THE POINT OF POINTE
THE pointe shoe, along with the tutu, is universally recognised as an iconic symbol of ballet. For most of the last century both were inseparable from the art form.
In recent decades, however, have seen the tutu retreat from centre stage, while the pointe shoe seems here to stay, weathering various cultural and stylistic challenges.
A clue to the pointe shoe’s longevity might be found its evolution by a confluence of innovations in technique and technology. The 19th century ballerina Marie Taglioni is usually credited with being the first to dance sur la pointe, in the first 1832 performance of La Sylphide. However, the true origin of modern pointe shoes goes back a further 200 years to the beginnings of ballet – the court dances of King Louis XIV (imported from Italy in the 17th Century), and his establishment of the Académie Royale de Danse. From this point ballet from a purely men’s dance form to one with many notable female dancers, while its very grounded aesthetic also changed to the airy, ethereal quality of the Romantic era.
Many developments in technique and technology led to this moment. The adoption of the principle of en dehors, for instance, allowed a range of
