The Beauty of Ballet Slippers
The elegance of ballet does not happen overnight. The grace of the dance and the presentation comes from hard work in practice. It is a passion and a vocation. And to ballet dancers, ballet slipper shoes are an integral part of their costume.
It is not easy to dance on one’s toes, but years of training have trained ballerinas to do so. In some schools, to dance en pointe is not taught until after five years of study and hard work. Though the slippers look slight, these are the only equipment a ballet dancer brings on stage, everything else is a accoutrement.
Created to be light, the shoes allow the dancers to take flight and jump as high as they can. Unfortunately the very same design which allows the dancers to fly may not last too long due to their flimsy soles and the large amount of damage.
Ballet shoes are usually made from soft leather, canvas or satin. Leather shoes are sturdy and last long. These also keep the feet warm. Not as sturdy as leather, canvas shoes are are typically worn by men. Satin ballet shoes are are normally worn by women and can be easily dyed to change the shoe color.
Ballet dance slippers have elastic bands to secure the shoes to the feet. Ballet shoes may be secured with a single band across the foot, or with two crossing bands in an “x” shape.
Very pretty and smart looking, bridal ballet shoes mirror ballet dancers. Looking like slight beings on stage, dancers are some of the most athletic artists, spending hours daily to keep limber and in shape. The same could be said of their shoes. These may look like small and slight objects but are instead very durable to keep up with the ballerinas wearing them.
