At Love Your Body Week 2012, students at All That Dance papered studio mirrors with reasons they appreciate their body.

It’s usually in middle school or early high school that dancers first begin understanding, talking about and fretting over weight. That’s why, when fostering positive body image in young dancers, one Seattle studio calls on its teen students to set the right example.

Each year, All That Dance celebrates Love Your Body Week (LYBW) to create a studio environment that accepts and supports all body types. Advanced dancers—members of the studio’s Honor Club and the National Honor Society for Dance Arts—visit younger classes to lead conversations and activities focused on building healthy body images. Last year, for example, students wrote about or drew pictures of what they appreciate about their bodies. By the end of the week, the self-affirming images covered studio mirrors.

This year’s LYBW begins November 18. For more info, or to learn about hosting a similar event at your own studio, visit all-that-dance.com or e-mail faculty member Mary Pisegna Gorder at [email protected].