Fight for future of dance ideal is taking shape “Fredrika vs. the (SF) Ballet is the latest round in the high-profile
battle between politics and art, where aesthetic standards and
business realities often clash with notions of liberty, diversity,
and self-esteem.

But this case has earned a heightened sense of importance
because of the death of ballerina Heidi Guenther, whose
mother has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Boston
Ballet. Guenther was 22 years old, 5 feet 3 inches tall, and
weighed 93 pounds when she died of heart arrhythmia in
1997. The suit contends that Guenther starved herself to a
state of ill health after the ballet pressured her to lose
weight. And her death has prompted a broad debate about
who is at fault when people harm themselves in pursuit of
someone else’s physical standards.” Boston Globe