Ballet is so beautiful to watch but the training is insane!  
It really is. Modern ballet is a highly technical art form. Gosh, it even has its own vocabulary - based on French I believe.
I had forgotten the link with French.  Do you know the history of ballet in France?  I wonder when it became popular.
History of ballet
Ballet is a formalized form of dance with its origins in the Italian Renaissance courts of 15th and 16th centuries. Ballet spread from Italy to France with the help of Catherine de' Medici, where ballet developed even further under her aristocratic influence. An early example of Catherine's development of ballet is through 'Le Paradis d' Amour', a piece of work presented at her daughter's wedding, Marguerite de Valois to Henry of Navarre. Aristocratic money was responsible for the initial stages of development in '
°) and half (180°) turns are possible for some types of turns
History.
Ballet is a type of performance dance that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread, highly technical form of dance with its own vocabulary based on French terminology. It has been globally influential and has defined the foundational techniques used in many other dance genres. Becoming a ballet dancer requires years of training. Ballet