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.
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.
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.
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.
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!