Center Stage With Atopic Dermatitis: A Dancer Finds Strength in the Face of Stigma

Zera’s love of dance started at a young age. Her mom enrolled her in ballet class at just 3 years old, but it wasn’t until age 12 that she began to take it seriously. “I had a teacher who had been a principal at New York City Ballet, and that’s when I decided I wanted to be a professional dancer,” says Zera. “I started going to conservatories and getting intense training. But as I got more serious about dance, my eczema continued to get worse.”

These changes took a toll on her self-esteem. “I felt so self-conscious,” she says. “The ballet world is very image oriented, so having eczema was a big problem.”

As symptoms became more visible, she began to notice a shift in how she was treated. “We had evaluations, and I was the only person who had points taken off for my appearance,” she says. Another time, she overheard her teachers deciding not to offer her an audition opportunity because of atopic dermatitis. She even had an instructor question her personal hygiene.

At first, these experiences made her want to cover up her skin. But that wasn’t always possible. “When my eczema was really flared up, I had all of this texture, weeping, and cracks — things you can’t really hide with makeup,” she says.

At the same time, nothing she was doing to treat the atopic dermatitis seemed to help. “I felt like I couldn’t do anything about it,” she says, “but it was holding me back and causing all of these problems.”

As a result, Zera began to view the ballet world differently. Instead of being a place where she was living out her dreams, it began feeling like “a super toxic environment,” she says.

Exploring Creative Spaces That Focus on Art, Not Skin

For a time, stepping away from ballet was what helped Zera the most.

In her early 20s, she began exploring other creative outlets, including new forms of dance, as well as musical theater, modeling, and acting, and noticed a stark contrast in how she was treated. She was no longer hidden in the back. No one batted an eye at her textured skin, asked her to cover up atopic dermatitis patches with makeup, or suggested wardrobe changes to hide her skin.

“I started to see that most people don’t fixate on appearance the way they do in ballet,” she says.

This shift brought mixed emotions. “On one hand, it was liberating,” says Zera. “But it was also disheartening [to realize] that I put so much into ballet, yet my psyche had been so damaged by it.”

Ultimately, though, the experience gave her something she hadn’t felt in a long time: ease. “Going from feeling like I had to cover up to feeling like I could just be myself was a huge relief,” she says.

Finding Atopic Dermatitis Relief After Years of Frustration

Throughout Zera’s teens and 20s, atopic dermatitis symptoms flared on and off. “Some years it would be terrible; others, it would be moderately bad,” she says. And none of the treatments she tried controlled symptoms.

Disenchanted with traditional medicine, she turned to alternative approaches. “I exhausted every natural thing you could do, and my eczema was still not gone,” says Zera.

Recently, though, she went back to the conventional route. “I had a friend a couple years ago who was pressuring me to see ‘normal’ doctors again, and I’m really glad she did,” she says. “I didn’t realize all of the progress that has been made. The treatments are so much more effective than they ever were before. Things that my lifestyle couldn’t fix, now there are medications that are able to fix them.”

Zera, now in her 30s, says symptoms are finally manageable. “It’s something that I don’t have to think about to the degree that I did in the past.”

Applying Personal Experiences to Make Dance More Inclusive

With atopic dermatitis better controlled, Zera has returned to ballet, but in a different role.

“I’m teaching dance at a wonderful studio with a very positive mindset,” she says. “We are really invested in creating an empowering, supportive, inclusive environment for these children.”

At the studio, dancers of all backgrounds and abilities are welcome. There’s no stigma if someone looks different. “It’s the polar opposite of the toxic experiences I had in ballet as a student,” she says. “Being judged for having eczema influenced me to want to create environments where it’s about the art form and the athleticism first.”

Zera's intentional about fostering a space where children never feel self-conscious about themselves or their appearance. “They deserve to be able to learn dance in a supportive, healthy, positive way, and it’s really satisfying to be able to give them that.”