The only book of its kind, rewritten throughout, takes the mystery out of a confusing field. Dancers and students quickly benefit from the most current research - offering the latest information on hundreds of shoe designs, products and suppliers. The fundamentals of buying, preparing, and wearing pointe shoes are presented, including a detailed list of the many possible characteristics of each shoe. In discussing pointe shoe readiness, we present an array of contemporary views about when students should go on pointe - then, the way major ballet schools integrate pointe work into their classes, with in-depth opinions from David Howard, Suki Schorer and Steven Wistrich, among others. We take an intensive look at pointe-related injuries to the foot and ankle, their remedies, therapies, and exercises and medical and therapy providers. An understanding of the relationship between a ballerina and her shoes is gained by listening to the greatest dancers - like Paloma Herrera, Jenifer Ringer, Gillian Murphy and Evelyn Cisneros - talk about how they found the perfect fit and the joy of dancing on pointe.

Author Biography

Janice Barringer danced professionally for more than twenty-five years, and now teaches, choreographs, writes and creates classroom CDs and instructional DVDs. She has written articles for Dancer, Po/nte, Dance, Dance Teacher and Dance Spirit magazines. She has served on the faculty of the American Dance Center, Ballet Hispanico, Hark-ness House, and Steps on Broadway, and is now a professor of dance at Pace University in New York City. Sarah Schlesinger has extensive experience fitting pointe shoes and solving pointe shoe-related problems as former owner of Capezio Dance Theater Shops in Maryland and Delaware. She is now Chairperson of the graduate musical theater writing program in New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.