Pointe Shoes Aren’t Forever
If there is one piece of equipment that is an absolute must for a ballerina, it is her pointe shoes.
Professional ballerinas who perform in pointe shoes regularly can wear out as many as three pairs of them in a single week! The Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, for example, spends about $100,000 a year on its dancers’ pointe shoes.
Men in Tights
Ballerinas wear their shoes out pretty quickly, and their male counterparts can say the same about their tights.
As durable as lycra may look, it is no match for hours of training and performing. The general estimate is that a professional male ballet dancer will use about 4,000 pairs of tights throughout his career.
Ballerinas' Toes Are Super Strong
When you see a ballerina dancing en pointe, looking lighter than air, it's important to remember that our toes aren't meant to support that much weight.
But being en pointe is like sending your toes to the gym, end ballerina's end up balancing on their big toe about three times the weight it normally carries.
Pointe Shoes Need DIY Customizing
Pointe shoes aren't like sneakers. You can't just get a new pair and start wearing it. Each ballerina has her own way of breaking in her shoes.
Some of the DIY techniques ballerinas use include shaving the sole with a razor and smacking them against the floor. Also, they make sure to always get their shoes from the same maker so the process is the same with every pair.
Pointe Shoes Are a Big Deal
Going en pointe is almost a rite of passage for ballerinas as little ballerinas never start dancing en pointe right away. Since going en pointe requires skill and strength, the shoes need to be earned.
Approaching pointe shoes without proper training could also result in injuries, so it is usually advised to only go on them at the average age of 11 and after substantial training.