It’s funny to think that a shoe strong enough to support a human body on the tips of their toes could also be something quite delicate. In this post, we’ve gathered a few videos that explore the different stages of a pointe shoe and how quickly they can deteriorate.

Life Cycle of a Pointe Shoe

In this video, YouTube user Pointe As Usual demonstrates 3 stages of a pointe shoe’s life. She shows an “alive” pointe shoe (a pointe shoe with full structure and support), a “dying” pointe shoe (one that has lost a significant amount of support), and a “dead” pointe shoe (a shoe with little to no support left in them).

A Pro Ballerina’s Relationship to Pointe Shoes

Megan Fairchild, principal dancer of the New York City Ballet, explains her relationship with pointe and how it’s evolved over the years in this video. Around the 02:55 mark, she and former principal dancer Wendy Whelan reminisce about the days when they would get a full 6 months of wear out of their pointe shoes.

Parisian Pointe

Le Ballet de l’Opéra National de Paris gives a behind-the-scenes look into how their dancers (at multiple levels,) use pointe shoes. It’s a cool way to see the similarities and differences that European companies have with their North American counterparts.

We hope you learned something new about the world of pointe today, and encourage you to contact us with any questions or comments you might have about the post.