I did ballet for years growing up. The money is spent on clothing, accessories, dresses, shoes, exams, and classes! But I loved it. It was my freedom. We had exams, tests, and massive annual performances.
People see ballerinas and think about two things: 01. So pretty and perfect lifestyle.
02. Looks so easy and fun! WRONG! Or most people’s ballet reference point is Natalie Portman in The Black Swan. The ballet industry is extremely difficult to enter; you must balance your lifestyle, health, diet, and social life as if you are walking on a tightrope.
Here are some wild facts about these ballerinas that will make you admire them so much that you’ll do anything to achieve your goals! They are both therapeutic and meditative to watch!
The corps are the lowest rung on the ladder, and they work hard. These young dancers can dance seven performances a week in five different ballets, sometimes changing costumes at intermission to dance two roles in a night.
- Being a ballerina Is So Expensive That Some Can’t afford to do it.
- Every time a dancer jumps on pointe three times, her body weight is carried on the tip of her big toe.
- Pointe Work Leaves Feet Swollen, Bruised, And Bloody
- Twelve-hour days are the weekday norm—back-to-back rehearsals, physical therapy, fittings, etc. Police officers in Romania were sent to take ballet classes to help them manage traffic more gracefully and easily.
- Ballerinas Don’t Participate In Life Like Everybody Else Does
- It isn’t just child dancers who have to make sacrifices. Many professional ballerinas comment that ballet isn’t a job—it’s a lifestyle. Ballet influences your eating habits, social interactions, and leisure activities as a professional. Beyond missing out on family birthday parties or indulging in pizza on Saturday nights, this lifestyle can entail sacrifices.
Irina Kolesnikova, one of the world’s most famous prima ballerinas, was infamously slammed by critics after she performed at St Albert Hall with the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre company in 2007.
The reviews said that she didn’t play the Swan Princess Odette as well as she normally did. Later, Kolesnikova admitted that at the time, she had just gone for a pregnancy scan and discovered that she had miscarried her first child. “It was a difficult time for me and my husband,” the ballerina revealed. “Sadness and tears.”
- Weight is so important in the ballet world that some dancers develop eating disorders.
- The pay is pretty excellent. Corps members earn roughly $1,100 to $2,100 a week, depending on seniority, and contracts last one year.
- Every Single Detail In A Performance Matters, and ballerinas can ruin everything in a split second.
- Most dancers work tirelessly for 32 weeks in the on-season, doing around 80 performances, working six days a week, with Monday being the only day off. Dancers have described this time as “gruelling” thanks to the hard work and hours they have to do.
- It’s a physically demanding, sometimes dangerous, profession. The performers often visit an in-house physical therapist for adjustments and manipulations between classes and performances.
- The daily expectations and criticism faced by ballerinas would overwhelm most people.
- A male dancer lifts over 1 1/2 tonnes of ballerinas during performances.
In conclusion, the path of a ballerina is not easy; it requires a lot of hard work, sacrifice, and strength. Beyond the grace and beauty on stage lies a world of relentless training, physical strain, and steadfast loyalty. While the challenges may be brutal, the passion and determination of ballerinas shine through, inspiring us all with their artistry and discipline.
