Satin, Cardboard and Cotton

My new pointe shoes are loading, and have been for some time. It’s been tricky to make time to break these beauties in but I’m slowly getting there. Pointe shoes take more work to break in than normal shoes because of the amazing anatomy inside the shoe. These ballet shoes have been adapted over the years to improve performance and comfort, using materials such as fabric, paper, cardboard, leather, cotton and satin.

Today’s pointe shoes contain the following elements:

* Platform: the oval-shaped end of the pointe shoe that allows dancers to stand on their toes.

* Box: The material around the platform that secures the toes whilst the dancer is on pointe.

* Vamp: the cover for the top of the foot and the metatarsals (the small bones in the forefoot). Its size is chosen depending on foot shape, toe length and technique through demi-pointe.

* Shank: the insole of the pointe shoe, which can be extremely hard prior to the dancer wearing the shoe.

* Wings: the symmetrical sides of the vamp, directed toward the heel. * Outer sole: the bottom of the shoe in contact with the floor.

* Ribbons: the way of securing the shoe to the foot. The placement of the ribbons can be tricky and often they are sewn on a few times in different places before the dancer is happy.

So there we have it, all the different parts of pointe shoes that make them the functional, beautiful and as comfortable as they can be…shhhh!!