Do women really dance on their toes? Why?
Yes, in ballet they do dance literally on their toes, wearing special reenforced shoes to help the toes bear the weight of the body. (The technical term is the French “en pointe,” usually Englished as “on pointe.”) Dancing on pointe lends an etherial, weightless appearance to the performer. This was part of the romantic image of Woman, and it has persisted, in one form or another, to this day. But pointe work also lengthens the line of the leg, and ballet is a form that favors long lines. Pointe shoes have reenforced toes to provide extra support for dancers going on pointe. As you can imagine, the force on the toes is considerable; the reenforcement distributes this force over the entire tip of the foot. Dancers usually add padding of some sort inside the shoe to cushion their feet further. • Why don’t men dance on pointe? Men do dance on pointe, on rare occasions. They may be deliberately dancing women’s roles, as in the Ballet Trockadero. Some choreographers have had men wear pointe
