When I say the word “ballerina,” what comes to mind? If you are like most of the world, you will think of little girls in pink tutus or women in flowing gowns twirling and leaping across a stage. Those images of beauty and flawless movement are exactly what ballerinas want their audience to see. However, underneath their smiling facade lurks brutal intensity and painful dedication.

This past August, artist Javier Perez released a video called “En Puntas” that demonstrates the mental and physical struggle ballet dancers endure to perfect their movement. In the video, Amelie Segarra dances on top of a grand piano en pointe. (Pointe is a form of ballet done in shoes that contain layers of densely packed paper, fabric, and cardboard in the front. Pointe shoes allow dancers to balance on their toes instead of the balls of their feet, which elongates their legs and exaggerates their movements.) However, Amelie Segarra’s pointe shoes are different- giant steel knives were attached to the bottom. Now not only is she balancing on her toes, but she is doing that on the edge of a blade.       

In the video, Amelie attempts to dance on top of the grand piano. The knives scrape across the wood, dangerously close to the edge of the piano, creating a penetrating scratching noise. I think this represents the fine line pointe dancers tread between art and torture. Right in the middle of those ideas is dramatic perfection. The way Segarra flirts with the edge of the piano and comes close to falling off several times deliberately makes the audience on edge (bah dum tss). Javier Perez wants the audience to feel anxiety over Amelie’s dance because that gives insight into the intensity of a ballet dancer’s stenuous training.

Throughout the video, Segarra’s movements become increasingly violent. She bourres and stabs at the piano. At a few points, she screams out at her feet in frustration. The severity of her movements and shouts represent the strain dancers put on their bodies to reach perfection. Particularly in ballet, dance moves are specific and exact. If a ballerina cannot perform precisely, she is not needed. The stakes are high for professional ballerinas, so they put their bodies through tremendous strain in order to live up to expectations. This level of pressure is physically and mentally exhausting, and Perez captures this battle in Segarra’s violence.

So, moral of the story: although dancers make it look easy, never underestimate the intense dedication and training that goes into ballet.