A pointe shoe is a type of shoe worn by ballet dancers when performing pointework. Pointe shoes developed from the desire for dancers to appear weightless and sylph-like and have evolved to enable dancers to dance on the tips of their toes (i.e., en pointe) for extended periods of time. They are normally worn by female dancers, though male dancers may wear them for unorthodox roles such as the ugly stepsisters in Cinderella, Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, or men performing as women in dance companies such as Les Ballets Trockadero and Grandiva. They are manufactured in a variety of colors, most commonly in shades of light pink.
Read more about Pointe Shoe: History of Pointe Shoes, Construction, Breaking In, Accessories, Lifetime
Other articles related to "shoe, pointe, pointe shoe":
... The last is the mould on which a shoe is constructed ... The “box” supports the toe and allows for the dancer to stand en pointe ... When the shoe’s box “dies”, i.e ...
... there are three predominant types of wear on a pointe shoe that will determine its useful lifetime ... As the body of the shoe is repetitively flexed, the shank gradually weakens and loses its ability to provide support ... A pointe shoe is no longer serviceable when the shank breaks or becomes too soft to provide support ...
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