Ballerinas Used to Dance Wearing Masks
Italy is the ballet’s homeland, but it’s also the homeland of the commedia dell’arte, which is a theater genre in which the actors wear specific masks.
When ballet dance was being formed, it was inspired by the genre, and that’s why the dancers used to wear masks. Since the masks limited movement and vision, the moves performed then weren’t as elaborate as they are now.
Turns Are Essential
Fouetté is one of the many French ballet move names. The literal meaning of the word is "whipped" and the move itself involves the ballerina whipping her leg around in order to keep turning.
In Swan Lake, there is a scene in which the prima ballerina has to perform 32 such turns in a row — something that would make any mere human meet their breakfast all over again. In 1940, New Zealand ballerina Rowena Jackson set a world record of performing 121 fouettés in a row!
The Balance Trick
Have you ever wondered how ballerinas manage to perform so many turns and not get dizzy? The answer to that is pretty simple.
They use a technique called "spotting". It means that they focus their eyes on a specific spot in front of them (like a mark on the wall or a person in the audience), start turning their body first, and then quickly whip their head around to look back at that same spot. Certain theaters even have a special blue light installed behind the audience so the ballerinas can use it as their spot.
Ballet and Opera Used to Go Hand in Hand
In the past, when ballet was a form of entertainment in royal courts, it was accompanied by opera singers.
Now, the two are seen as individual art forms, with opera singers who do their own acting and ballet productions that use instrumental music.
Buns Are a Serious Business
The signature buns you see on ballerinas are done by the ballerinas themselves. They do their own makeup as well. The accumulative time required to do the hair and makeup for all the ballerinas in a single production is estimated at 400 hours!
Olivia Boisson, a ballerina on the NYC Ballet said that she and other dancers who joined the company got one hair and makeup lesson, after which they had to do it all on their own.