Ballerina to New York Times: I Am Not Fat

Blogosphere dumps on 'vicious' reviewer
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 14, 2010 2:22 AM CST
Ballerina to New York Times : I Am Not Fat
Jenifer Ringer flies through the air as the Sugarplum Fairy during a performance of "The Nutcracker" at Lincoln Center in New York.   (AP Photo/New York City Ballet, Paul Kolnik)

A New York Nutcracker ballerina is ready to stuff a tray of Christmas cookies down the throat of one rude New York Times reviewer who thinks she's tutu chubby to be on stage. Lincoln Center's Sugarplum fairy Jenifer Ringer, 37, has eaten "one too many sugar plums," snarkily zinged reviewer Alastair Macaulay. The blogosphere exploded in outrage after the dig, but Macaulay remains unrepentant. "This made me want to crack a nut in my fist," said one blogger, who called the review vicious, cruel and downright wrong. Too bad, Macauley shot back in a follow up article. "If you want to make your appearance irrelevant to criticism, do not choose ballet as a career,” he warned dancers everywhere.

The review "made me feel bad," Ringer responded yesterday on the Today Show. But the public's outpouring of fury and concern "made me feel loved and supported," added the dancer, who suffered from eating disorders early on in her career. As for her weight, she is not fat, declared Ringer. "My body is part of my art form," she said. "I'm not overweight. I do have a more womanly body than the stereotypical ballet dancer." Actress Natalie Portman, who exposes the ordeal of ballerinas in her new movie Black Swan, recently lashed the Times review, asking: "In what other field is it acceptable to judge artists by how big they are?" (More Jennifer Ringer stories.)

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