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Performed since late 1600s
King Louis XIV created Royal Academy of dance, but it wasn't til 20 years later that women were allowed to join. -
Mario Camargo
Mario was the first to wear ballet flat shoes instead of heels during a performance. -
Exploring dancing on your toes
In 1795, dancers began exploring dance on their toes. They were connected to wires that lifted them and carried them on their toes. But before then, they wore ballet shoes that were made out of leahther or canvas and didn't allow to go up on toe. -
Flying Machine
In 1795, Charles Didelot created the flying machine that let dancers rise up on their toes before leaving the ground. -
Italian Ballet Dancers
By the late 1800's, Italian ballet dancers wore shoes with toe boxes. -
Italian Shoes
Italian had pointe shoes made out of layers of fabric. Russians were making shoes that were more firmer than the ones Italians were making. -
Without Wires
As dancers made their way into the 19th century, they didn't feel the need to use the wires to lift them off the ground anymore. -
Mary Taglioni
First woman to dance on her toes without the use of wires. -
Sharp to flat Toe
Pointe shoes went from having a sharp pointed toe, to a flat box toe that they could dance on. -
Future Pointe Shoes
Future pointe shoes from Italian refined to cardboard and newspapers and paste made from flour. -
Pointe Shoes become Rationalized
In the 20th century pointe shoes became rationalized. They were made by specialized cobblers to be stiffer and heavier. -
Freed Creates Shoes
Freed creates pointe shoes based around the shape of the foot. More for people who had wide feet. -
Refining
By the late 1920's, the pointe shoe was being refined to be safer to dance on by the shoe being the shape of the persons foot. -
Dancers on Strike
Dancers threatened to strike in 1980s to get better pointe shoes for theselves. -
To this day!!
To this day, when buying pointe shoes, dancers may have a particular brand of pointe shoes depending on her weight and skill level. Fit of pointe shoes is important because they can cause blackened nails, blisters, toe fractures, and bunions. Life of pointe shoes can last an hour or maybe a month. -
Todays Pointe Shoes
Todays pointe shoes are made out of several layers of burlap and canvas. They are then glued together for stiffness. A final layer of satin is then added. The shoe is then held together by soles called shanks. -
Bibliography
http://www.freedusa.com/magazine/pdf/Evolution-of-the-Pointe.pdf http://www.balletshoes.com/history-evolution-pointe-shoes.html http://www.ehow.com/about_5112119_history-ballet-pointe-shoes.html http://www.dancer.com/hist.php http://dance.barnard.edu/sites/default/files/inline/clifton_thesis_final.pdf http://www.tiptoedancewear.com/ballet-history/
