The Secret Rosin
Do you know the rosin baseball players use for a better grip? That same rosin is what ballerinas put on the bottom of their pointe shoes to keep from slipping.
There are a few techniques for making the hard part of those shoes — the part covering the toes. One such technique combines tightly pressed fabric and cardboard glued together at the tip.
Pointe Shoes Are a Big Deal
Going en pointe is almost a rite of passage for ballerinas as little ballerinas never start dancing en pointe right away. Since going en pointe requires skill and strength, the shoes need to be earned.
Approaching pointe shoes without proper training could also result in injuries, so it is usually advised to only go on them at the average age of 11 and after substantial training.
Costumes Can't Be Washed
Since tutus are so delicate, expensive, and take so long to make, a regular wash can easily ruin them, and nobody wants to ruin a good tutu.
What dancers do instead, in order to keep their tutu and other costumes fresh, they hang them up so they can be properly aired and spray them with a special spray.
The Ballerina Diet
A common misconception of ballerinas is that they hardly eat in order to stay light as a feather.
The truth is that they eat quite a lot, and even consume large amounts of carbs in order to fuel their bodies and get the energy they need to keep performing. It is also pretty common for ballerinas to go together for a big meal after they finish performing or rehearsing.
Not Everybody Goes Pro
How many people do you know who have taken ballet as children? Now, how many do you know who actually pursued it as a career? The percentage is incredibly low.
Take White Lodge for example. It is the Royal Ballet’s lower school, which takes in only 25 out of their 1,000 applicants each year. Only 5-7 of them actually end up graduating from the upper school, and even fewer of them get into the Royal Ballet.