and tribulations of professional dancers compelling enough, but maybe I’m in the minority.
I didn’t know him before, but loved the scene when he called her into his office, stood naked in front of her and said “it’s a penis. Deal with it. Lots of people have them.” Could have been a ridiculous scene, but he gave it some humanity.
There are principal dancers with big boobs. Gillian Murphy with ABT, Polina Semianova jiggles all over the stage. I had a friend who danced for a while and he said it was a profession where you get abused emotionally, get injured frequently, dance hurt, and are basically disposable because so many people compete for those jobs. Bleah.
Aye, I attend a college with a nationally recognized dance program, and you wouldn’t believe some of the stories I hear from the dancers. Disturbingly sexist, especially where the female dancers are concerned. Way too much power in the hands of the studios and directors and nowhere near enough in the hands of the actual performers. Perfect example of an industry that exploits, destroys, and discards when done.
Big breasts are an issue not just in dancing but also in sports.
In ballet jumps and lifts are going to be problematic with a DD cup. And she would never make a cut when competition for top spots is so fierce.
I watched Svetlana Zakharova dance in “the Lady of Camelias” recently and she pretty much has no breasts at all. I thought – good on her not being ashamed of the fact that she is so flat chested. Silly me.
The Cuban ballet have “fuller” ballerinas (can’t believe I’m using that word) compared to say, Russian or French companies, but they are outstanding. Viengsay Valdés has to be the best “Kitri” (in Don Quixote) I’ve ever seen.
She is an actual ballerina in a professional company. She has already made it in the ballet world. This is her first lead acting job, she was also a dancer in Black Swan.
Top spots = soloist.
DD cups or not, she’s beautiful. However, I’m not seeing a size 0 here anymore than I’m see Kim K as a size 4. Could just be the dress. I’ve never seen her in anything so can’t be certain but as far as these photos go, I’m calling BS on the size 0 aspect of her story.
I’m a size 2 or 0 and am 32dd. She looks about right. I think the dress makes her waist look wide.
Dancers on this show are great. Everything else is just so predictable; “trying to be shocking” story line is just horrible. Such a waist of my time, story vise. But I did really, really enjoy all the dancing scenes, and the two actresses (Hay and Weiner) are great!
The dancing was wonderful in Flesh and Bone . liked it even if the story line was cringe inducing . I believe Sarah Hay works in a ballet company in Germany.
My family and I power watched the whole season over the Thanksgiving holiday.
A few of the scenes were hard to watch in mixed company (uptight pearl clutching MIL)
I hope they have a second season, watching Ben Daniels as the Artistic Director of the Ballet Company is worth all the cringing.
I do feel bad for the dancers …mostly because they really cant eat cookies.
Yep. I binged-watched it in the evenings during thanksgiving week &…I’d say that Flesh & Bone finished strong. It was a little “let me cram as much as possible in a small amount of time” but the performances & everything was pretty strong- plus- Charlie from Centerstage is hot now!
with my body type (bottom heavy) I know I would look like a straight nicki minaji stripper…. in ballet…
my mom saved me the heart-ache and angst early on
Loved the dancing & found parts of it very realistic compared to my experiences decades ago. Much of the family & gangster stuff got way too creepy for my taste, as I’m old enough to clutch pearls. I question DD. I used wide elastic, like 12″ ace bandage stuff to squash my Ds into a less distracting eyeful.