My Ballet Shoes
I was feeling a little nostalgic today and dug out my old pointe shoes. I haven’t worn them in many years but I still like to keep them.
When a young dancer gets her first pair of pointe shoes, it’s a magical moment! I think I got mine at the age of 11.
She has been working hard to get to this point (pun intended😀) and she has not only been practising the foundational steps that would lead to her going en pointe, but she has also been building her muscles. Without the strength to get onto pointe, it’s very difficult.
Have a look at this short video. As it says, the struggle is real! I remember those moments!
There are two important factors when going en pointe (there’s probably more but these are 2 that I see violated at times):
- The young dancer needs to be ready physically. If she’s too young it can cause damage
- The pointe shoes should be fitted by a professional pointe shoe fitter. This is often done in a shop where you buy pointe shoes – definitely don’t just order them online and put them on!
Here’s a video showing pointe shoe fitting for beginners:
Anyway, back to my own pointe shoes…..
I thought it would be great to capture them with pencil on paper.
This is something that I think would make a great gift for someone. In fact, some years ago I was asked to draw the pointe shoes of a gentleman’s mother. She was sadly deceased but he wanted a reminder of her and what would be more perfect than her ballet shoes from her dancing days?
Here are my pointe shoes
And here are some of the drawings:
I’ve done other drawings and paintings of pointe shoes – you might think I’m a little obsessed – and when I draw a ballerina ready for a painting I like to get the pointe shoes just right! If they’re the wrong shape or the shading is wrong, then it just doesn’t look right.
Here are some examples:
The pencil drawing was the original and I have it printed on my iPhone case.
The purple ones were just a bit of fun and remind me of the Queen song, Tenement Funster, which starts with
🎵”My new purple shoes
Been amazin’ the people next door“.🎵
The multi-coloured ones include gold paint and some glitter – no need to stick to pink!
I’ve even decorated pointe shoes before.
Finally, on the subject of pointe shoes, I saw this amazing video about “Why Pointe Shoes Cost the NYC Ballet Nearly $1 Million A Year”. And it includes some footage of how pointe shoes are made, something I’ve never seen before!
I think I might have exhausted the subject of pointe shoes now. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading/watching! Leave a comment if you have or if there’s anything to add on the subject!