Here is one of the more colorful stories in ballet history. After the ballerina Marie Taglioni toured Russia, a pair of her pointe shoes was reportedly sold for 200 rubles. Then, the story goes, a group of devoted ballet fans cooked them, served them with a sauce, and ate them.
Whether or not that tale is exactly true (it's often repeated, and sources describe it as "reportedly"), it tells you something real: the pointe shoe has fascinated audiences for nearly two centuries. Here's how it went from a modified satin slipper to the shoe dancers know today.
Before pointe: the heel disappears
Women began dancing ballet in the late 1600s, roughly two decades after Louis XIV founded the Académie Royale de Danse. Their shoes at the time had heels. In the 1730s, Marie Camargo of the Paris Opéra Ballet is said to have been the first to wear a shoe without a heel, which made leaps easier. After the French Revolution, heels largely disappeared from standard ballet shoes, leaving flat-soled slippers tied with ribbons. These are considered forerunners of the modern pointe shoe.
Flying and rising: the first glimpses of pointe
The earliest pointe effects weren't danced at all. Around 1796, the choreographer Charles Didelot used a "flying machine," a harness and wire system, to lift dancers so they appeared to float on their toes. (Dates for this are thinly documented, so treat it as approximate.)
1832: Taglioni and La Sylphide
The turning point is usually dated to 1832, when Marie Taglioni (1804 to 1884) danced the title role in La Sylphide at the Paris Opéra. Her father, the choreographer Filippo Taglioni, created the ballet for her. It is often described as the first ballet in which dancing on pointe served an artistic purpose rather than serving as a trick.
Historians are careful here: Taglioni is credited with being the first ballerina to truly dance en pointe, but that isn't confirmed, and some sources mention earlier dancers experimenting with the technique. What is clear is that she made it famous, and that it became a defining feature of the Romantic ballet era.
Her shoes would look unfamiliar today. They were essentially satin slippers with leather soles, darned at the sides and toes for a little extra hold. There was no hardened box and very little support, so dancers relied almost entirely on the strength of their feet and ankles, and could stay up only briefly.
Late 1800s: Italian makers add structure
As choreography grew more demanding, shoes had to change. In the late 19th century, Italian dancers such as Pierina Legnani wore shoes with a flat, sturdy platform at the front, a fabric box around the toes, and a stiffer sole. The extra structure gave dancers more support on pointe than the soft satin slippers of Taglioni's day.
Early 1900s: Anna Pavlova and the stronger shoe
Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova (1881 to 1931) had very high, arched insteps, which made pointe work hard on her feet. She is often credited with strengthening her shoes by adding a piece of hard leather to the sole for support and flattening and hardening the box. Some contemporaries reportedly saw this as cheating. The design, though, became a precursor of the modern pointe shoe. Her reputation helped spread it, too: Pavlova toured widely, including almost annual tours of the United States between 1912 and 1926, so American audiences saw her dance.
Note that this attribution is a common credit rather than a single documented invention. The shoe evolved over time, and many makers and dancers contributed.
The modern pointe shoe
Today's pointe shoe has two key parts you'll hear about:
- The box: the hardened cup that surrounds the toes.
- The shank: the stiff layer under the arch that supports the foot.
Makers have refined both over the decades. Traditional pointe shoes are built in layers, and in recent decades some makers have introduced synthetic materials as well. The pointe shoe remains handmade and highly individual: a dancer's feet, strength, and training all shape which shoe works for them.
Timeline at a glance
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1730s | Marie Camargo is said to be the first to wear a heel-free shoe |
| Around 1796 | Charles Didelot's "flying machine" lifts dancers onto their toes |
| 1832 | Marie Taglioni dances La Sylphide en pointe |
| Late 1800s | Italian makers add a platform, box, and stiffer sole |
| Early 1900s | Anna Pavlova strengthens the shoe, a precursor of the modern design |
What this means for you today
If you're just starting ballet, pointe is a long way off. It comes after years of training and only with a teacher's guidance. But every pair of ballet shoes you wear, from your very first soft shoes, is part of this same story. The next time you slip them on, you're taking part in a tradition that began with a heel-less slipper nearly three centuries ago.
Ready for your first pair? Explore the SLÉMON Ballet Shoes collection, or read our guides on what to wear to your first adult ballet class and ballet styles and training methods.
