How pointe shoes are made

The secret inside of pointe shoes    

No, they are not made out of wood, and there is no steel in the flat tip! The tip is made of densely packed layers of fabric, cardboard and/or paper hardened by glue. Being extremely sturdy makes it possible to balance the entire weight of the ballerina’s body on a small platform. The rest of the shoe consist of materials such as leather, cotton and satin. The right and the left shoe are identical.

Pointe shoe by Gaynor Minden © dancer.com

All pointe shoes are hand made and come in various length, widths and degrees of hardness. Many ballerinas have them custom made for the best fit. Point shoes are a very personal topic and ballerinas are very busy preparing them for their needs.

There are several well-known brands like Freed, Gaynor Minden, Bloch, Capezio, Sansha and Grishko.

Read also my blog in German „Wie kann man auf der Spitze tanzen“

My next blog will be about How to break your pointe shoes which is a real big deal for every ballerina. Can you imagine that ballerina break their brand new point shoe?

Photo on top © by Freed (website)

Autor: ballettlovers

I danced ballet as child, albeit with little success. Despite this, my passion for ballet and dance has carried into adulthood. I still love to watch ballet performances and would love to share my passion with you. Zeige alle Beiträge von ballettlovers