In Conversation With: Karen Sheriff, Founder and Executive Director of Project RED-D
How to foster cultural change and bring safety, joy, and career longevity to dancers!
I’m delighted to publish the first of a new Ballet Bulletin interview series that highlights people creating change in the dance world. In this article, I share my conversation with Karen Sheriff, founder and executive director of Project RED-D. It’s a busy time for this organisation- they have just released a short film, and have a toolkit on the way.
“RED‑D stands for Relative Energy Deficiency in Dance which is the dance specific expression of REDs (Relative Energy Deficiency in sport).
REDs occurs when a dancer’s energy intake doesn’t meet the physical and psychological demands of training, performance, and daily life. It’s more common than many realise.”
REDs is a physical and psychological health condition. It affects multiple systems of the body with a distinctive pattern: hormonal disruption, reduced bone density, impaired immune function, fatigue, and mood changes. Ultimately, it can shorten a dancer’s career. But with support, REDs can be managed and reversed. On their website you can find articles on REDs assessment tools, how REDs can be managed by dancers, the difference between an eating disorder and REDs, and more. You can also get to know their group of dance ambassadors, some of whom have personal experience with REDs. And naturally, you can follow them on Instagram too.
While support for REDs is increasing in a structured capacity for athletes, dancers are being left behind. The dance world often normalises, dismisses, and at times even idolises the signs of REDs. Project RED-D’s mission is to address this discrepancy, by raising awareness of this health condition, offering prevention strategies, and providing support with the treatment of REDs. To foster this change they work with dancers, parents, teachers, artistic leaders, and healthcare professionals.
Karen Sheriff brings a wealth of expertise to this organisation, having previously led the healthcare department of The Royal Ballet School. Keep reading to find out more about this important work, as I ask her a few questions…
“Seeing conversations that once happened in whispers now taking place in studios, staff meetings, and curriculum planning has been incredibly powerful.”
Tell us about how you started to work with dancers?
I have worked with the Arts for the last 13 years, and more specifically with dancers since 2016. I saw the gap between how hard dancers work and how little structured support they receive around health, fuelling, and recovery. I was working closely with young performers in an elite training environment where I worked with artistic leadership, artistic coaches and built an in-house multidisciplinary team to change this culture. It became clear that many of the challenges they were experiencing - injuries, fatigue, hormonal disruption, anxiety around food and body image - were not isolated issues but part of a wider pattern of low energy availability. What struck me most was that these global experiences were often normalised or even seen as a sign of dedication. That was the catalyst for founding Project RED-D: to shift the conversation from individual “problems” to systemic understanding and prevention.
You have so much experience working with vocational dance students: who do you think has the most influence over them?
It’s never just one group. Vocational students sit at the intersection of multiple powerful influences: teachers and artistic staff, peers, parents, their role models, institutional culture, and increasingly social media. However, the strongest influence is the environment they train in every day. If a school’s messaging, both spoken and unspoken, equates thinness with success, students absorb that very quickly. Conversely, when staff consistently reinforce fuelling, rest, strength, and diversity of body types as performance assets, and food is visible, students feel permission to care for themselves. I believe culture outweighs any single voice and is so vital.
The collective understanding of a ‘dancer’s body’ is shifting- as it has shifted before. This means that many dancers are caught in between conflicting messages. How can we accelerate this change?
We come from the point of view that any body is a dance body. We believe you accelerate change by moving beyond aesthetics and linking health directly to performance longevity. When directors, teachers, and choreographers openly value strength, resilience, and sustainable training, the definition of the “ideal” body naturally broadens. We also need visible role models, transparent policies, and education embedded in training - not as optional add-ons but as core curriculum. Importantly, we must equip the decision makers, not just the dancers. Change happens fastest when leadership aligns messaging, casting practices, and wellbeing policies.
What has been a highlight of the project so far?
Our “why” and purpose is shaped by the dancers’ stories and the impact that REDs has had on them. It is really emotional, and their desire to become ambassadors so they can advocate for change is a huge highlight. Seeing conversations that once happened in whispers now taking place in studios, staff meetings, and curriculum planning has been incredibly powerful. One of the most meaningful moments was when a dancer said, “The Project has given me hope for change that I haven’t had before.” The shift from awareness to action is exactly why this work exists.
You’re launching a toolkit this year: can you give us an idea of what the toolkit will provide?
The toolkit is designed as a practical, industry-facing resource. For dancers, it will provide accessible information on REDs, fuelling, recovery, hormonal health, bone health, and growth and maturation. For dance schools and companies, it will include guidance on creating health-supportive training environments, early identification indicators, referral pathways, and policy templates. The aim is to move from awareness to implementation.
(You can register your interest in the toolkit on their website here.)
There is a complex mix of stigma and normalisation that can make this an uncomfortable subject. Do you have any tips for how a reader could begin a conversation about RED-D with someone that they are worried about?
Start with performance and care, not appearance or food. For example: “I’ve noticed you seem really tired and you’ve had a lot of injuries/colds etc, how are you feeling?” Keeping the focus on energy, recovery, and support reduces defensiveness. It’s also important to listen more than you speak, avoid making assumptions, and encourage access to appropriate professional support rather than trying to solve it alone. If it feels helpful, you might mention that you’ve learned about REDs and share trusted information or resources. Creating a non-judgemental space is far more effective than offering advice.
What can a dancer who is experiencing relative energy deficiency look forward to through their recovery?
Recovery brings back consistency, stable energy, stronger training capacity, improved concentration, better injury & illness resilience, and often a renewed sense of enjoyment in dancing. Many dancers are surprised by how much their performance improves when they are properly fuelled. Perhaps most importantly, recovery allows them to build a sustainable career rather than cycling through burnout and injury.
If you could see ANY dancers perform ANY dance production, what would you choose?
Generally speaking, I would love to see a mixed-programme performance that deliberately showcases a wide range of body types, ages, and career stages in technically demanding work - not as a statement piece, but simply as excellent dancing. That kind of casting quietly redefines expectations in a way that policy alone cannot. More specifically I would absolutely love to see a performance by the Netherlands contemporary company ‘CDK’.
What brings you joy outside of dance and this work?
Time with my husband, our four children, and my wider family and friends is incredibly important to me, that sense of belonging and connection keeps me busy(!) and grounded. I also find a lot of joy in collaborative spaces where people are learning and sharing ideas. As a physiotherapist by background, I genuinely love talking with people, whether that’s in education, the arts, or community settings. We have an incredible team at Project RED-D, and working alongside them gives me a huge amount of energy. Those moments of collective curiosity feel very connected to why this work matters.
It’s been incredibly heartening to learn more about Project RED-D. You can stay tuned with their work by following them on Instagram. We would love it if you could join in with this work of raising awareness of REDs in dance by sharing this post with your own audiences!