Ballet
A Brief History
The first documented performances with pointe shoes took place in England and France sometime between 1815 and 1830. When dance moved from ballroom to dancing on stages, audiences had a new view of them. And they had new view of the dancer’s feet. This made what the foot does and how it is done more important.
In 1794 dancers would briefly stand on toes. Then they would be lifted in the air by wires. The next step was to dance on pointe without wires. Dancers discovered they could balance on the ends of their toes. Prints have been found showing them nearly on their toes but not all the way. To give the illusion of weightlessness early appearances were probably held briefly.
In the first performance of La Syhide a women appears ton pointe. That woman is Marie Taglioni. She introduced the use of pointe dancing. Shoes like Marie Taglion’s had no box to protect the foot. It is a one sized tube of satin and leather. This tube squeezed the foot into a narrow pointe.
Different variations in technique began to emerge as pointe spread. The Russians rolled smoothly to pointe while the Italians rose with a spring. Boxes on pointe shoes have become harder. With a harder shoe you have less flexibility. This makes it harder to get on the box. There is now a wide range of pointe shoe designs. A pair of shoes has also gained four ounces since 1832.
