Should an observant Jewish girl study ballet? (A. C.)

Ballet is a sport with specific requirements that are at odds with Torah. The attire is one problem, and even though ballet can be a solitary sport, it is not meant to be. And why would you want your daughter to engage in a sport that places such emphasis on body size, shape and weight? And it may at times include men. It is not an activity that she would do with her husband except in private and assuming he also has studied ballet, and would she keep it up in solitude into old age with sufficient satisfaction?

Unlike other physical activities, ballet demands a certain body structure. A small body promises a center of gravity close to the ground. The toes on the feet have to have a specific form in which the first three toes ideally will touch the ground simultaneously when the toes are pointed downward. Since ballet is a competitive activity and is as demanding as it is, it is not one that is likely to build a good self-image in the average girl.

Better ways to develop strength for grace and balance along with a good self-image are through such activities as skating–-roller skating, rollerblading and ice skating. The girl can dress tzniyusly (modestly) and she can engage in the activity with her girl friends and with her husband and children later in life. She can continue the activity into old age, too, to keep up strength and to work for good balance.

While there will be girls who will desire ballet or running or even riding bicycles, the problem with all of these is that one cannot maintain an appropriate level of modesty. When my daughter was little, she loved gymnastics, and then at the beginning of one class (it would be her last), the teacher insisted that she stop dressing in normal clothing and put on a pair of leotards. She was horrified, and she refused to return there again. So I bought her a pair of roller blades, and she still roller blades, and she can do so with her husband. Even though she dresses modestly for her “workouts,” she chooses out of the way locations where she will be safe but not in sight of others. Additionally, rollerblading can be done indoors as well as outdoors. The same is true for roller skating and ice skating.

Other sports that are harder but possible to do only with other women or in solitude are swimming, basket ball, jump rope and weight lifting. I know women who do any and all of these things. One woman gets her exercise with a hula hoop, and I use walking and stair climbing to get my exercise, although I do not consider these a sport.

When considering activities for an observant girl, consider an activity that will provide a lifetime source of health and joy and that will get her out in nature as well as fulfill her indoors. If tap dancing is what she really wants, or ballet, make sure she understands what that will involve for her and what it won’t. It won’t involve performance except in a strictly female group.