There are many common, and often unfair misconceptions and stereotypes about ballet. I would like to take this opportunity to clear up some of them for the general population.

1. First of all everyone needs to know that there is a difference between ballet and pointe. You can dance ballet without ever doing pointe. Many people do not realize that when you go in and start ballet classes as a beginner, you do not get to dance on your "tip toes." Many studios will not allow dancers to go 'en pointe' if they have not taken at least 1-2 years of ballet, are at least 11 years old, and have sufficient foot, ankle, and leg strength, posture, and technique that is required for pointe work.

2. [Ballet shoes have wood in the tip] NO. The toe box of a pointe shoe is made with stiffened layers of fabric and glue.

3. [Ballet is easy] Seriously? Because no one let me in on that little secret. Ballet is a lot of work and often takes years of training to develop and master proper technique. While a skilled dancer certainly makes it look easy, she has spent hours upon hours of grueling training and practice in order to dazzle you with her grace.
Let me put it to you this way: if you have tapered toes like me where your big toes is longer than all the rest, the weight of your entire body is being supported by that one toe, ballanced over only 1.5 inches of hardened glue. Now, stand ballanced on one leg. Raise your other leg up behind your body, forming a 90 degree angle between your supporting leg and your working leg, hold it. Now at the same time, imagine the tips of your toes being mashed against the floor under the pressure of your body weight, while still balanced on that one foot. Now hold this position. This is called an arabesque, its a pretty basic ballet pose. Still think its easy?

4. [ballet is just for little girls and people that cant play sports] You know, I came across something interesting online this week. An article on sciencedaily.com reads,"'Swan Lake' and 'Sleeping Beauty' may be as tough opponents as the Supersonics or the Steelers. Psychologists trying to understand the factors that put athletes and performers at risk for injuries have found that professional ballet dancers get hurt just as often and suffer just as serious injuries as athletes in contact sports...The average time lost because of a ballet injury was 10.5 days, with the actual time loss ranging from one to 87 days.

An injury was defined as a medical problem that restricted participation for at least one day beyond the date of the injury...'Ballet is physically grueling and the fact that other dancers are competing with them adds to the physical stress. They often perform hurt and are afraid someone will take their place... The level of precision required is comparable to that of an Olympic gymnast.'"

5. [ribbons on pointe shoes are tied up to the knee] I'm not sure who started that, but this is one of the most annoying things to a dancer. The ribbons are tied just around the ankles. The ribbons are not decoration, they are they for support and to hold the dancer's shoes on [although they do look pretty:)]. It is far beyond irritating to see so many drawings and figurines showing the ballerinas with ribbons tied to her knees. It makes one wonder who thought that was a good idea, and why no one else corrected them.

[more coming soon...]