Pointe shoe

Toe shoes are shoes for ballet dance without right-left distinction ( einballige shoes) with a stiffened filled toe (box), at the outer end of which a (usually covered with leather) is flattening. With silk ribbons, the shoes are also attached to the ankle. Can therefore be danced with stretched foot to the toes ( pointe ) With top shoes.

Design and development

The stiffened and padded inside front part of the shoe lace in use today includes closely the forefoot and distributes pressure evenly on it. On the outside of the toe, it offers the dancer a level surface. The only partially reinforced sole of the shoe lace supports the foot so that a dancer can wear their body weight over the arched instep and balance on the stand.

The ballerina Marie Camargo led to the 1730 heelless dance shoe, so as to increase their freedom of movement. The shape and design of the tip of the shoe has changed dramatically over the past 150 years. It is noticeable especially if the stand area has become much wider, so that the desired romantic ballet illusion of floating above the ground due to the visibly larger ground contact is not completely achieved. On the other hand, allows the use today pointe shoe combinations of steps and movements on tiptoe that were unthinkable with the shoes of Marie Taglioni.

Fit

Ideally, pointe shoes sit tight as a second skin on the foot. How to find the right to own foot pointe shoe and with various tricks adapts to your own foot, is described in the literature. However, each dancer has to find out by trial and error the best solution for them. Many professional dancers wear pointe shoes made ​​to measure. But even in this case is that a large amount of time and work has to be invested before pointe shoes are so smooth and so sit on the foot, that they can be worn in a ballet performance. Pointe shoes are quite delicate and need to be replaced due to wear during a ballet performance depending on the intensity of the dance.

In order to professionally and safely can dance with pointe shoes, the feet must be been systematically prepared by a suitable ballet training under the expert guidance over a number of years and strengthened. To this end, so-called soft ballet slippers or pointe shoes are worn next to Points during training.

Others

Due to the high load on feet at the peak dance is generally recommended, so not too early to begin in childhood. The bony structure of the foot should first be trained, which is why the top dance is mostly only from a ballet students aged 10 to 12 years, depending on the individual level of development, recommended and practiced.

Often known ballet dancers sign her worn pointe shoes for her fans. In the past, only women danced on top, but for some years there are also top shoes in men's sizes.

Past pointe shoes in museums

• Fanny Elssler - State Museum in Eisenstadt (Burgenland / Austria )
• Lucile Grahn from - German Dance Archive Cologne
• By Marie Taglioni - Library of the Paris Opera