History
Marie Taglioni in the title role of
La Sylphide, a ballet danced
en pointe for the full length of the work.
Women began to dance ballet in 1681, twenty years after King
Louis XIV of France ordered the founding of the
Académie Royale de Danse. At that time, the standard women's ballet shoe had
heels. Mid-18th century dancer
Marie Camargo of the
Paris Opéra Ballet was the first to wear a non-heeled shoe, enabling her to perform leaps that would have been difficult, if not impossible, in the more conventional shoes of the age. After the
French Revolution, heels were completely eliminated from standard ballet shoes. These flat-bottomed predecessors of the modern pointe shoe were secured to the feet by ribbons and incorporated pleats under the toes to enable dancers to leap, execute turns, and fully extend their feet.
The first dancers to rise up on their toes did so with the help of an invention by
Charles Didelot in 1795. His "flying machine" lifted dancers upward, allowing them to stand on their toes before leaving the ground. This lightness and ethereal quality was well received by audiences and, as a result,
choreographers began to look for ways to incorporate more pointe work into their pieces.
As dance progressed into the 19th century, the emphasis on technical skill increased, as did the desire to dance en pointe without the aid of wires. When
Marie Taglioni first danced
La Sylphide en pointe, her shoes were nothing more than modified satin slippers; the soles were made of leather and the sides and toes were darned to help the shoes hold their shapes. Because the shoes of this period offered no support, dancers would pad their toes for comfort and rely on the strength of their feet and ankles for support.
The next substantially different form of pointe shoe appeared in
Italy in the late 19th century. Dancers like
Pierina Legnani wore shoes with a sturdy, flat platform at the front end of the shoe, rather than the more sharply pointed toe of earlier models. These shoes also included a box—made of layers of fabric—for containing the toes, and a stiffer, stronger sole. They were constructed without nails and the soles were only stiffened at the toes, making them nearly silent.
The birth of the modern pointe shoe is often attributed to the early 20th-century Russian
ballerina Anna Pavlova, who was one of the most famous and influential dancers of her time. Pavlova had particularly high, arched insteps, which left her vulnerable to injury when dancing en pointe. She also had slender, tapered feet, which resulted in excessive pressure on her big toes. To compensate for this, she inserted toughened leather soles into her shoes for extra support and flattened and hardened the toe area to form a box.
Construction
Every dancer has unique feet, with variations that include toe length and shape, arch
flexibility, and
mechanical strength. Consequently, most pointe shoe manufacturers produce more than one model of shoe, with each model offering a different fit, as well as custom fitted shoes. Regardless of the manufacturer or model, however, all pointe shoes share two important
structural features that enable dancers to dance on the tips of their toes:
- A box within the front end of the shoe that encases and supports the dancer's toes.
- A shank, which is a piece of rigid material that serves to stiffen the sole so as to provide support for the arch of the en pointe foot.
The exterior of a pointe shoe is covered with
fabric, thus concealing the box and other internal structural elements and lending an aesthetically pleasing look to the shoe. Most pointe shoes are covered with
satin, but some are available with
canvas exteriors. Pointe shoes are most often available in light pink colors and less commonly in black and white. When other colors are desired (e.g., to match a costume), pointe shoes may be dyed or, if available, ordered in custom colors.
The vamp refers to the shoe's upper piece, measured from the platform to the drawstring; normally, longer toes call for a longer vamp. The throat is the edge of the vamp above the arch of the foot; it is usually either v-shaped or round. The drawstring is located within the binding on the throat; this may be made from either elastic or lace.
Box
A pointe shoe's tightly stretched satin exterior exposes the shape of its underlying toe box.
The box is a rigid enclosure within the front end of the shoe that encases and supports the dancer's toes.
[1] The front end of the box is flattened so as to form a platform upon which the dancer can
balance, and fabric covers the exterior of the box for aesthetics.
In conventional pointe shoes, the box is typically made from tightly packed layers of paper and fabric that have been glued together and then shaped into an enclosure.
[1] When the glue dries, it becomes hard and provides the required stiffness. In some newer pointe shoes, the box may be made from plastic and rubber, with rigidity provided by the plastic.
[1]
Sole
The sole is thin and covers only part of the bottom of the pointe shoe so as to remain inconspicuous.
For most pointe shoes, the
sole is constructed from a piece of
leather that is attached to the shoe with
adhesive and reinforced by
stitchingalong its edges.
[1] The sole overlaps and secures the unfinished edges of the shoe's exterior fabric. Pointe shoes may be manufactured with either scraped soles, which provide superior
traction, or buffed soles, which have a smoother surface for reduced traction.
Aesthetic appearance is of paramount importance for modern pointe shoes. To achieve an elegant appearance, the shoe's more decorative outer fabric is prominently featured, covering the maximum possible area of the shoe's visible surfaces. To this end, the sole is made of thin material to give it a minimal profile, and a margin of satin is artfully pleated around it so that the sole covers only part of the bottom of the shoe.
Shank
The shank is covered by thin fabric, which in turn directly contacts the bottom of the dancer's foot.
Shanks are typically made from
leather,
plastic,
cardstock, or layers of glue-hardened
burlap. The flexibility of a shank is determined by its thickness and the type of material used. A shank's thickness may be consistent throughout or it may vary along its length to produce different strengths at select points. For example, slits may be cut across a shank at demi-pointe to enhance roll through. Also, a shank's thickness may transition at some point along its length in order to implement differing strengths above and below the transition. Standard pointe shoes typically have a full shank, in which the shank runs the full length of the sole, or
fractional (e.g., half or three-quarter) length shanks. Many pointe shoe manufacturers offer a choice of shank materials, and some will build shoes with customized shanks of varying stiffness and length.
Dancers will sometimes wear different pointe shoe models for different performance pieces. In such cases, the
choreography often dictates the type of shank required; a lyrical style may call for a softer shoe, while an aggressive style with many turns is more easily performed in a hard, stiff shoe.
Ribbons and elastic band
Ribbons and elastic band used to secure a pointe shoe to the foot.
A pointe shoe employs two fabric
ribbons and an
elastic band to secure it to the foot. Most of the work of securing shoes to feet is done by the ribbons. The two ribbons wrap around the dancer's
ankle in opposite directions, overlapping one another so as to form a cross at the front. The ends are then tied together in a
knot, which is then tucked under the ribbon on the inside of the ankle to hide it from view. The elastic band—which traverses the front of the ankle below the ribbons—keeps the
heel of the shoe in place against the foot when the dancer is en pointe.
The locations where the band and ribbons attach to a shoe is critical, as incorrect placement can result in a poorly fitting shoe.
[2] Optimal placement depends on the physical attributes of the foot to which it will be mated, and consequently the ribbons and elastic bands cannot be attached during the shoe manufacturing process. After acquiring a new pair of pointe shoes, a dancer must determine the appropriate attachment locations for the ribbons and elastic bands and then
sew them, or arrange for them to be sewn, onto the shoes.
Demi-pointe shoe
A demi-pointe shoe, which is also variously called a break-down, pre-pointe, or a soft-block shoe, shares many characteristics with pointe shoes. For example, its outer appearance resembles that of a pointe shoe and it has a toe box, although the box is softer and the wings (sides of the toe box) are typically not as deep as those found on pointe shoes. Demi-pointe shoes are secured to the feet with ribbons and elastic band in identical fashion to pointe shoes. Unlike pointe shoes, however, demi-pointe shoes have no shank and, as a result, they do not provide the support necessary for proper pointe work.
Demi-pointe shoes are most often used to train dancers who are new to pointe technique. They serve to acclimate dancers to the feel of wearing pointe shoes and to strengthen the ankles and feet in preparation for dancing en pointe in pointe shoes. The toe box allows the dancer to experience the feel of a pointe shoe, while the insole and outsole work together to provide the resistance needed for developing foot and ankle strength.
Manufacturing process
Traditional pointe shoes are usually manufactured using a method known as
turnshoe, in which each shoe is initially assembled inside-out on a
last and then turned right-side-out before finishing.
[3] When manufacturing standard pointe shoes, a standardized, common last is used for both left and right shoes, resulting in identical left and right shoes in a pair. Some ballerinas have custom-made lasts that replicate the shapes of their own feet; these may be supplied to a pointe shoe manufacturer for the purpose of manufacturing custom shoes.
Breaking in
Dancers typically "break in" new pointe shoes to reduce or eliminate the discomfort they commonly cause, usually by performing releves and eleves that flex, and thus soften, the boxes and shanks in a natural manner. Various other methods have also been employed for breaking in pointe shoes, including deforming them with hands or against hard surfaces, striking them on hard surfaces, and moistening or heating the boxes to soften the
glues, but these methods may shorten a pointe shoe's usable lifetime.
Accessories
A dancer may experience discomfort while wearing a pointe shoe even after the shoe has been broken in. Several devices are commonly used to mitigate the discomfort:
- Toe pads are pouches that encapsulate and cushion the toes from the unyielding box and prevent friction that can cause blistering. These are typically made from thin, fabric-covered gel sheets.
- Gel toe spacers of various shapes and sizes are inserted between toes; these serve to adjust toe spacing and alignment so as to alleviate pain at the bunion joint between the big toe and first toe.
- Lambswool is stretched and wrapped around toes to reduce chafing and the likelihood of blisters. After several uses, the lambswool becomes densely packed and custom fitted to the dancer's foot.
- Tape is wrapped around toes to reduce chafing and blisters.
