Watch The World's Bravest Ballerina Dance With Daggers Attached To Her Feet

Javier Pérez - EN PUNTAS (extracts) from Javier Pérez on Vimeo.

Finally, a ballet video that makes "Black Swan" look like child's play.

Javier Pérez's "En Punta" is a stunning (and pithy) meditation on the sacrifices made for a life in le ballet, where beauty and pain are never too far apart. Watch a ballerina with daggers -- yes, literal knives -- attached to her toe shoes attempt to find her balance while dancing atop a grand piano. Soft music tip-toes around her, reminiscent of an antique music box brought to life.

Pérez explains his vision on Vimeo: "The ballerina appears as an eerie figure expressing effort, sacrifice and pain in her strive for perfection. Both fragile and cruel. Initially shy and hesitant, her steps become more and more emphatic, menacing and not exempt of violence, scraping and cutting into the delicate surface of the piano with her sharp pointe shoes."