Does being small give them greater flexibility and let them tumble better?

Would they perform less well if they were heavier?

Or are they just skinny for only aesthetic reasons?

I am a dancer and I'll give you a few reasons:

1. If someone is a professional dancer- they excersize ALL day. I think a lot of people underestimate how difficult some of the steps really are- holding your leg up to your head without using your hands is difficult, but as a dancer- each step has to be done correctly and with a lot of control- working a whole bunch of different muscles- dancers burn a lot of calories. Also- leaping and jumping and rolling around and just dancing in general is a lot easier when you weigh less (obviously until you start losing too much muscle)

2. Dancers often use partners, meaning they have to be lifted often, and gymnasts have to be able to lift themselves. An extra 30 lbs makes a difference.

3. Costumes/aesthetics- I know that my teammates and myself have always been very body-conscious. In a ballet class, pink tights and a leotard are required, and there are mirrors everywhere. A lot of dance costumes are also very revealing- also a lot of 1/2 tops--

4. Getting into a company- ballerinas weren't always "stick" skinny- but several years ago, a few big directors of ballet companies started to only choose the skinny girls for their companies because they thought that the lines and positions looked better on the tiny girls. That idea seems to have stuck, and now- if you want a job as a dancer- you have to be skinny or you are (usually) out of luck.


So there you go- a perspective from a dancer... (Been dancig for 19 years with a few commercials/movies/shows under my belt :P)

Gymnasts I just assume that their workouts are intense and with the limited tumbling I can do- I can't even imagine doing a back tuck with 40 extra pounds, let alone all of the fabulous tricks they can do that I wouldn't even attempt now...!!

Hope that answers your question a little!

A lot of gymnasts and dancers start when they are fairly young also (my daughter started ballet at age 3), so I think that may play a role also.
If they start out young with an activity, it may help with keeping their weight in check.

I also agree that it has to do with the duration and intensity of the exercise. I had a friend who was a gymnast for many years and was rail thin and quite flat chested. When she retired she has settled into her more "natural" body type which is an hourglass figure with a full chest.

My daughters go to gymnastics, and I get to see first hand how hard the older girls train day after day. Most of them are there 4 hours after school. They run, do set ups, push ups, and obviously all the gymnastics moves.
I hardly see an of them eating junk, the girls bring their own water and healthy snacks like fruits and nuts.

I am a former gymnast (imagine that!) And I definitely wouldn't call gymnasts skinny. Gymnasts tend to be very lean as far as body fat is concerned but for the most part, very muscular. I've never seen a competitve gymnast who was skinny, they utilize every muscle group they have... Lots of body weight resistance. Gymnasts don't eat a lot of unhealthy foods but through all my years of gymnastics I know first hand that they do eat quite often, but they are sweating about 4 hours a day in the gym. I can't speak so much for ballerinas... I know they tend to keep quite a strict diet and have more lean muscle than the bulky muscle that gymnasts get. Their body types definitely play a role in their performance. I don't think either type could perform to their greatest abilities if they were carrying around extra weight.

I was just going to say that about gymnasts. They are jacked! To call this woman "skinny" is possibly the worst insult ever:

I've been led to believe that George Balanchine started the skinny trend. Before Balanchine pictures of ballet dancers are more normal sized.

Billblueeyes- bingo!

Krampus- I totally agree, that that's a much better look than "skinny"- it actually kind of bothers me that some ballerinas are so focused on "skinny", because it makes it look like they don't work hard to build muscle-- which they do until they starve it away... But if you google some pictures of dancers a lot of them are pretty muscular. Not as much as a gymnast but there is definitely some definition there.... Ok-

I've stepped off my soapbox ;-)