Revealed in France by a viral video then a participation in Eurovision as a dancer of Bilal Hassani, Lizzy Howell pushed a rant on social networks by asking her detractors to stop following her.
“Could you stop harassing me? Sometimes it hurts”, loose Lizzy Howell, 20, facing the camera. In a video on TikTok this Monday, July 19, 2021, she confides without filter on her daily life as a fat professional dancer. Unsurprisingly, violence is an integral part of his life online.
“Let me go on with my life and stop leaving violent comments on my page. I haven’t asked you anything! When you say ‘Oh my god you’re fat’, yes I know. ‘Write’ You’re going to die young ‘, I already know that too. Those who write to me’ Sounds like sumo, ‘I know. Your comments are irrelevant. Leave me alone! ” Deeply grossophobic insults that the young woman has suffered since she became famous online in 2017.
An obstacle course
Originally from the town of Milford in the State of Delaware in the United States, Lizzy surprises the world with a simple Instagram video in which we see her performing a series of whips in the middle of classical dance class. Her performance goes viral because the dancer is fat, which is rare in the so standardized world of classical dance.
Suffering from a brain disease that causes migraines, vision problems and dizziness, the young woman does not go to school and can therefore only socialize with young people of her age during dance lessons. A practice that helps him, in addition to therapy and treatment, to overcome his anxiety and panic attacks.
Lizzy has always broken the codes. She started dancing at the age of 5, just after the death of her mother. It is his great-aunt who raises him and pushes him to believe in his dreams of ballerina. At the age of 9, she realizes that she has a gift for this practice, but her teacher advises her to lose weight if she wishes to land leading roles in a representation. Despite hours of training and an iron will, the dancer never got the roles she coveted. So much so that she changes dance school several times and at the same time takes classical, tap, modern-jazz and contemporary lessons. She completes four classes per week at 4 hours of training per day.
In 2019, it was Marika Prochet, director of Bilal Hassani’s performance at Eurovision, who wanted to hire Lizzy. The singer was also accompanied by a second dancer who is deaf, Lin Ching Lan. All three shared on stage – in front of 200 million viewers – a message of self-acceptance and tolerance.
Daily grossophobic violence
Long before Instagram, Lizzy had to deal with harassment and teasing within dance classes and outside. But online comments are even more painful to deal with on a daily basis since her viral video in 2017. With 200,000 followers on Instagram and 280,000 subscribers on TikTok, she is a popular personality who attracts fans and … trolls. In an Instagram post, now deleted, she wrote: “Over time, I have learned to ignore other people’s opinions. If they want to put me down, I let them. Meanwhile, I continue to break down barriers as always.”
Despite the obstacles (online harassment and difficulties finding suitable leotards), Lizzy makes a living from dancing and intends to follow the advice of African-American ballerina Misty Copeland who wrote to her in a letter: “Don’t stop and never let anyone define you.” This is why Lizzy Howell refuses to be labeled as “plus-size dancer” but only as a professional dancer. No offense to its detractors.
The viral video that made her famous:
Dan Hastings
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