Bizarre Ballet Facts

While pointe shoe technology has advanced since Marie Taglioni first rose en pointe in La Sylphide in 1832, the biomechanics of performing this impressive feat of strength remains one of the most difficult ballet skills to master.

When rising to relevé in demi pointe, the dancer places the pressure on the ball of the foot while plantarflexing (pointing) through the ankle joint. To achieve full relevé en pointe, the dancer must come up and over the toe box, requiring the plantarflexion of the ankle joint and the big toe, ultimately increasing and compounding the pressure to the equivalent of up to 12 times their body weight. All while looking effortlessly ethereal.

On 17 April 2024, 353 dancers from around the globe gathered at the Plaza Hotel in New York City as part of the Youth America Grand Prix, all rising en pointe for one minute and breaking the previous record of 306 dancers en pointe from 2019.

The greatest number of consecutive fouettés en tournant is 166 and was achieved by Delia Gray on 2 June 1991 during a workshop at Harlow Ballet School in Essex, United Kingdom. Prior to Delia’s record-breaking achievement, New Zealand prima ballerina Rowena Jackson held the title with 121 fouettés in 1940 and American ballerina Suzanne Farrell wrote in her autobiography that at age 14 she could complete 114 consecutive fouettés.

If that’s not enough to make your head spin, Elena Glurdjidze performed the movement meaning “whipped” a whopping 36 times in 30 seconds in 2009.

Is anyone else feeling dizzy?

In addition to pioneering the flying trapeze routine in 1859, French acrobat Jules Léotard is credited with creating the one-piece costume that bears his name. The tight-fitting outfit made the artist more aerodynamic when flying through the air and displayed his athletic physique.

South African dancer Jeanne-Carlin Cilliers performed 1,199 continuous grand battements on alternating legs to claim the Guinness World Record on 5 March 2005. I hope she stretched out those hip flexors!

In Peter Shaffer’s play Amadeus, Joseph II of Austria bans ballet from being performed within the court theatre. However, the Austrian ruler never explicitly prohibited the art form; he simply exercised his political power to dissuade audiences by taking the unprecedented step and charging them for their seats. The “ballet ban” was more a case of economic coercion and personal taste, with Joseph II believing ballet to be a "useless excitement of sensuality by an erotic jumping around on the stage."

While most professional ballet dancers have retired from the stage by age 40, Charin Yuthasastrkosol hadn’t even begun learning the art form yet. At age 47, the Thai mother of three began ballet lessons, and in 2002, at age 71, was awarded the Guinness World Record as the oldest performing ballerina. Proof that you’re never too old to follow your dreams.