The ballet became famous for Nijinsky's leap through one of the two large windows at the back of the stage. The height of the leap was an illusion though. Nijinsky took five running steps from the middle of the stage and leapt through the window on the sixth step. The skirting board (base board) under the window was very low, giving the illusion that the leap was higher than it was. Behind the set, four men caught Nijinsky in the air and put warm towels on him. No one saw Nijinsky land. It looked like he would fly on for all time. The illusion was helped by the conductor in the orchestra pit who held the next to the last chord. In doing so, the leap was given a sense of great length and height.