Ballerinas Are Almost Used to Pain
There are some painful things every ballerina does as part of her training — standing en pointe, holding a position for a long time, and building flexibility are just the tip of the iceberg.
This makes ballerinas almost superhuman when it comes to handling pain. It has even been said that ballerinas can endure three times the pain a “regular” person can handle.
How the Leotard Got Its Name
A ballerina can never have too many leotards, but the truth is that the piece of garment was invented for a totally different kind of performance art — the flying trapeze.
French acrobat Jules Léotard was a flying trapeze pioneer. Before his untimely death, he got to popularize the art and invent the leotard — it was a tight garment designed for optimal movement and to display his physique.
There Is a Live Pianist at Every Ballet Rehearsal
Big ballet productions are performed with a full live orchestra, but they are rehearsed with just a minimalistic live pianist.
Up until the 1800s, there were also violinists who did it, but now they are only there as part of the orchestra for the full show. For the pianists, it is a great way to make some extra cash, practice, and learn some ballet jargon.
Pedicure Is Important
Other than extreme pain and losing toenails, one of the side effects of dancing en pointe is getting ingrown nails.
In order to avoid the ingrown nails (as they can't really avoid the other two side effects), ballerinas have to keep their toenails long enough when putting their shoes on.
Mother Russia Didn't Like The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is one of the most famous and most popular ballets today. Though it's hard to believe it became so iconic when Tchaikovsky himself admits to not liking it so much.
The ballet debuted in Russia in 1892. Critics were underwhelmed and the Russian viewers were unimpressed. They would be eating their words if they could see the classic it is nowadays.