Watching a ballerina glide across a stage en pointe is truly mesmerising - but how is this perfect display of grace and strength possible?
While dedication to training is obviously important, finding the right shoes is half the battle for a dancer.
The above video gives a fascinating insight into how a ballerina's pointe shoes are made.
Freed of London have been making the shoes by hand since 1929. Over the years, choreographers have wanted the shoes to do more, enabling the dancers to create more fluid movements.
Remarkably though, the labour intensive, low tech manufacturing process has barely changed in the past 80 years.
Freed's 'Special Order' pointe shoes are described as "the jewel in [their] crown." They are handcrafted to meet the specifications of a particular dancer, although most professionals will manually shape their shoes themselves, so they achieve their optimum performance before a big show.
In the short documentary, ballerina Emma Lister describes her first pair of pointe shoes as "the most magical things" she has ever owned.
H/T: laughingsquid.com
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