Body Aesthetic is an initiative produced by Theatrical Trainer. Body Aesthetic is Philadelphia's first city-wide art narrative exploring body image, dysmorphia and wellness through expressive arts.

Why are we doing this project, you might ask. Good question. My research for the last 4 years has led to the larger questions of what is body image and wellness for the creative mind? In the arts, we claim a loving, and welcoming structure, yet, not always are those environments conducive to body positivity, or even the science of human kinesiology. We ask so much of creative types in terms of their artistry, and their instrument, but sometimes, at the detriment of their emotional well-being.

As the founder of a wellness company, I felt we need to dive deeper into this notion and ask the larger questions. Things like:

• What are we doing to actors, clinically, psychologically, by asking for an over produced picture of them, essentially, judging by their bodies whether they are appropriate for a job? Is there some better way that does not place "value" on your face, but your talent?
• Why do we ask instrumentalists and musicians to play for hours and hours, and not observe breaks or rest structure when there is proven science that they can form joint problems without proper stretching and conditioning?
• Why do we ask physical theatre artists to perform "acro" tricks, without the basis of exercise science and understanding progressive loading on the body? When we ask someone to do a backflip, and they never have, maybe we can use science and bring in a trainer to ensure they are conditioned for safety! Imagine that?
• Clinically, in academic programs, can we introduce ways for creative types to have access to ways in which they can condition their body and take care of it, knowing that often, after graduation, they don't have access to health care?
• Can we expose better practices through creative arts to build a positive relationship to our bodies? Can we marry wellness and expressive arts not only to help the public, but to our creative artists providing the service?

The Body Aesthetic Project is just that! Twice annually, we will have photo days in Philadelphia (soon, nationwide?) where we ask the larger questions about our relationships to our bodies in creative fields and what we can do to strengthen our capacity for self-love and acceptance. Today, is day one, the unveiling of the start of our photo project.

How will we do this? Through an image and a statement. We will ALL share as HUMANS our story, because no matter the field, background, job, race, lifestyle, orientation, we all share one thing... a body. Where can our individual stories and experiences build community? 

We will unveil the photos and our research over the next few weeks, this is just a taste. We had an amazing turnout in October and our staff and faculty are slowing putting together our next photo day. In the meantime, here are a few images and check back often here or through social media at our Facebook page for more information.

Let's find out....

Yours in Health,

Peter Andrew Danzig
Founder, Theatrical Trainer