Cheshire school pays out to dancer who claims she was body-shamed

The student attended the Hammond dance school in Chester

A woman who said she endured years of body-shaming has reached a settlement with her former dance school.

The woman, now in her 30s, said she suffered from a mental health condition caused by criticism of her weight by staff at Cheshire's The Hammond school.

She said all she had wanted was a written apology but was refused.

The school did not admit liability but reached what it called an "appropriate settlement".

The former student - who cannot be named for legal reasons - started at the performing arts school, near Chester, in 2006 when she was 18, and left three years later.

"I remember being told that if you pressed into your belly button, you should be able to feel your spine," said the dancer.

"Even at the audition, I was on my own with a teacher and they said that they would like to keep an eye on my weight."

'Humiliated'

She said her name was placed on a list on the school notice board which was referred to by students as the "FatClub", and she was regularly weighed in a teacher's office.

She said that she was humiliated in front of the whole class when a teacher made her repeatedly jump up and down and point out her "wobbly bits".

She said she developed disordered eating during her time at the school - sometimes eating in secret or not at all.

Two other students who were there at the same time and supported her in her High Court legal action said they were also body-shamed by teachers.

The dancer's lawyers, Leigh Day Solicitors, claimed she had been "abused and belittled" about her body shape, but had never been given any advice about how to lose weight in a healthy and safe manner.

The lawyers also said the school should have foreseen this could lead to her suffering physical or mental harm.

The former dancer says she has now developed mental health issues because of her time at the school

The woman said she had initially contacted the school to tell it about her experiences, but received no reply until after she had said she wanted to make a formal complaint.

The school later invited the woman to meet senior leaders and teachers, but she refused because she couldn't bring herself to go to the site again.

She said she had been unable even to go to Chester in case she bumped into someone she had known at the school.

The legal case she brought was settled out of court and her lawyers described the settlement as "significant."

"We would say this case sets a precedent," said her solicitor, Dino Nocivelli.

The dancer said she has been diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder - which the NHS describes as "a mental health condition where a person spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance" which are often "unnoticeable to others".

"We don't have mirrors in the house. I don't go shopping with friends," she said.

The Hammond school said it wanted to resolve the claim out of court partly because of concerns about the legal costs.

The school said it took safeguarding of all its pupils extremely seriously and constantly reviewed current practices, learning from experiences of the past.

It also said the meeting it had suggested would have been "an opportunity for the former pupil to fully describe her experiences and concerns and for the school to acknowledge and learn from the same".

The BBC has spoken to more than 100 former dancers who attended UK dance schools from the 1990s through to the present day, all of whom claimed they experienced a "damaging" culture.

Mr Nocivelli said he has been contacted by 180 former dancers who said they experienced bullying and body-shaming by staff at 12 different ballet schools.

He said four clients are currently considering legal action.

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