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Arts & Communication Discrimination and dance students’ well-being

Differences did emerge in terms of challenges the suggesting that negative assumptions, biases, and prejudice
participants expected to face in their careers. Both groups were experienced by the dance students inside and outside
mentioned confidence most commonly, with comments of their training. Such data contribute to the nascent body
reflecting self-doubt and worries about competence. of research documenting dancers’ experiences of racial
This appeared to be of particular concern to the Global discrimination. 10,30
Majority students, who mentioned it twice as much as any The lack of significant differences in well-being scores
other theme and cited issues around physicality (n = 8) between the Global Majority and White participants
and discrimination (n = 6) more frequently. For example, is perhaps initially surprising but is in line with recent
a Global Majority student questioned “whether I have the research indicating that relationships between ethnicity
right look.” There were six mentions of discrimination and well-being are complex, intersecting with factors such
specifically, in the form of concerns about microaggressions, as socioeconomic status, culture, educational achievement,
colorism, and casting, for example: “not having as versatile emotional expression norms, and collective trauma that
a casting type (short, not White).” In general, the Global gives rise to increased optimism and resilience. 4,38,39
Majority students appeared to expect an additional barrier
or challenge in terms of discrimination around physicality. Furthermore, scores for some of the well-being items were
somewhat low in general. For example, the means for
However, two White females expressed concerns about achievement in life, feeling part of the community, and the
experiencing racial discrimination. One of them explained, overall life satisfaction composite variable of the PWI were
“I am small, blonde, with blue eyes, and White. My typical below the normative range for both groups. 32
casting like Elle Woods and Sandra Dee is now being What is perhaps more illuminating and has greater
played by women of color, and I worry I am no longer potential for practical application is the relationship
unique enough to play these roles. I understand the need
for representation, but I often feel like nowadays, being between experiences of discrimination and well-being
White is a disadvantage, and I feel ashamed to be White...I among dance students of the Global Majority. These
am having to change my appearance (hair color, etc.) to findings broadly support the extensive literature from
appear more unique.” Other forms of discrimination were mainstream psychology documenting the negative
cited by non-binary participants and disabled participants, impact of racial discrimination on various domains of
15-18,20,22
who were also concerned about casting decisions and psychological well-being and mental health.
stereotypes. Other challenges that both groups anticipated, While each subscale of the PEDQ-CV was negatively
although less frequently, included uncertainty about correlated with at least two of the well-being measures
the industry, mental health challenges such as stress among Global Majority students, discrimination at work/
and burnout, money worries, injury, and motivation to college was particularly influential, being negatively
continue in the face of setbacks. associated with all but three of the well-being variables
(future security, body appreciation, and the importance
4. Discussion of dance). Items in this sub-scale pertain to perceptions

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of of unfair treatment from staff and classmates and negative
discrimination on the well-being of Global Majority assumptions about abilities. As the students spent
dance students in professional training. To the authors’ approximately 20 h training at college each week, it is
knowledge, this is the first study of its kind to be perhaps unsurprising that discrimination in the college
conducted in dance and has yielded a number of findings environment exerted a strong influence on their well-
that have both research and practical import. Perhaps being. Although the data collected for this study cannot
unsurprisingly, there were significant differences between identify particular instances of discrimination experienced
the Global Majority and White students in experiences of by the students, it is likely that they encountered elements
discrimination, with the exception of the threat/aggression of teacher bias. Research from mainstream education
subscale. As such, students of the Global Majority indicates that teachers have different expectations for their
experienced a greater frequency of exclusion/rejection by students’ achievement and behavior based on ethnicity
others, stigmatization/devaluation, and discrimination and culture and treat them differently according to these
at work/college, which collectively resulted in greater expectations, which are often rooted in stereotypes and
lifetime exposure to discrimination. The highest scores biases. 23-26 Furthermore, when students encounter negative
were reported for exclusion/rejection and discrimination expectations from teachers, it can influence their feelings
at work/college. These subscales encompass aspects of of autonomy, 24,40 competence perceptions, satisfaction with
discrimination such as perceptions of unfair treatment, achievements, and expectations of future competence. 20,22
negative stereotyping, and being ignored or excluded, In turn, these factors may have contributed to lower

Volume 3 Issue 1 (2025) 8 doi: 10.36922/ac.3165