15 Sad Realities of Being A Professional Ballet Dancer

Ballet dancers are probably the hardest working, most dedicated and underpaid of all professionals

Go woke go broke 🌮

This video tells so much I used to dance since I was 5 years old and quit because of how hard I was pressuring my self the the teachers. It was really hard to feel good about myself

I always thought ballerinas were making a lot of money
It's the most beautiful dance
Has the most beautiful girls

I'm so surprised by some of the derisive comments here - criticizing the sacrifice and dedication of the dancers. Football and soccer is also hard in the body and the discipline it takes to excel is the same 🤔🤷

Will ballet be able to exist in this day and age? There's no way you can live in NYC with that salary!

As I had mentioned in another video: The proper shoes can make a world of difference to your feet and body. The technology is there to do it. For example, I grew up playing hockey. My hockey blades were heated and form-fitted to my feet and sharpened how I liked. For my marathon running and training shoes, my feet were digitally measured, then I was filmed running and I was given the shoes and insoles that worked for my body and activity and I had no problem running over 26 miles without ANY feet issues! I danced ballet for a while too and the shoes are basically fabric and stiff and NO protection! I use to think, “Why even have shoes?” It astounds me that there isnt a store that creates proper fitting dance shoes. Sounds like big business to me!

Find another career....No one is forcing you to be ballet dancer.

Why make a whole video complaining about it? No one is holding a gun to your head! I absolutely love every second of dancing! If you don't like it, don't do it! Victim mentality is a massive problem in our modern society. There is no such thing as perfection in ballet - even the best dancers are not perfect.

Wow. That's depressing. All that abuse of the body for so little return. It's beautiful, though.

I was a professional dancer - not ballet, but modern/jazz. I remember my body fat was so low that I didn't menstruate for a couple of years. I loved not having a period and I looked at it as a badge of honor. I literally could not pinch any fat on my boy - I was all lean muscle. Dancing really does consume you like no other sport.

As a formally trained creative dancer, I retired from dance twelve years ago. Now, I find myself, verging into sport competitive dance in Ballroom, Latin, Swing and Cabret competitions. I'm redefining my role in the dance world and looking forward to doing so.

I can see a day in the future when pointe dancing is banned, and frankly, so it should be! Its terrible for their feet!

Does the same apply to male dancers?

Brenda Estephana Bagby...this is disturbing to hear.

Holy cow.

Ballet gave me anorexia & a lifetime of food aversion

But if they throw a ball in a hoop they could be millionaires because you know it takes a lot more work to do that.

And they look terrible

No pain no gain!