Style

Big Bodies Deserve A Spot On Stage Too

Think about the last time you saw someone performing on stage in a skimpy outfit; what was their body type? I'm 99 percent sure (really 100 percent but you know) it was probably a thin person, and the performers of Nothing to Lose are pretty sure too. This troupe is taking the stage at the 2015 Sydney Festival in Australia in order to "celebrate the sculptural splendour of the fat dancing body."

It's no secret that the word "fat" carries a lot of stigma (which the Fat Acceptance movement works to reverse). We spend so much time trying to get rid of it, avoid getting it, and running away from its reality, that we never really think to question the pervasive narratives around fat. When was the last time you saw a fat person actually being represented well in the media?

Director Kate Champion and Artistic Associate Kelli Jean Drinkwater created Nothing to Lose in order to challenge our ideas around fat bodies. Since fat bodies aren't usually seen as being worthy of showing off, especially in performance, the show is being seen as radical. Champion and Drinkwater's entire mission is to make this idea a norm, since they don't see why people with fat bodies should be stigmatized for dancing in their underwear when thin people do it every single day without anyone batting an eyelash.

"What does it mean when you put really big bodies stage and call them professional dancers, and why is it even controversial?"
ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images

Nothing to Lose not only showcases the beautiful difference between fat and thin, but is also the shame and discrimination that people of size often face when doing anything that even remotely suggests they're proud and happy of the bodies they occupy.

To see how to show was conceptualized and a behind-the-scenes look at the powerful dances, watch the video below.

Images: Getty (2)