Unmasking The Grit And Glory That Makes Ballet A Hardcore Pursuit
Depending on a given individual's personality, they might regard ballet as an elegant, gentle art form or a boring outing that allows people to engage in their less tough instincts. Although ballet is certainly an art form, it only looks elegant and gentle due to the skill of the dancers. And contrary to the second person's assumptions, people have to be incredibly tough to be ballet dancers.
Considering that it's hard to grasp what goes into a ballet performance for those who aren't involved in that realm, it's definitely worth noting some of the style's lesser-known facts. And many of them show how hardcore the life of a ballet dancer really is.
Ballet dancers replace their shoes multiple times a week
Although beginners to ballet typically don't dance enough to wear out their shoes until months after they start, professional ballerinas put so much strain on their shoes that they wear out every week. And as Holly Dorger from the Royal Danish Ballet wrote in her blog, that's during an easy week.
On average, she said she replaces her shoes about twice a week. On busier weeks, she may go through three or four. All told one season with the ballet will often have her going through 100 pairs by the time it's over.
Male ballet dancers undergo intense strength training
Due to the petite figures of many ballerinas, it may not seem like male ballet dancers would need to be particularly strong to lift them. However, that assumption doesn't take into account how nimbly they have to whirl their partners' bodies around while standing in awkward positions.
For their dances to look complicated and effortless, a dancer needs to have some serious core strength to keep his partner stable. As The Guardian reported, some of these dancers land with an amount of force equaling eight times their body weight after a jump.
A ballet dancer's body is often in rough shape by retirement
When ballet dancers retire fairly young, it's often because their demanding schedule and choreography have put too much strain on their bodies for their careers to continue. According to The Guardian, about 36% of dancers retire as a result of a severe muscular or skeletal injury.
Another grim statistic holds that about 91% of professional ballet dancers will experience chronic pain related to their punishing careers later in life. They're also prone to low bone mineral density, which puts them at risk of osteoporosis.
Some dancers are expected to jump as high as four feet
In a 2022 study in the Heliyon journal, researchers described the average professional ballerina as jumping about 1.7 feet high, whereas ballerinas who work as soloists can usually pump this number up to 1.8 feet. However, male ballet dancers are typically expected to jump significantly higher.
According to Dance Gaily, it's not unusual for these dancers to jump as high as three or four feet in the air. Ballet legend Mikhail Baryshnikov was known to dwarf even this impressive number by jumping up to six feet in the air.
Most ballet dancers have defined abs
It's not typically easy to see during their performances due to the costumes they're wearing, but it's very common for ballet dancers to have sharply toned stomachs. Indeed, it's often a natural result of their training, as those stomachs have to do a lot of work.
According to the Ballet Dancers Guide, one of the most important qualities any ballet dancer can have is core strength. That's because core strength begets core stability, which is a crucial factor not only for general strength but also for balance and bodily stability.
Ballet shoes aren't worn fresh out of the box
Although pointe shoes are at their best and safest when they snugly fit a ballet dancer's feet, the finer details of that fit aren't something that most shoes can achieve on their own. That means that it's usually incumbent on the dancers to break them in.
But while that's hardly an unfamiliar concept for standard footwear, it involves a more precise and regimented process in ballet. According to Masterclass, these breaking-in processes vary from dancer to dancer, but they often involve shaping and bending the shoe until they naturally mold to the shape of their feet.
It's not unheard of for dancers to take razors to their feet
As Dr. Lisa M. Schoene of the Gurnee Podiatry And Sports Medicine Association explained, the weight that ballerinas put on their toes makes bunions, callouses and corns a common occupational hazard. Considering how precise and comfortable ballet dancers need to be with their movements, these conditions can often throw them off.
For that reason, some dancers will get desperate enough to try and cut at the affected parts of their feet with razors. However, not only does Dr. Schoene caution that this is an unhealthy and risky tactic, but she also mentions that it doesn't work as intended because imperfections like bunions are rooted down to the feet's bones. As such, she considers them a poor substitute for a podiatrist's care.
Many dancers dread doing penchés
Even to look at it, the ballet step known as a penché (the French word for "leaning") looks like an incredibly difficult balancing feat. Without the proper core strength, most would topple over trying to attempt it.
However, Holly Dorger from the Royal Danish Ballet explained that they're no less intimidating for professional ballerinas. This is partially because the soles of pointe shoes aren't as flat as they look but largely because the extreme positioning and the lack of support make falling so easy. In her words, "All penchés are terrifying."
Tutus can cost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars
Although the price of a tutu can vary wildly depending on the materials used to make it, the level of detail required, and the skill level of the designer, most can't really be described as "cheap." As tutu manufacturer Twirling Ballerinas explained, this is because each of the layers of tulle in the lower part has to fall perfectly into place during lifting routines.
This takes some precise hands and painstaking effort, which is typically reflected in the tutu's price. Generally, a tutu intended for a professional dancer can range in price from $250 to $1,900, though better deals are theoretically possible for used garments.
Women weren't allowed to be star ballerinas until the 1800s
As NPR outlined, ballet began during the European Renaissance before it was standardized under King Louis XIV's reign. But if women were allowed to participate at all, the most complex choreography (and thus, the starring role in a ballet) was always set aside for men.
However, this shift in ballet's gender politics to the still-popular image of the star ballerina came from an unlikely source: The French Revolution. After that event had taken place, the previous rules of ballet became regarded as a holdover of the aristocracy. As historian Jennifer Homans said, "During the French Revolution, the aristocratic male dancer was really discredited. The hatred and bitter animosity toward the aristocracy had direct consequences for ballet."
Most tutus aren't machine-washable
Tutus are so delicate, intricate, and expensive that the thought of trying to run them through a washing machine is a horrifying prospect to manufacturers and dancers alike. One design firm called Tutu Joli made their tutus machine washable since they're intended for children, but even their website recommends against doing that.
Instead, dancers typically keep their tutus clean by drying them out and spot cleaning after each use. This is either achieved with lukewarm water and mild soap — which Tutu Joli recommends — or fresheners like Febreeze. Tutus should also never be ironed, as this will damage the tulle.
Dancers have a secret technique to keep from slipping
Naturally, balance is everything to a ballet dancer. And the kinds of floors ballerinas dance on are often a little too slick to accommodate their precise and potentially dangerous movements comfortably. For that reason, ballet troupes typically use a simple hack to ensure their feet have proper friction.
As the Dancewear Guru blog identified, ballet dancers will take rosin (a kind of hardened tree sap) and either apply it to the bottoms of their shoes or directly onto their feet. However, some theaters and competitions don't allow rosin, so dancers are expected to be diligent about a given organization's rules before putting it on.
Ballerinas dance long enough to need to tape up their feet
According to the National Ballet Of Canada, ballet dancers typically rehearse for about six hours a day to prepare for their performances. Considering how long of a period it is to perform complicated and arduous dance moves repeatedly, blisters on the feet are practically an inevitability.
Although there's nothing that can be done to eliminate this problem completely, ballerinas usually apply sports tape to their feet to offer at least some protection from the worst of these blisters. Others will use lamb wool to the same effect.
Ballet dancers often have to space their toes out artificially
In a video made for The Kennedy Center, Jessica Lawrence from the Northern California Dance Conservatory described her process when preparing her feet for her pointe shoes. And while she showed viewers her sports tape and a few of her most recent injuries, she also made it clear what consequences those injuries can have.
She described putting what she called toe spacers next to her big and pinky toes. In the case of her big toe, she inserts a small jelly mold to help alleviate bunion pain, as the bunion would otherwise scrape against one of her toes. As for her pinky, she uses a piece of makeup sponge to prevent the small toe from slipping under the rest of her foot.
It can take up to a decade to learn to dance on pointe
Whenever a ballet dancer is depicted standing on the tips of their toes like this, it's hard for the casual observer not to curl their own toes in sympathetic pain. At the same time, it's hard not to marvel at the fact that it's even possible to dance that way.
And according to the National Ballet Of Canada, learning to get used to standing and dancing on pointe is about as difficult as it sounds. Professional dancers typically spend about eight to ten years training before they're ready to work with a company.
Some of the ways feet change in ballet can help the dancer
For the most part, the ways a ballet dancer's feet will change throughout their training and career aren't exactly a welcome occurrence. After all, nobody likes bunions, blisters, or corns at the best of times, and that's especially true when someone's livelihood depends on their feet.
However, that's not always the case. During the grueling process of training to dance on pointe, ballerinas typically develop calluses in certain places. And as the National Ballet Of Canada noted, these calluses are great for reducing the discomfort that's all but inevitable in ballet.
Male ballet dancers don't usually go on pointe
Although it's not outside the realm of possibility for male ballet dancers to dance on pointe, the National Ballet Of Canada noted that this isn't typically part of their jobs or necessarily part of their training. Their shoes are a little different.
Specifically, men's most common ballet shoes are either ballet slippers made from canvas or more specialized ballet boots made from leather. Although they turn as much as ballerinas do, male dancers are usually trained with more emphasis on jumping and lifting up their female counterparts.
It is seriously punishing on the feet
According to the Cleveland Clinic, many professional ballet dancers will develop an informally named condition called "ballerina feet" over the course of their careers. Although ill-fitting footwear and improper training are sometimes to blame for this condition, the extended periods of time they spend on the tips of their toes make this an inherent risk of the profession.
Some common aspects of ballerina's feet include more pronounced arches, hardened and discolored toenails, dryness and cracking in soles, shortened toes, blisters, ingrown nails, and corns. Ballet also puts dancers at risk of more long-term effects like hammertoes and plantar fasciitis, to name a couple.
Ballet dancers don't get dizzy when they twirl
With all the spinning that can take place during a ballet performance, one might wonder how ballet dancers are able to keep from getting dizzy. After all, it's hard not to get queasy after twirling for long enough at half the speeds they can reach.
As the National Ballet Of Canada explained, these dancers are taught a technique known as "spotting" to keep their minds from nauseating them. This involves keeping their focus on one particular object in front of them and keeping their vision trained on it as they turn.
It's not uncommon for NFL players to practice ballet
As some of his forebears did, nose tackle Steve McLendon (pictured) told CBS Sports that he's been practicing ballet since his senior year of college. Moreover, he described it as harder than anything else he does. However, he considers it so strengthening for his knees, ankles, and feet that it's worth the grueling training.
And as his instructor Stephanie Kibler indicated, it's grueling on purpose. In her words, "I work him harder than the majority of women will ever work in a ballet setting. He does it well. He might have sweat dripping off him and looking at me like I'm crazy, but he does it."
Ballet dancers have super busy schedules
Although the amount of work a ballet dancer needs to do can vary significantly, it's generally safe to assume that they have a lot going on. According to The Australian Ballet, they prepare for their careers from childhood and work six days a week once they become professional dancers.
That time is largely dedicated to practicing their technique, developing their physical creativity, and maintaining their fitness. Naturally, it's easy to get worn out with such constant practice, so members of The Australian Ballet take a short break in the middle of the year and a longer one over the summer.
It takes weeks to rehearse for just one ballet performance
In an article for 4Dancers.org, Sharon Wehner of the Colorado Ballet mentioned that her main work takes up about 35 weeks of her year, which she supplements with contract work elsewhere. But when she is in Colorado, she's always practicing both during rehearsal weeks and performance weeks.
There are about four to six rehearsal weeks before a performance week, and that long period is spent learning and practicing the choreography (also called repertory) of the upcoming performance. During performance weeks, further practicing is split between tech and dress rehearsals for the show and "maintenance" rehearsals back at the studio.
Ballet dancers start "rigorous" training at eight years old
Although Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet noted that children could start practicing ballet as young as three or four to learn the basics, they mentioned that the most rigorous training tends to start at eight years old. By that, they mean that eight-year-olds start training with the intention of becoming professional dancers.
However, the organization is quick to assure parents that this age isn't the be-all and end-all for those starting ballet. There are professionals who started training at 11, some who started at 13, and some who started even later.
Ballet dancers retire early and often not by choice
Although ballet dancers start training early in life, they'll often find they're pretty young by the time they have to stop dancing professionally as well. And their dancing careers are far more likely to end out of physical necessity than due to a lack of interest.
According to the National Ballet Of Canada, most dancers retire between 35 and 40 years of age. While the reason for this is often a career-ending injury, others will find that long-term strain on their bodies is the culprit. And if they don't find work teaching, choreographing, or securing a position as an artistic director, they have to pursue other careers.
Ballerinas have to watch out for "sickling"
According to the Louetta Foot And Ankle Specialists, sickled feet are the result of a gradual change influenced by improper foot positioning. Specifically, this term describes feet with toes that curve inward and heels that drop back. In addition to being undesirable on its own, sickling makes dancing more dangerous.
That's because the more that sickling occurs, the more destabilized a dancer's ankles are. This can not only lead to twisted and sprained ankles but can also leave dancers more susceptible to tendinitis.
Ballet dancers aren't paid as much as some may think
It's true that a ballet dancer's salary can vary wildly depending on where they are, what position they have in a company, and how long they've been working. However, the average wage for a dancer is lower than some might expect, given the grueling physical labor involved.
According to The Guardian, dancers with England's Royal Ballet make the equivalent of $27,800 in their second year in the company, and that number rises by $1,200 for each additional year they spend. If the dancer is a soloist, that number rises to $41,000 a year, and it rises again to $49,300 if they're the first soloist.
Ballet dancers have to be staggeringly strong
For those wondering how ballerinas injure their feet so much throughout their careers, it's not just a matter of experiencing unfortunate mishaps. Indeed, the normal course of their duties requires them to put an obscene amount of force on their toes.
According to K2 Dance Studios, a ballerina who jumps on pointe carries three times her body weight on the tips of her toes, while a male dancer can end up carrying 1.5 tons worth of ballerinas over the course of a single performance.
Diet Is Very Important
Ballet dancers (especially ballerinas) are expected to dance with strength, grace, and adherence to the company's conventional aesthetics. This means that their diets have to fuel them without bloating them, and that's as difficult to balance to walk as it sounds.
As dietician Jacqueline Birtwisle told The Guardian, "For dancers, it's a constant battle between quality, bulk, availability, and speed of digestion." And while her diet plans seek to thread that needle as healthily as possible.
Ballerinas often find their lifestyles affect their periods
According to The New England Journal Of Medicine, ballet dancers' lifestyle is intensely active with an incredibly restrictive diet, which can have some surprising effects on their bodies. And for ballerinas, one particular side effect concerns their ability to menstruate.
Research on the subject has existed as far back as 1980, and it's found that the extreme levels of activity expected of ballerinas combined with their frequent rates of undernutrition have the effect of either delaying their periods or stopping them from happening entirely. The latter condition is called amenorrhea, and it's linked to pregnancy difficulties and bone density issues.
Ballet dancers often need to travel the world
As Sharon Wehner wrote for 4Dancers.org, a ballet company can have a lengthy off-season each year. In her case, the Colorado Ballet usually winds down in April, which means she needs to supplement her work with them with more freelance-like opportunities before the next season.
And for ballet dancers like her, those opportunities are often in different countries entirely. One of her assignments took her to Costa Rica, and she has been to Japan as a guest performer and choreographer about ten times throughout her career.
Ballet techniques are foundational to other dance styles
Although ballet may not be seen as modern or "cool" as other styles like hip-hop, it's generally good practice to the point of being essential for dancers working in other styles to study ballet. And while ballet certainly teaches the kind of discipline needed to dance in any style professionally, that's not the only reason why it's so foundational.
To name but a few considerations, the posture, balance, flexibility, and agility that make people effective dancers in tap, jazz, or hip-hop are all integral parts of ballet. It isn't just football players who can find a lot of utility in the classical dance style.
Ballet studio floors have to be spotless
According to Dance Magazine, ballet studio floors are typically made of wood or vinyl, but in either case, it's dangerous to let them get even slightly dirty. And keeping them clean is not an easy task because the contaminants can be surprisingly subtle.
This level of care is required because the dirtier a floor gets, the slipperier it becomes. And that dirt can come from something as simple as the dancers sweating before the room temperature gets cooler. In response, studio owners need to mop the floor weekly with a neutral pH cleaner before going over it again with water.
Ballet was once exclusive to European nobility
According to CLI Studios, ballet's association with the European aristocracy during the Renaissance was partially popularized during Catherine de' Medici's wedding to Henry II of France in 1533. Although the early form of ballet was an Italian custom, it became popular enough within the French king's court to be largely developed and refined in France.
And the love of ballet among French royalty wasn't always passive. King Louis XIV was an avid dancer and specifically commissioned troupes just so he could join them. This had a ripple effect, further popularizing ballet in France, and independent troupes started training their own dancers.
A ballet dancer's tights will last about as long as their shoes
Although ballet dancers can find themselves wearing a wide variety of costumes during performances, most of their training will see them wear tights. And since these tights are often designed more for flexibility than durability, it's common for dancers to keep multiple pairs of them on hand.
Since ballet dancers work hard enough to run through multiple pairs of shoes regularly, it stands to reason that their tights would share the same fate. Specifically, the Melodica Music And Dance Academy noted that a professional dancer can expect to go through about 4,000 pairs of tights throughout their career.
The odds of becoming a professional dancer are slim
Despite how grueling the life of a professional ballet dancer can be, that doesn't stop an overwhelming number of people from chasing that dream. However, it's just as hard to secure a slot with a professional ballet company as it is to do the job.
According to Misty's Dance Unlimited, only about 3% of the people who go into dance end up becoming professional dancers. And this is true no matter how hard that 97% works, how passionate they are about dance, and even how talented they are.
Even spots in a dance academy can be very competitive
To underscore how difficult it is to succeed as a professional ballet dancer, it's worth noting that getting into a position even to study dance at the professional level involves a surprising amount of luck and competition. And just one example of this tense selection process can be found at Canada's National Ballet School.
According to the Montreal Gazette, about 1,000 people audition for the school's summer program each year, and about 175 of them make it in. However, this is another step before the school's full-time professional program, which will only see about 50 new members out of these 175. So, out of 1,000 applicants, only 50 will be able to study full-time.
Tutus weren't a part of ballet until 1832
Although it's hard to imagine ballet performances without tutus in modern times, it took about 300 years before anyone incorporated them into dances. According to Pointe Magazine, the first ballet to feature a tutu was La Sylphide in Paris, and the first dancer to don the now-iconic garment was Marie Taglioni in 1982.
The show was famous enough at the time to influence ballet attire forever, but it was also possible for the tutu to become a fixture of ballet because of the Industrial Revolution. This is because the raw materials needed for the delicate tulle were once only available in India but could have been grown in the Americas and processed in British factories by the time the 1800s rolled around.
A city in Romania sent traffic cops to ballet classes
According to The Guardian, the chief of police for the Romanian city of Timisoara sent 20 officers to ballet classes run twice a week by two former members of the Timisoara Opera Ballet in 2008. Unlike traditional ballet classes, the officers attended the program in full uniform because the classes were supposed to add grace and elegance to their duties.
Apparently, enough drivers in Timisoara had complained about how "imprecise and lackluster" these officers were while directing traffic that it made the classes seem like a worthwhile endeavor. As police chief Dorel Cojan said, "We hope it will be not only pleasing to the eye, but that it could also help drivers waiting at the red light who are stressed or sad."
Ballet dancers have an unusually high pain threshold
According to a 1995 study in The British Journal Of Sports Medicine, ballet dancers were found to have a consistently higher pain and pain tolerance threshold when compared to the general public. This made them comparable to other athletes, but there was a notable difference in how that pain was experienced.
That's because the pain tolerance of ballet dancers manifested despite a tendency to experience the sensory characteristics of their pain more acutely than others. Although they are more aware of how painful certain stimuli are than others, they embody the industry-wide expectation to overcome it.
Nobody in the 1800s would expect The Nutcracker's fame
If someone were asked to name a famous ballet, one of the most common answers would likely be Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. But while the ballet is a beloved classic now, The Washington Post reported that it was a flop when it was first performed in St. Petersberg, Russia, in 1892.
Although critics praised Tchaikovsky's score, they found the actual performance lackluster and complained about the "clumsy" battle scene and the "dull" costumes, and they even referred to the ballerina playing the Sugar Plum Fairy as "chubby." For his part, even Tchaikovsky was unimpressed by the premiere, describing it as "rather boring."
