Teen shows are notorious for never showing their characters spending time doing the things that take up most of a typical teenager's days. How many times have you seen a show ostensibly centered around high school life, such as "Gossip Girl," "Riverdale," or "Pretty Little Liars," where the stars are actually attending classes? Then it would have made sense (if a little disappointing) if the young ballet dancers in Netflix's latest campy YA show, "Tiny Pretty Things" (opens in a new tab), had never danced.

Not so this time, however. Not only does the series provide plenty of time for intense dance breaks amidst the equally intense drama surrounding the students of the prestigious Archer Ballet School, but to blow off steam caused by the grueling practice schedule and a classmate's fall from the roof of the school, on that very roof! What better way than to dance your heart out in your underwear. Here's what you need to know about dancing in Tiny Pretty Things, and how the series' creators and stars strived to stay true to the ballet roots of the story.

Almost everyone does. None of the parents or school administrators are played by actual ballet dancers, but all of the students and all of the dancers in the show are trained in classical ballet. Kylie Jefferson, who plays Nevia, was the youngest person ever to attend the Debbie Allen Dance Academy in L.A., and Michaelisch Rosen, who plays the Frenchman Nabil, has been on Broadway since he was 17. Yes, all of their dances are real.

The masterminds behind the show were determined to balance the winding mystery of who pushed one of the top dancers at the Archer School off the roof of a building with the incredible effort and ambition to become a top dancer and create a series that showed the give and take of both I was determined. To do this, he needed real ballerinas in the cast. [Executive producer Jordana Freiberg told "Dance Spirit" (opens in new tab). 'The show represents the grit and sweat before they're wrapped up in costumes and makeup.'

As for the actual casting process, Brennan Crost, who plays Shane, recently explained that producers were looking for an unusual combination of high-level dancing and acting. He said, "This [audition] tape I sent them was almost 15 minutes long. They had us prepare and study an entire ballet class, plus an improvised solo, dance reel (if any), and write 10 pages of sides," the Juilliard School graduate told Backstage (opens in new tab). "The producers called us 'unicorns. [The lead cast] are people who have reached the pinnacle of their dance careers, but over the last five years, across the board, they've shifted from high-level professional dance to acting."

Some of the cast's professional dancers have also dabbled in choreography, so it makes sense that they would jump at the opportunity to lead dance in a major Netflix production, having choreographed the music video for ScHoolboy Q and Travis Scott's "CHopstix." According to Jefferson, the show's choreographers were very receptive to the dancers' tastes and abilities.

"I felt more comfortable with stamina and certain aspects of the choreography," he said. We had great choreographers come in and we got to experience all the different voices in the piece," Jefferson told Black Girl Nerd (opens in new tab). 'And Jefferson said. 'It was a collaborative process from top to bottom, but I felt like I was able to communicate where my body was for me as a dancer or for me as a vessel for this dynamic.'