Ballet, as the art form we know today, had its roots in 17th century along with King Louis XIV of France ordering the founding of the Académie Royale de Danse. At first, all the roles, both male and female, were danced mostly by men. It wasn’t until the 18th century that women began to figure more prominently in the ballet world. Originally, 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 pointework 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, resulting in excessive pressure applied to her big toes. To compensate for this, she would insert toughened leather soles into her shoes for extra support and would flatten and harden the toe area to form a box. While this practice made dancing en pointe easier for her, it was regarded by her peers as “cheating.”

Today’s pointe technique, which consists of relevés, pirouettes, hops and sustained poses, was not possible until the advent of the modern pointe shoes. They are made of several layers of burlap and canvas, each formed and then dipped in glue. It is this hardened glue which give the shoe its stiffness. The final layer is satin. The shoe is then held together by three soles, called shanks. The outside and middle shanks are made of leather, the inside of cardboard. The shanks, with the edges of the satin and canvas in between, are glued and then nailed together. The pointe shoe lengthens the line of the leg, helps refine and tone the calf muscles, and builds strength in the ankles, feet, and toes. All this enables the dancer to jump higher, move more quickly, and accomplish the increasingly difficult technique demanded by today’s choreographers as well as audiences.

It is very important to understand that the decision to start pointe work should be made only by a skilled and knowledgeable ballet teacher. Students attempting pointe work before being ready risk, at the very least, building bad habits which may take years to correct. More serious is the potential for injury or permanent damage to the bone or muscle structure of the foot, which far outweighs the risk of disappointment.

POINTE SHOE ANATOMY

BINDING - the fabric channel through which the drawstring runs

BOX (BLOCK) - the stiff toe cup that encases the toes

BOX LINER - the soft fabric that lines the inside of the box

CROWN - the vertical height between the vamp and the sole.

GIRTH - the measurement around the widest part of the foot, at the metatarsals at the ball of the foot

HIGH PROFILE - a pointe shoe box, often cylindrical, with a relatively large space between the outer sole and the top of the foot

LOW PROFILE - a pointe shoe box with a generally flat shape and a relatively small space between the outer sole and the top of the box

METATARSALS - the five bones between the ankle and the toes. Pointe shoe fitting is especially concerned with the area near the ball of the foot

OUTER SOLE - the bottom part of the shoe, usually made of synthetic or leather, which is in contact with the floor when the dancer stands in the normal flat position

PLATFORM - the part of the pointe shoe on which the dancer stands when en pointe

PLEATS – these occur where the fabric folds into the sole and are located on the underside of the box

PRONATION - the rolling inward of the foot so that when standing flat, more weight is on the ball of the foot than on the outside

QUARTER - the part of the shoe covering the sides and heel of the foot

SHANK - the stiff insole that provides support

SIDE QUARTERS - the sections of satin from the side seams to the back of the stay

SOCKLINER - the soft fabric that lies directly underneath the foot and runs the length of the shoe

STAY - the fabric that covers the seam in the back of the shoe at the dancer’s heel is the stay

SUPINATION - the rolling outward of the foot so that when standing flat, more weight is on the outside of the foot than on the ball of the foot

THROAT - the opening of the shoe nearest the toes

VAMP - the part of the shoe that covers the tops of the toes and the foot

VAMP ELASTIC - wide, firm elastic sewn at the throat of the shoe to extend the vamp and cover the top of the foot

WINGED BOX - a box with extra-long, stiff sides