I was a dancer in the 60’s-70’s and this reminds me of what we wore. Toe pads didn’t exist and we used as little lambs wool as possible, better to control shoe and feel the floor. Our feet were ugly, beat up, calloused, and bloody. Multiple brands were not available. I believe there was Gamba and Capezio. I wore Capezio’s Assoluta sp? or Ballerina styles. For each pair I had to try on multiples to get a shorter vamp, my toes were short. Our local store was great about carrying everyone’s style and size. Ordering was not an option for me because my foot size and shape. Obviously there are so many options and brands these days. Those toe pads would be a dream. I am now in my 70’s but still dance in my dreams.
Well I started pointe work in 1991 and we still didn't have toe pads! Only lambs wool - and it was PAINFUL! I still have those calluses to this day (and my first pair of pointe shoes; they are so tiny, but I remember how huge they looked on me back then..).
They honestly look so beautiful and if you watch the evolution of ballet technique throughout history it makes so much sense why the shoes have changed shape so drastically.
I was a dancer in the 60’s and 70’s. I wore one brand and one particular style. I would often try on multiple pairs just to find one with a shorter vamp. Today’s pointe shoes seem to be so much more advanced from a wearability point and so many many different brands and styles! No toe pads, maybe a bit of lambs wool but that was all. You girls today have got it so much better as far as shoes go.
@@KaitlinHopsonNot only injuries but it was very very hard and difficult to be able to dance on point, a lot of girls would quit because of this, not everyone's toes could take this beating or the weight issue, you would gain one pound and your toes would suffer greatly 😢
This is ridiculous. Every classical ballet from Swan Lake to any Balanchine ballet had as much dancing on pointe then as it does now! All classical ballet is done on pointe! And always were. If you’re going back to earlier than the 1930s then maybe you’re right but they were still dancing on pointe through the entire ballet they just didn’t hold poses as well and came off quickly (like Pavlova). Today it’s typical to wear your pointe shoes during technique(daily) class and go on pointe instead of demo pointe. But that’s just in class. When doing any variation or PDD or in a performance or rehearsal all steps are done on point. In fact, I wish we wore pointe shoes through the entire class because it’s a big transition to go from demi pointe in soft shoes to wearing pointe shoes.
@@l.alexandra5871I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s. As both an apprentice and as a soloist later, we put pointe shoes on at the beginning of class and never wore soft shoes. Definitely built strength and endurance.
Nope! Completely wrong! You are aware the dances danced now are the exact same as 100 years ago?! They were just more tortured. Feet have also developed wider over the years, especially with Americans.
I always wondered why the ballerinas in old ballet videos looked like they had such pointy shoes. Now I understand why. I feel like this helps to explain a bit about the style of dancing in that era as well.
I took classical ballet well into my 40s and I were Schatners, German.They were made with compressed foam shanks. Soft, medium or hard. Hi or low vamps. The platform was so square that you could balance forever❣ The vamp was made out of fiberglass so you could actually throw your point shoes in the washer❕I LLOVED them. MARY PRICE BODAY. To order them she would send you a sheet and you would trace your foot in a pair of tights And send it to her and she would send you the most perfect fitting pointe shoe. They were more beige than pink. Just beautiful. When I first started on point I used lamb's wool which I hated... But then I started cutting the tips of my socks off and wrapped every toe with masking tape. We'd also used New Skin on our calluses. Calluses would rip off often. I tripped out I was searching point shoes and Nike actually made a pair of point shoes that were black they looked pretty cool however I don't dance anymore But I'd still like to do some point work at the bar I bought a ballet bar and a garage sale for $30 that's solid steel piping thick black lacquer paint on it and a varnished barwhat a bargain for $30 Let's hear It for ballet🩰🎼🎶🎼🩰
This has to be why everyone always thought there was a wooden block. Like you can't look at that and honestly tell me it doesn't look like a block with how long the vamp is compared to now
@@blahxblahxblah100yeah they're shaped inside just like a normal every day slipper/shoe, but tighter and has the flat front (platform). Those girls and women legit 100% are standing on the very tips of the toe(s) that are the longest/same length to each other. Toes aren't curled under. 100% on the literal tip of the toe(s). Mind blowing. I can only do it in my imagination, lol
I’m only 37. When I started on pointe, we got mocked because pros used shoes closer to the ones in this video and we beginners from a no name studio wore ones like the modern ones- big, flat platform. It makes me happy to see pros now use the more practical shoes with the flatter platform.
I started pointe in the 80’s and we still had relatively small platforms and long vamps- no toe pads, just a paper towel and taped toes. I love the newer styles!
Dainty may be nice, but people who dance on pointe all suffer pain, damage, and deformity of their feet. The less-dainty shoes cause less of that. So unless you think dancers are supposed to suffer for their art, let's make daintiness a low priority.
It seems that pointiness was the aesthetic especially in the 50's at any rate. Think, for example, of the pointy bras and the dresses that had those cones that had to be filled!!!
So interesting to see the differences compared to your modern pointe shoes. Would be cool if you tried dancing in them to see how different they feel too! As long as you feel safe doing so of course ❤
I danced in the 1960s and 1970s and that’s exactly what pointe shoes looked like. Gambas were a rather obscure brand in the US - Capezio had two models and Freed’s did have specific models but you’d try to get pairs from the maker you liked best. I always wore Freed’s. These Gambas do have an unusually long vamp but otherwise they are exactly like pointe shoes. Narrow and the tip surface did not have a giant flat plateau. The tip of old pointe shoes was small and rounded. Pointe shoes today have a giant flat bottom which makes the shoes almost stand by themselves. We did NOT have toe pads. Our toes were always bleeding. This is one reason why ballet dancers can do multiple pirouettes en pointe or balance forever. I was an excellent turner and on pointe shoes I occasionally managed four pirouettes. The vamps of shoes today are so clunky
In the 70s, I had pavlovas and they were super narrow and yes about a quarter at the tip of the box. But I had a friend who brought me shoes from the Kirov and the box tip was wood! They were dancing on wood blocks!
This morning I watched The Red Shoes movie from 1948 and I noticed the shoes in that movie looks different. After watching this video, now I know what is the difference between ballet shoes in that film and today ballet shoes😅
One of my favourite movies. Moira Shearer embodied that role. "Why do you want to dance?” Lermontov asks. “Why do you want to live?” she answers. The ending of the movie was tragic. Loved it though.
I got to try on (dead) pointe shoes from the 90s. I went to ballet class the next day and screamed “I WORE POINTE SHOES FROM THE LAST MILLENIUM!” And my teacher just sighed
I still have my white point shoes from when I was 15 years old size 4-1/2C from Leo’s. My favorite points were Nicolini from Capezio’s. The vamp is almost 3” and the tips are leather. My tips are about the same size as yours not pointy. I had performed the Swan Queen solo. I’m almost 79 now 🩰
I remember dancing in something like that in the early 60s before liners where would you would have to wrap each toe individually in wool and even then our toes blood and I was 13 at the time
The thing is back them the ballerinas were less on balance and did quicker steps on variation (you can see it in a comparison on giselle variation from the 60' i think and today's on the channel "ballet nerd" if I remember correctly, also they have rlly great content), also I think the smaller platforms were supposed to make turning easier
According to what I’m researching we shouldn’t change or manipulate the shape of our feet. Minimalist (close to barefoot shoes) is what I’m looking at to wear! I understand ballet is art and beautiful but at what expense 🥲
in the early 1960s when I took ballet, all they sold were Capezios with that small toe box. I suspect I was never really fitted properly by the lady. I didn’t know much, I was young, I never saw those wonderful little rubber protective toe sheaths or pads you ladies wear. I used moleskin, bandaids and lambswool to cushion and protect my wounds. Yes, they were tiny toe boxes. I don’t know if you still have the superstition that if you prick your finger accidentally while sewing on your ribbons, you have to center a tiny spot of the blood inside the shoe in the arch? It happened every so often.
It was the fashion to wear pointy shoes with tiny heels. They probably just fashioned them from regular shoes. My Mom wore those kinds of pointy shoes daily as a teacher. They were so uncomfortable.
Oh, well if that’s the case- i wear size 2’s (US) and my shoes have about the size of a quarter platform. Luckily, the vamp is prettu short, but that’s just about what I dance on every rehersal !
oh these are the pointe shoes i used to wear as a child! i didn't rly go to a ballet class but my dancing teacher also taught us how to dance on pointe (for educational reasons, i guess). and this whole time i thought that my child memories were just not that clear about how these pointe shoes looked like (it was in late 90's) 😅 edit: and we also had no toe pads. maybe cause it was a russian dancing class (and russian means hardcore lol) or maybe cause we didn't dance for long enough in them
I took ballet in the 70s as physio for my severely deformed hips. (It didn't work btw,) Anyway, our ballet teacher was very strict. If a tummy, or bum was sticking out, it would get tapped with a yardstick! Only one girl got onto pointe, her name was Anna. You weren't allowed onto pointe back then in our class unless you were 12 years old and very strong, obviously. Anna was only allowed a tiny puff of lamb's wool (there weren't toe spacers or toe pads, as far as I know, and no elastic to help hold her shoes on, just ribbons!! Of course, this is just one tiny class, but I do think ballet has changed a lot in 50 years!
I was a dancer in the 60’s-70’s and this reminds me of what we wore. Toe pads didn’t exist and we used as little lambs wool as possible, better to control shoe and feel the floor. Our feet were ugly, beat up, calloused, and bloody. Multiple brands were not available. I believe there was Gamba and Capezio. I wore Capezio’s Assoluta sp? or Ballerina styles. For each pair I had to try on multiples to get a shorter vamp, my toes were short. Our local store was great about carrying everyone’s style and size. Ordering was not an option for me because my foot size and shape. Obviously there are so many options and brands these days. Those toe pads would be a dream.
I am now in my 70’s but still dance in my dreams.
Thank you for sharing. Though I did not grow up during those years, you took me back to that time with your story ❤
Thank you for sharing!
I love you sharing, I never made it on to point. I was called "chicken ankles".
I just had an ankle implant! I'm 55. But they were right lol.
Thank you for your story! You must have amazing life!
Well I started pointe work in 1991 and we still didn't have toe pads! Only lambs wool - and it was PAINFUL! I still have those calluses to this day (and my first pair of pointe shoes; they are so tiny, but I remember how huge they looked on me back then..).
They honestly look so beautiful and if you watch the evolution of ballet technique throughout history it makes so much sense why the shoes have changed shape so drastically.
My first teacher had those type of point shoes she's was in SFB...I have a picture of her, vamp and platform look just like that.
I was a dancer in the 60’s and 70’s. I wore one brand and one particular style. I would often try on multiple pairs just to find one with a shorter vamp. Today’s pointe shoes seem to be so much more advanced from a wearability point and so many many different brands and styles! No toe pads, maybe a bit of lambs wool but that was all. You girls today have got it so much better as far as shoes go.
I could imagine a lot of the injuries we heard of ending ballerinas careers would be in these pointe shoes. You’re crazy for being able to do that.
@@KaitlinHopsonNot only injuries but it was very very hard and difficult to be able to dance on point, a lot of girls would quit because of this, not everyone's toes could take this beating or the weight issue, you would gain one pound and your toes would suffer greatly 😢
From what I've seen in older clips they did way less pointe work back then so makes sense the platform is smaller
This is ridiculous. Every classical ballet from Swan Lake to any Balanchine ballet had as much dancing on pointe then as it does now! All classical ballet is done on pointe! And always were. If you’re going back to earlier than the 1930s then maybe you’re right but they were still dancing on pointe through the entire ballet they just didn’t hold poses as well and came off quickly (like Pavlova). Today it’s typical to wear your pointe shoes during technique(daily) class and go on pointe instead of demo pointe. But that’s just in class. When doing any variation or PDD or in a performance or rehearsal all steps are done on point. In fact, I wish we wore pointe shoes through the entire class because it’s a big transition to go from demi pointe in soft shoes to wearing pointe shoes.
@@l.alexandra5871yes. The 50 were not THAT long ago! 😮😅
@@caroleberreur9585now now lol. 70 years ago is a long time. Seems less cuz (depending your age of course!) the 90s feel like they were 15 yrs ago.
@@l.alexandra5871I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s. As both an apprentice and as a soloist later, we put pointe shoes on at the beginning of class and never wore soft shoes. Definitely built strength and endurance.
Nope! Completely wrong! You are aware the dances danced now are the exact same as 100 years ago?! They were just more tortured. Feet have also developed wider over the years, especially with Americans.
A famous ballerina made walking across wine bottles an iconic trick in the 50s so I can see why
Someone did that on Agt too😅
I always assumed that old paintings of ballerinas were just painted in the style of the artist, but they really did look tiny and pointy!
I always wondered why the ballerinas in old ballet videos looked like they had such pointy shoes. Now I understand why. I feel like this helps to explain a bit about the style of dancing in that era as well.
That's what I wore in the 70s. With lambs wool over the toes
me too
How did you manage with such a pointy tip?
I took classical ballet well into my 40s and I were Schatners, German.They were made with compressed foam shanks. Soft, medium or hard. Hi or low vamps. The platform was so square
that you could balance forever❣ The vamp was made out of fiberglass so you could actually throw your point shoes in the washer❕I LLOVED them. MARY PRICE BODAY. To order them she would send you a sheet and you would trace your foot in a pair of tights And send it to her and she would send you the most perfect fitting pointe shoe. They were more beige than pink. Just beautiful. When I first started on point I used lamb's wool which I hated... But then I started cutting the tips of my socks off and wrapped every toe with masking tape. We'd also used New Skin on our calluses. Calluses would rip off often. I tripped out I was searching point shoes and Nike actually made a pair of point shoes that were black they looked pretty cool however I don't dance anymore But I'd still like to do some point work at the bar I bought a ballet bar and a garage sale for $30 that's solid steel piping thick black lacquer paint on it and a varnished barwhat a bargain for $30
Let's hear It for ballet🩰🎼🎶🎼🩰
The Nike ones are just a rendering, they’re not real 😢
This has to be why everyone always thought there was a wooden block. Like you can't look at that and honestly tell me it doesn't look like a block with how long the vamp is compared to now
I didn’t know they weren’t wooden blocks
@@blahxblahxblah100i think it’s layers of paper and glue
@@blahxblahxblah100yeah they're shaped inside just like a normal every day slipper/shoe, but tighter and has the flat front (platform). Those girls and women legit 100% are standing on the very tips of the toe(s) that are the longest/same length to each other. Toes aren't curled under. 100% on the literal tip of the toe(s).
Mind blowing. I can only do it in my imagination, lol
They are beautiful.
I’m only 37. When I started on pointe, we got mocked because pros used shoes closer to the ones in this video and we beginners from a no name studio wore ones like the modern ones- big, flat platform.
It makes me happy to see pros now use the more practical shoes with the flatter platform.
I started pointe in the 80’s and we still had relatively small platforms and long vamps- no toe pads, just a paper towel and taped toes. I love the newer styles!
Harder to balance on flat. Wasn’t until mid to late 70’s that they flattened the sole and made box easier to balance on
I’ve seen photos of ballerinas from the 50’s and 60’s whose toes have quite literally moulded together. Now I see why. 😮
I’d love to see what those point shoes look like on point, and compare them to you regular ones.
I actually love the way they gave your feet a dainty delicate appearance❤❤
Dainty may be nice, but people who dance on pointe all suffer pain, damage, and deformity of their feet. The less-dainty shoes cause less of that. So unless you think dancers are supposed to suffer for their art, let's make daintiness a low priority.
It seems that pointiness was the aesthetic especially in the 50's at any rate. Think, for example, of the pointy bras and the dresses that had those cones that had to be filled!!!
Yep, my aunt had pointe shoes like that in the 50s. She had pretty feet.
So interesting to see the differences compared to your modern pointe shoes. Would be cool if you tried dancing in them to see how different they feel too! As long as you feel safe doing so of course ❤
What's unsafe?
We danced in the older ones. Still alive and still have our legs 😅.
I bet the tendu line is incredible, but I'd break my neck trying to do a fouetté lol
Exciting. Have you tried dancing on them? How much different do they feel from your regular shoes?
I danced in the 1960s and 1970s and that’s exactly what pointe shoes looked like. Gambas were a rather obscure brand in the US - Capezio had two models and Freed’s did have specific models but you’d try to get pairs from the maker you liked best. I always wore Freed’s. These Gambas do have an unusually long vamp but otherwise they are exactly like pointe shoes. Narrow and the tip surface did not have a giant flat plateau. The tip of old pointe shoes was small and rounded. Pointe shoes today have a giant flat bottom which makes the shoes almost stand by themselves. We did NOT have toe pads. Our toes were always bleeding. This is one reason why ballet dancers can do multiple pirouettes en pointe or balance forever. I was an excellent turner and on pointe shoes I occasionally managed four pirouettes. The vamps of shoes today are so clunky
In the 70s, I had pavlovas and they were super narrow and yes about a quarter at the tip of the box. But I had a friend who brought me shoes from the Kirov and the box tip was wood! They were dancing on wood blocks!
You have gold there, girl!👍
They look like the gamba shoes I wore in the late 80s early 90s.
Stand on them! They fit you and look great!
I saw it said high vamp on the sole but DAMN they weren't KIDDING lol
I gasped when I saw that platform! 😮
Those older shoes look so elegant, but even though I'm not a dancer i can see how much better to dance in the new ones must be
They really are extra pointey pointe shoes
This morning I watched The Red Shoes movie from 1948 and I noticed the shoes in that movie looks different. After watching this video, now I know what is the difference between ballet shoes in that film and today ballet shoes😅
Did you enjoy it? Iconic.
@@kathybutterfield2760 yes I absolutely love that movie
One of my favourite movies. Moira Shearer embodied that role. "Why do you want to dance?” Lermontov asks. “Why do you want to live?” she answers. The ending of the movie was tragic. Loved it though.
@@coreminutes7578 Yes, me too. Even though I've just watched it, but I think I can say that this film is on my top 10 favorite films.
My favorite film. I love french films and ballet films..❤❤
My first pair in the late 90's had such a small platform. Then in '97 cappezio offered a wide box and all of us got them. It seemed like a revolution!
They're pretty.
My first few pairs of pointe shoes were Gamba in the 70’s. I switched to Freed.
If you google, you will find deformed feet of ballerinas who wore those pointy shoes.
I love the pointy ones !
This may explain why the technical difficulty is so much higherr now ✨🏆👏👍
I have a pair of Capezio Pavlovas from the 2980s that are almost this pointy.
The 1950s shoes make the modern pointe shoes look like clogs😂
I got to try on (dead) pointe shoes from the 90s. I went to ballet class the next day and screamed “I WORE POINTE SHOES FROM THE LAST MILLENIUM!” And my teacher just sighed
Look like Barbie pointe shoes !
I wore gambas and they were still pointy, narrow and small on the toe
I still have my white point shoes from when I was 15 years old size 4-1/2C from Leo’s. My favorite points were Nicolini from Capezio’s. The vamp is almost 3” and the tips are leather. My tips are about the same size as yours not pointy. I had performed the Swan Queen solo. I’m almost 79 now 🩰
I danced en point from 1960-1965. My size was 5 EEE in Freeds. They were soooo narrow. Definitely destroyed my toes & arches😢.
They look so beautiful on your feet as they are not as chunky. But it must be so hard to dance on these small platforms
Well they look absolutely beautiful on your foot.
Holy shit when you showed the modern shoe I finally had it sink it how small that is
I remember dancing in something like that in the early 60s before liners where would you would have to wrap each toe individually in wool and even then our toes blood and I was 13 at the time
The older model is prettier to look at.
Did you try getting on pointe with them? I would be scared too!
I wore Gambas right up until mid 90s
Like Cinderella's slipper! It fits!
I didn’t know Gambas were sold in the 50’s. Interesting.
Was it basically for the slender look, at the expense of comfort/health?
My daughter in the 90s wore Gamba
Looks like real silk? lovely and soft
They look like the point shoes from the classic barbie movies 😍
That is how I remember pointe shoes! But ballet is more... acrobatic? extreme? today. *More* everything.
Jeez, they look like sharpened pencils in comparison.....
I take back everything bad I said about early ballet dancers. I'm sorry😔
The thing is back them the ballerinas were less on balance and did quicker steps on variation (you can see it in a comparison on giselle variation from the 60' i think and today's on the channel "ballet nerd" if I remember correctly, also they have rlly great content), also I think the smaller platforms were supposed to make turning easier
This is why my feet are a tragic mess....😢
According to what I’m researching we shouldn’t change or manipulate the shape of our feet. Minimalist (close to barefoot shoes) is what I’m looking at to wear!
I understand ballet is art and beautiful but at what expense 🥲
They were probably dancing on their big toe😮
in the early 1960s when I took ballet, all they sold were Capezios with that small toe box. I suspect I was never really fitted properly by the lady. I didn’t know much, I was young, I never saw those wonderful little rubber protective toe sheaths or pads you ladies wear. I used moleskin, bandaids and lambswool to cushion and protect my wounds. Yes, they were tiny toe boxes. I don’t know if you still have the superstition that if you prick your finger accidentally while sewing on your ribbons, you have to center a tiny spot of the blood inside the shoe in the arch? It happened every so often.
oh well they fit you feet tho 😃 they look amazing ! how angelic should look a ballerina high on those pointes!
the modern shoes look like duck feet compared to the vintage ones lol
Cool. I love shoes.
Но именно в них танцевали великие балерины.
Сейчас так великолепно не танцует НИКТО.
Пуанты превратились в копыта.
Just being a in my first couple years of pionte I see these shoes it hurts my feet
I swear my point shoes from back in the 90s were extra narrow!
Different brands also had different styles within the brand, at least back then… Have things changed…?
It was the fashion to wear pointy shoes with tiny heels. They probably just fashioned them from regular shoes. My Mom wore those kinds of pointy shoes daily as a teacher. They were so uncomfortable.
I was en point in the late 70s. It was much more like the current one than the former.
I was on pointe throughout the mid sixties to 1979. What we wore was exactly like the vintage version.
The standard back then was rigorous
Oh, well if that’s the case- i wear size 2’s (US) and my shoes have about the size of a quarter platform. Luckily, the vamp is prettu short, but that’s just about what I dance on every rehersal !
you should wear them for a day as a challenge
Im not a ballerina...but my wide feet could never
Honestly, that's what they should be like. Modern ones are so clunky and aesthetically unpleasing by comparison.
Does it mean dancers had to work harder with their feet muscles and tendons in old style shoes?
Would.... would...w-w-would you... would you be offended...if I asked if we can see some boureés? 😅🥺💕
My grandma wore a size 3 shoe. We use to have small feet
How do u dance on such a smal platform!?- practice- a true dancer can transder and adapt to any shoe in their genre
Yes, that's what we wore in the 50s!!!
Pointy as a 1950’s bra! 😂😂
Yikes.Thank God for Bloch.I have seen the early pointe shoes but me no way.
I was fully expecting you to dance in them. Bit upset you didnt, if you can please make a video dancing in them. Xx
Interesting information ❤❤
❤you're like Dazy bb❤
WONDERFUL FEELINGS 😀
They look so painful. 😭
oh these are the pointe shoes i used to wear as a child! i didn't rly go to a ballet class but my dancing teacher also taught us how to dance on pointe (for educational reasons, i guess). and this whole time i thought that my child memories were just not that clear about how these pointe shoes looked like (it was in late 90's) 😅
edit: and we also had no toe pads. maybe cause it was a russian dancing class (and russian means hardcore lol) or maybe cause we didn't dance for long enough in them
Wow😮
My mum wore these in the 80s
My teacher also wore this style in the 80s/90s but they weren’t this pointy. Which is why I’m thinking these are much older.
i honestly feel like the 80’s pointe shoes r giving
I took ballet in the 70s as physio for my severely deformed hips. (It didn't work btw,) Anyway, our ballet teacher was very strict. If a tummy, or bum was sticking out, it would get tapped with a yardstick!
Only one girl got onto pointe, her name was Anna. You weren't allowed onto pointe back then in our class unless you were 12 years old and very strong, obviously. Anna was only allowed a tiny puff of lamb's wool (there weren't toe spacers or toe pads, as far as I know, and no elastic to help hold her shoes on, just ribbons!! Of course, this is just one tiny class, but I do think ballet has changed a lot in 50 years!
I use that brand of point schoes
are you able to go up on pointe in them?
Different standards for design ascetic in the 50’s
Wow 😮😢 such delectable shoes especially when they have recently been worn 👠.
Them vintage really are crimes against humanity 😂
Yes that's what they wore
I really prefer the look of the modern shoe. The 1950 shoe is unnatural looking IMO.
I NEED a small platform shoe I have incredibly tapered toed