On Pointe in the Spotlight

About this drawing

The idea of a ballerina princess makes perfect sense once you know where ballet started: inside royal courts. It grew out of lavish entertainments at Italian palaces in the 1400s, then moved to France with Catherine de' Medici.

Its biggest fan was Louis XIV of France, who danced on stage himself as a young king. One dramatic role helped earn him the nickname the Sun King. In 1661 he founded a royal dance academy, and that is why ballet still speaks French. Words like plié and tutu are used in studios from Paris to Peoria.

Early ballet looked nothing like what you see at The Nutcracker each December. Men took most of the roles, and dancers moved in heavy costumes and heeled shoes. Everything changed in the 1800s. Marie Taglioni rose up on her toes in La Sylphide in 1832, seeming to float across the stage, and audiences went wild.

That floating look takes serious work. Dancers train for years to build strong feet, ankles and backs before a teacher lets them try pointe shoes at all. Each pair wears out fast, and professional dancers can go through many of them in a single season. It may look effortless, but behind that graceful pose is one of the toughest athletic jobs around.

• ballet
• princesses
• dance
• stage