Why a Pointe Shoe Fund?
BTC takes pride in paying its Company Artists in Residence a competitive wage; however, dancers generally live on small incomes, making it difficult to afford the significant expense of pointe shoes required for their work.
Made by hand with satin, glue, and leather, each pointe shoe is created with care and precision. One pair of pointe shoes can cost between $75 and $150. With over a hundred brands and styles, each shoe is designed to break down and mold to a dancer's foot, allowing for those breathtaking moments we see on stage during BTC performances.
Alas, pointe shoes don’t last long. Some pairs will only last a single performance; others one week of rehearsals, or at most two. BTC understands that pointe shoes can pose a serious financial barrier to our artists and their families. While we are proud of our efforts to increase pointe shoe funds for our dancers year after year, our goal is to establish a robust fund that will allow us to completely alleviate pointe shoe costs for all dancers under contract.
BTC’s Partnership with Beam & Barre
BTC partners with Beam & Barre, the top-notch supply shop for ballet dancers, to ensure that the professional Company Artists and students at The School of Ballet Theatre Company have the best pointe shoes for safety and longevity. For Season 25, Beam & Barre is leading the way with Pointe Shoe Patronage by donating at the $ 2,500 level. They also provide our dancers with a 30% discount.
About Pointe Shoes
Since their invention in the early 20th century, when pointe shoes were slippers with leather soles and a simple, squared-off toe box, pointe shoes have changed with the times. The highly specified shoes are now designed with medical input for a dancer’s health and are produced in various colors to match skin tones. The production of pointe shoes in diverse skin tone colors is an evolution happening to meet the demand for inclusivity in the ballet world. Inclusivity in pointe shoes extends to gender as well. Recently, one pointe shoe company began to make pointe shoes for men, which are typically much bigger and stronger at the toe, as more male dancers gravitate to pointe work.
Each pair of pointe shoes is handmade and has a limited lifespan due to its paper and paste construction. Over the course of classes and rehearsals, the shoes quickly become soft and unusable and must be replaced. It is common for a professional dancer to go through several pairs of shoes in one week, especially in advance of a major premiere. Dancing in overworn shoes not only affects the quality of performance but is also extremely dangerous, greatly increasing the chance of serious injury to the dancer.
Customizing the Pointe Shoe is Critical
Pointe shoes are critical for dancer safety and technical work. The average cost of a pair of pointe shoes is $110. While BTC pays our Company performers, dancers live on small incomes making it very difficult to afford the large expense of shoes. The average ballet dancer can spend $1,000 per season on pointe shoes, but patrons can cover these costs for the BTC's dancers by helping BTC provide an equitable shoe stipend fund.
Your support as a pointe shoe sponsor will provide the Company dancers the pointe shoes necessary for our upcoming performances. By becoming an elite Pointe Shoe Patron, you will directly support artists by making the dance world more equitable.
Learn More
To learn more about modern pointe shoes, we suggest this article about the intense importance of the pointe shoe from a ballet dancer of color's perspective
