What is Timothée Chalamet Missing about Ballet and Opera?
- Francesca Mancino
- 7 hours ago
- 5 min read
The Overlooked Health Benefits of the Arts
A comment actor Timothée Chalamet made about ballet and opera in a recent interview with fellow actor Matthew McConaughey for Variety has dominated the headlines in the past few weeks. The Oscar-nominated Hollywood star has faced a strong backlash in response to his presumptuous remark that people no longer care about these art-forms – unlike they do about cinema. Some even speculated this misstep cost him the Academy Award for Best Actor for his leading role in Marty Supreme. However, Michael B. Jordan already had the award in the bag thanks to his outstanding performance in Sinners; votes had in fact been cast before the clip went viral.
While the media harshly slammed Chalamet, ballet and opera communities wasted no time pushing back on his claim. The UK’s Royal Ballet and Opera, among other arts organisations worldwide, fired back with a powerful Instagram reel highlighting that people do care, by showing full auditoriums and inviting the actor to join in to see for himself. Similarly, ballet and opera professionals from all around the world - including Misty Copeland, who performed at the Academy Awards - have strongly expressed their disappointment on social media.
I have to admit that, as a former ballet student and lifelong fan, I was also annoyed by Chalamet’s comment. However, in this blog I don’t want to argue for the value of ballet and opera as forms of art; the media and the arts enterprise have already made that case. Instead, as a mental health researcher in the field of creative health, I want to discuss why the arts, including ballet and opera, matter for our physical and mental health.
What is Creative Health? And Why is It Important?
Creative health, also known as arts in health, is an initiative to embed the arts in healthcare provision to support people’s physical and mental wellbeing. It draws on a growing body of evidence showing that engaging in creative activities can have a meaningful impact on health and overall quality of life.
This approach is part of a larger initiative, called social prescribing, that aims to support individuals’ wellbeing by connecting them with recreational activities, groups, and services in the community.
Creative health can involve a variety of activities, ranging from performing and visual arts to arts and crafts, literature and culture, as well as digital arts. These can either be offered as a complement or alternative to clinical interventions in the management and treatment of complex physical and mental health conditions. Additionally, they can also be used as preventative or early interventions to promote wellbeing in healthy populations or prevent the onset of illness in at-risk groups.
Beyond supporting health, these interventions can also reduce the burden of illness on the healthcare system and the economy. Creative health has been shown to reduce healthcare usage (such GP appointments, A&E visits, and medication prescriptions), which in turn alleviates the pressure on healthcare staff as well as the economic burden on the system.
By promoting health, these interventions also support the economy by helping people stay in work and reducing welfare costs. Indeed, a recent government-commissioned report showed that engaging with the arts produces £8bn a year worth of improvements in people’s quality of life and productivity. As such, creative health represents a turning point, not only for individuals but also for the wider society.
The Health Benefits of Ballet, Opera, and the Wider Arts
As a devoted ballet spectator, I have definitely noticed that watching performances boosts my mood, and science backs it up. Research has shown that watching performing arts, like ballet and opera, can promote wellbeing by providing viewers with an outlet to relax and escape daily stress, lowering physiological stress responses, as well as increasing social connection. Yet, the benefits of these art forms extend well beyond passive engagement.
As my colleague Riddhi discussed in one of her previous blogs, practising ballet offers a wide range of health benefits. It can improve mood, cognitive functioning, and physical health in healthy individuals, as well as promoting health in at-risk and unwell groups. For example, research has shown that practising ballet promotes physical mobility and quality of life in breast cancer survivors as well as older adults. Ballet has also been found to reduce non-motor symptoms, such as pain, sleep, and mood, in patients with Parkinson’s disease; this is particularly important as these symptoms don’t respond well to conventional treatment.
Although the health benefits of opera have been less studied than ballet’s, there is emerging evidence that engaging with this art form can improve physical and mental health. For example, opera singing has been shown to reduce breathlessness and anxiety in patients with long-term respiratory conditions, like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and Long-Covid. Another study found that opera singing reduced chronic pain symptoms in patients with conditions like lower back pain and fibromyalgia, which is especially notable as chronic pain is challenging to manage.
As this evidence suggests, ballet and opera carry a wide range of health benefits; yet, not surprisingly, they are not the only art forms promoting wellbeing. A recent review of 30 studies found that music-based interventions can improve behavioural, cognitive, and mental health symptoms in people with dementia. Similarly, evidence from our own research group at the SPI Lab has shown that group singing can reduce symptoms of postnatal depression in new mothers.
Interestingly, even passive engagement with cultural arts can support our health. Another study from our research group, recently showed that looking at artworks in a museum reduced physiological signs of stress.
Although this is not an exhaustive list of the evidence, it gives a glimpse into how ballet, opera, and many more art forms can support our physical and mental health.
The Arts as an Educational Tool
Beyond supporting individuals’ health and wellbeing, the arts can also benefit wider society by promoting health education. Performing arts, in particular, can provide a powerful medium to explore health conditions that are often not well understood by the general public.
For example, two studies examining the effects operas exploring themes of schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have on the public perception of these conditions found that they helped raise awareness, improve understanding, and foster greater acceptance.
It is important to remember that representations of health conditions, specifically mental health issues, need to be accurate to avoid reinforcing misconceptions and harmful stereotypes. However, this evidence suggests that the arts not only benefit individuals, they but also play an important role at a societal level, challenging stigma and reframing our understanding of illness.
So, What is Timothée Chalamet Missing about Ballet and Opera?
Of course, Timothée Chalamet is entitled to his own opinions - however questionable. But his comment highlights that he misses a bigger truth: the arts can be much more than a form of entertainment.
By dismissing ballet and opera, he did not simply denigrate art forms appreciated by many, but he also undermined the value of the arts in supporting health. Yet, the growing body of evidence on the health benefits of the arts proves him wrong, showing that people – and science – do care.
