Toeslayer's Dancing Shoes

Pointe Shoes

2011-12-28T15:31:00.000-08:00

Going on pointe for young girls (aged 11) is considered a rite of passage. To the dedicated ballet devotee it takes a lot of hard work work, pain and determination to achieve the epitome of dance. Injuries are a regular part of a dancer’s life who cope with many stress fractures and bouts of tendonitis throughout their career. A complication is dancers become so use to foot discomfort they become unable to discriminate chronic suffering from acute damage. In a normal course of event when we have chronic pain it prevents couch potatoes from exercise. Chun Che and Chan Hon Goh are two ballet teachers and choreographers who have lived with these problems and decided to design a new pointe shoe. The Diamond Pointe emerged through experience and consultation. The new point shoes have been designed for young dancers in their early teens, and practicing three or four times a week. Pointe shoes may appear pretty but looks are deceiving. Ballet slippers are papier-mâché pumps made of satin, calico, card, Hessian and thick glue. The soles are made from cardboard. Many are hand lasted and made inside out. There is no right and left slipper but the ballet dancer will customize their shoes with use. The tips and sides of traditional pointe shoes are hard with the former made from layers of canvas, burlap and glue. The block is built up by layering Hessian with a form of wet tissue paper and fine card, and each layer is spread with a sticky glue like paste made form flour and dextrene. The shoes are baked for ten hours before the seamstresses and cutters trim the satin and sew in the drawstrings. Fitting shoes is considered important by experts and good fitting shoes can keep foot damage to a minimum. Tradition determines pointe shoes are supplied without ribbons and the ballerina will sew these on themselves. Professional ballerinas can wear through three pairs of ballet slippers per performance. Ballet dancers are traditionalists and would not wear a safer shoe unless it looked like the real thing. The Diamond Pointe has a supportive arch which helps the foot when the heel is off the ground. The shank is designed to reduce stress injuries. Principle Shoes was set up in 1996 and sells to stores across the US. Other innovative footwear comes from Gaynor Minden who supply shock absorbing plastic footwear which are light weight and hardwearing. More supportive Pointe Shoes are not the complete answer to dance perfection and all experts agree good technique with warm up stretches is necessary too. Combined however the designers of the new shoes believe this will reduce the injuries pointe dancer face in their career. Although there are any ballet shoe factories around the world just under half of the pointe shoes are made by Freed Factory in the East End of London. Ballerinas tend to stay with the same shoemaker from their student days and the better quality shoes are hand lasted. It takes two and a half years to learn how to make ballet slippers and a lifetime to perfect them. Many are true works of art and craftsman shoe makers sign their slippers with their insignia on the sole. Some ballerinas spend hours customizing their pointe shoes. Done as a labour of love they may squash them a door frame, or scrape them with a Stanley knife or cheese grater. A common superstition is if the ballerina cuts herself when sewing her ribbons she must smear the blood on the back of the shoe for good luck. Finally the shoes are coated inside with shellac, a sticky solution that seals the inside. Otherwise the heat of the dancer’s foot breaks down the papier-mâché block. Many put nail varnish around the edges to stop them fraying and stitch a seam in the shoe to accommodate bunions. Some will reinforce the block by darning the edge of the shoe. Most girls reuse the ribbons form discarded shoes. Unseen at the side of the stage are trays of powdered rosin. The ballerinas spray their legs and feet with water before scratch like chickens in the rosin tray to coat their feet and soles with the sticky amber residue, this stops them from slipping. Dame Margot Fonteyn’s pointe shoes sold in auction for more than $5000 a pair. When Swiss Italian Marie Taglioni gave her final performance in 1842, her fans clubbed together and paid 200 rubles for her shoes. They then boiled them and ate them.

References
McCurrah I 2003 These shoes were made for dancing The Times Magazine
July London 35-38.

Official Denver Airport Holiday Flash Mob

2011-11-30T15:36:00.001-08:00

Michael Jackson Dance Tribute Stockholm

2011-05-08T03:54:00.001-07:00

Toe shoe for en point dancing

2011-04-30T01:41:00.001-07:00

Science educato,r Bill Nye is the host of Bill Nye the Science Guy, and the invented of the "Toe shoe" The ballet slipper has been designed to give better support to dancers during en pointe dancing. The toe shoe includes a toe box which encases the toes and gives greater support along the sole.

Resurrection Shuffle

2011-04-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

Just like Cinderella

2011-04-13T03:47:00.000-07:00

Mike Catherwood burns his dancing shoes

2011-03-30T15:12:00.001-07:00

On the couch of Jimmy Kimmel Live Tuesday night, the former contestant DJ Mike Catherwood briefly talked about being the first elimination of the Dancing with the Stars season. Catherwood was in good spirits over the decision and thanked people who were part of his time on the show.

Charlie Chaplin- Table Ballet

2011-02-25T01:26:00.000-08:00

Black Swan Movie Review

2010-12-17T22:54:00.001-08:00

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Starring: Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis and Barbara Hershey.

In this erotic thriller , prima ballerina , Nina (Natalie Portman) lands the role of Odette, the Swan Queen, in a daringly "revisionist" production of "Swan Lake." She must also dance the ballet's bewitching Odile, (the Black Swan) but the artistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) is skeptical and brings in a rival dancer, Lily (Mila Kunis), to act as both goad and back-up. This unnerves the obsessive young lead who begins to fantasize and break down. Nina lives with her mother (Barbara Hershey), a bitter ex-ballerina who gave up her career to raise Nina alone. The on stage drama is reflected offstage as the neurotic Nina comes to terms with the demands of the role. Will she metamorphose and triumph? Well you need to see the movie to find out. Not a patch on Red Shoes and overall despite some nice touches, very disappointing.

La Danse The Paris Opera Ballet Review

2010-10-15T15:17:00.003-07:00

Director: Frederick Wiseman

Legendary documentary maker, Frederick Wiseman is at it again with an intriguing documentary that follows the members of the Paris Opera Ballet as they rehearse for a series of ballets. Behind the scenes the dancers work on their movements over and over as the choreographers make their charges ready for performance. Watch as the dancers train and train until finally they come together into a single, fluid performance. Exquisite but with no interviews, narration, or explanatory captions, the documentary lacks context. Subsequently after the nearly three hour movie it is difficult to tell who is more exhausted, you or the performers. A must for the obsessed but take a cushion.

Why are male ballet shoes back in fashion?

2010-09-06T01:31:00.000-07:00

Now it seems both high heels and ballet flats (a slip on shoe with a small thin heel or no heel at all) are back in fashion for men. Height challenged males might revel at the prospect of the former but not perhaps at the latter. Ballet flats represent the antithesis of the four wheel drive shoes. That is shoes you could climb the Eiger with, but are more likely seen perambulating through the shopping mall. Real men prefer espadrilles and sneakers, i.e. chic and comfortable footwear. What has added interest (for me), as a shoe watcher, is both high and low styles share the limelight at the same time – a rare event in fashion. Zeitgeist (or sign of the times) necessitates we look at current events for an explanation. Alpha males appear to want to move adeptly as well as present themselves as trim and toned. Ballet flats resemble the dancing pumps or “pompes” of the 16th and 17th centuries when dancing became all the range and no self respecting crown head was without their ballroom. Then as now best finery was the order of the day and dandy noblemen wore special ballroom slippers. Emporer Napoleon's legacy to cultured Europe was dress balls and as the popularity of dancing swept through the civilized world. When new dance steps got faster women started to wear dance slippers every bit as delicate as modern ballet shoes. Men of the 18th century wore the latest fashion high boots and male dancing shoes were confined to the bedroom along with their pipe and became. They became bedroom slippers. The latest fashion phenomenon is likely to mirror the renewed interest in dancing and the immensely popular TV programs lik Strictly Dancing (ABC) and . Strictly Come Dancing (BBC).

Dancing Shoes: The George Best Story

2010-08-03T01:36:00.001-07:00

Dancing Shoes: The George Best Story is a new musical about George Best and was written and produced by Martin Lynch and (Sarah) Marie Jones (Stones in His Pockets). Music and songs are composed by Pat Gribben (The Adventures and Starjets) and JJ Gilmour (The Silencers) . The lead role is taken by Aidan O'Neill, who has an uncanny resemblance to the famous Belfast boy and international football player. George was one of the most skilful players ever, with magic feet and hence the title of the show, Dancing Shoes. Throughout his carteer he enjoyed a champagne life style off the park but eventually succumbed to chronic alcoholism. The show had its opening at the Grand Opera House in Belfast and the first performance was met with a standing ovation. The hope is the musical will eventually have a run at London’s West End.

Not from the show but here is a tribute from Don Fardon

Dancing shoes with a difference

2009-08-15T15:44:00.000-07:00

Statistics show that there are over 2,000 toe injuries every year in Canada. Safetytoes International Inc., manufacturer of the 'Slipp-R', has produced a video of Irish musicians and dancers wearing its steel toe overshoes. The video was filmed in Toronto using professional Celtic musicians and dancers from the Brogue Celtic Music and Dance Company. Two of the dancers are wearing flat-soled runners while the third dancer is wearing traditional Irish dance shoes with a full heel. The Slipp-R is a purpose-designed safety overshoe with an all-flat sole. Unlike other overshoe styles with a moulded heel, the Slipp-R has no excess material underfoot when worn with flat-soled outer shoes. The Slipp-R safetytoe overshoe costs many times less than regular safety footwear. It provides for the same legal toe protection as any 'CSA Approved' safety shoe.

Development of en point shoes

2009-07-04T23:04:00.000-07:00

By the time of the French Revolution (1789-1799) ballet dancers exchanged heeled shoes and heavy costumes for lighter, flat-soled slippers, pointe shoes, and flesh-colored tights. This allowed performers freedom to move and achieve greater grace. The move to en point came from Swede, Charles Didelot who had studied dance and performed in France and Russia around 1800. Didelot is credited with advancing the art form with innovations and developments in style and costume. Among other things he created a “flying machine” of rigged wires that carried dancers into the air. This made them appear weightless which delighted audiences who came to expect more challenging movements in dance. Pointe shoes evolved with a flat toe box as a platform. This base helped develop calf and leg muscles during strenuous routines and allowed the entire weight of the body to be precariously balanced on the rigid points of one or both feet. The new footwear enabled maneuvers like pirouettes, arabesques and the dancers required to develop skill, strength, agility, and grace. Ballet dancers do suffer many foot ailments as they develop the en pointe technique. The major distributors of ballet shoes are Freed of London, Gaynor Minden, and Bloch. Europe’s leading online retailer of dancewear are Dance Direct .

From clogging to tap

2009-05-17T03:10:00.000-07:00

Clog dancing became very popular in Victorian times among the working class people in the North of England. The hardwearing wood against the cobbled streets allowed the dancer to create rhythm by tapping with the toes and heels. To make the clog lighter the uppers were cut lower at the ankle and the soles made from ash wood. Dancers required to be nimble because the steps were complex. Solo dancers danced on a slab of hardwearing wood that made a ringing sound. Amateur dancers added drama to their performance by using metal tags, nailed to their soles, which caused sparks to appear. Clog dancing was mainly a male preserve with troops of male clog dancers found all over the North of England. Gradually however female clog dancers became very popular in music halls. One of the most famous professional clog dancing troupe were J.W. Jackson's Eight Lancashire lads. A young Charlie Chaplain joined the troupe in 1896 and was paid one pound sterling per week plus his keep. Clog dancing was introduced to US, towards the end of the nineteenth century, where upon it was quickly transformed into tap dancing. The mania swept from coast to coast. At first the tap shoe was a modified clog but later these were replaced with tap shoes with metal jingles. Initially tap dancing was a male preserve but soon became popular with women and chorus lines. The girls wore special shoes known as Mary Janes, kept on with ankle straps fasten with a buckle or button. The shoes were often split clogs with half a sole and the heel in wood. To emphasise the sound some shoes had jingles attached to the shank. When the heels hit the floor they made a sound like two coins struck together. Clog dancing still can be seen at traditional folk festivals and dance exhibitions all over the world.

CAD/CAM Foot Orthoses: CNC technology

2009-02-11T21:37:00.000-08:00

Foot orthoses come in different types from simple insoles to biomechanically calculated platforms to help stabilise the foot during phases of walking. In recent years there has been a sizable industry grown around the manufacture and prescription of the latter which is now estimated at $30 million US per anum. Prescribed foot orthoses often referred to as function foot orthoses are used by sports specialists, surgeons, physiotherapists and podiatrists and prices vary from $20 to $300 per pair depending on the type, time spend and materials used. Over the counter foot orthoses are often as effective as bespoke varieties but due to the material combinations may not always last quite so long. Conditions definitely apply. For over a decade the manufacture of foot orthoses has involved Computer Numerical Controlled(CNC) systems where CAD/CAM software programs are used to produce a computer file that is interpreted to extract the commands needed to operate a particular machine, and then loaded into the CNC machines for production which involes a complex series of steps needed to produce in this case a foot orthoses. CAD software produces 3D scanned design data which can be manipulated to add a range of models, add-ons and cut-outs or corrections to the foot mould. Many companies which supply bespoke foot orthoses use the technology to increase their production. The established method of producing bespoke foot orthoses was both time consuming and prone to human error. After physical examination of the leg and foot, technicians took plaster of Paris moulds of the feet set in a reference position. These negative casts are then filled with setting plaster before drying at hot temperatures. When the foot models are completely dried high temperature plastics are melted over the prepared cast before trimming. The process of creating unique prescriptions for patients suffering from various foot and joint ailments will take anything from 3 days to three weeks to complete. A primary advantage of CAD/CAM manufacture is the time reduced in producing quality foot orthoses as providing prescribed quality foot orthoses in a timely fashion translates well to high profits. Turnaround time is extremely important in the bespoke foot orthotic business. Delcam's OrthoModel , is a new software specifically for modelling and machining custom foot orthoses. Once the information is input into the OrthoModel CAD software, the information is transfered to the CAM component OrthoMill and routed to complete the milling process. Top covers and other finishes are added once the foot orthoses have been milled. Delcam Crispin is a UK based company founded in 1965 and their software includes a series of menus which incorporate the biomechanical terminology used by the industry to describe the various features of the foot orthosis.

Shoe size conversion: iPod

2009-02-10T22:09:00.001-08:00

If you have an iPhone and want to put it to good use when buying shoes you might like to get the 99 cent "Measures - Unit Converter. " Now available at iTunes App Store this useful app will convert just about anything including shoe sizes. U.S., European, Mexican, Japanese, UK, and Australian. Women's sizes available for conversion range from U.S. 5-14, and men's conversions are available for U.S. sizes 3-14. "Measures" was created by Neuwert Media.

Interesting site
Shoe Size and Conversion Charts

Street Culture: From Docs to kicks

2009-01-31T22:59:00.000-08:00

When kids in the late 60s rejected hippy music and heavy metal and instead created alternative fashion which was utilitarian and unisex. Bomber jackets, fitted shirts, Levis & braces with Doc Martens boots was hip and dancing took second place to a punch up. Very machismo the skin head movement soon became hijacked by racists and neo nazi. The once ultra conservative Dr Martens shoes became the trademarks of urban youth excited by violence. Dr Klause Martens of Munich had invented his air trapped soles in 1945. The inspiration came had come from a personal injury he experienced when skiing and from necessity invented comfortable shoes. He started to produce the air sole in 1947 but it took until the mid to late 60s to peak. DMs became the essential accessory of youth harnessing the aggression of the storm trooper into the streets. European skinheads made it their own in the seventies and used their DMs (Bovver Boots) fierce weapons to shatter the complacency of the bourgeoisie. Skinheads were not the first to do this and in the seventeenth century young men called 'footpads' terrorised the highways and byways. DM's were readily adopted by all and became a youth phenomenon worn by women and gay men and not just as weapons of terror. Punk represented a return to more simplistic music. This generation of kids identified less with the sophisticated sounds of studio and instead preferred live performances. Unemployed street kids were less interested in finesse and just wanted to be rocked. All this took place at a time when the Western World was experiencing the beginning of economic hardship. Clothes were less sophisticated but shocking and footwear had to be long wearing and unisex e.g. DM boots. Later almost as a mark of defiance, unemployed youths gathered in groups called Casuals and wore extremely expensive designer clothes and shoes when most had no visible means of support. Many were involved in crime and particularly illicit drug trafficking. Dancing was less sophisticated and movement to the music more akin to shaking than dancing. As informality became intertwined with the cult of health of the 70s had a marked effect on footwear. Keeping fit set in motion a movement which affected all ages being fit and trim. This meant looking and feeling good came with a new sartorial awareness. Shoes needed to match the outfit and a hungry market was created. To keep demand high, the giants like Adidas, Puma and Nike produced what were virtually fashion ranges. Each season brought new design modifications, colour combinations and logos, most of which were sales promotion ruses and had little to do with improving the efficiency of the shoe for exercise. The fad for keeping fit passed but the trainer market was established. The young enjoyed the exclusive, designer element and older people found the broad based cushioned footwear comfortable fit. Cost was cheaper than traditional footwear and fashion accessories such as track suits were popular with young and old alike. Celebrity endorsement and support from medical experts enhanced the trainer in its various guises. Marketing was targeted firmly towards inner city youth, mainly Afro American, Hispanic or Asian. The shelf live of designs is very short and rarely lasts many months. A combination of clever marketing and the desire to rebel against conservatism has assured the sneaker culture endures into the third millennium. Rappers, Hip Hoppers and sports personalities extol the virtues of being cool in them and peer pressure ensures parents part with enormous amounts of money to get the latest styles. Shoes which have been developed for the extreme, street sports like skate boarding are the new elite, worn by all ravers. The origins of hip hop come from clog dancing which was common in Northern England and some Scandinavian Countries. It was brought to the US in the mid nineteenth century and local performers refined the steps of clog dancing into tap dances done by generations of minstrels and music hall performers. Tap dancing was originally performed as an accompaniment to song and the percussive and rhythmic patterns produced by the snags heightened effectiveness. Movement grew larger as rhythms grew more intricate and greater emphasis was placed on elements of dance composition and design. Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, refined the minstrel tradition, and Fred Astaire made ‘hoofing’ a modern art form. By the 70s street dancing became a phenomenon not witnessed since earlier in the 20th century. In clubs and on the street young American kids known as b-boys and b-girls performed break dancing influenced by groups like the Jackson 5 and rappers such as Kool DJ Herc (Clive Campbell). Break dancing became the conrner stone of Hip Hop.

Glam, Glitter and Disco Foot

2009-01-28T14:08:00.000-08:00

By the 70s dancing took place within the confines of high tech disco's with light shows and glamorous settings. Statuesque dancers needed to stand out and the fashion for elevated or platform shoes came to pass. Rod Stewart, the Cickney Scottish football fan extraordinaire, was a humble boot boy at Brentford Soccer Club long before he became gravel voiced lead singer of the post Mod band, Faces. Rod, unlike his musical chum (Sir) Elton John, wore platform shoes on stage to look sexy. Tiny Elton on the other hand needed the extra leverage his boots gave him to reach the piano keys on his Steinway during live performances. Later Elton appeared in the film Tommy sporting the largest pair of DM boots ever seen. The Faces first album was called 'First Step' (1970). Greek actors wore raised shoes to tower over their audience and the resulting swaggering gait was understood to send females into sexual ecstasy. Platform shoes were first introduced in the Middle Ages and were worn by court ladies but the fashion was short lived and fell to the prerogative of the height challenged. Paul Gadd (aka Gary Glitter) was certainly the latter and used his glitter platforms to achieve the former. He was, in his heyday, an act to catch. His platforms were specially made for his feet and allowed him to achieve quite spectacular choreography during his live shows. Young people expressing their sexuality began to dress in ambiguous ways, the style was called unisex. The Thin White Duke aka David Bowie was certainly not stuck in the cupboard when it came to express his female side on stage. Ziggy (Stardust) definately wore the boots and shoes to be seen in tights. For the first time in hundreds of years men appeared in clothing modern society had designated as female attire. Whilst this was a zenith for excellent dance music, ironically the dance styles were remarkably bland. There is a certain irony here in that whilst the styles were unremarkable, people did dance a lot and a common injury associated with "all nighters" was a flat foot caused by ligamentous collapse. The condition was called "disco foot."

The summer of love and beyond

2009-01-27T14:34:00.000-08:00

Dessert boots remained popular throughout the early sixties and become the preferred fashion of the university students with their duffle coats, CND and love for Trad Jazz. This generation were the new moderns (forerunners of the Mods). In the mid-sixties youth broke into two rival factions: the nouveaux moderns or mods who were followers of black music and designer clothes; and the macho rockers, or neo Tun-Up boys. Both styles had started in the fifties but now there were enough young people around to support a dual culture. Needless to say they did not enjoy each other's company and began to terrorise the English coastal towns by fighting each other. As mods and rockers fought over the beaches of south coast England they wore the trademarks of their generation, i.e. boots verses shoes. Mods wore designer shoes or light dessert boots on their Italian scooters; greasers continued the swashbuckling styles of the earlier Ton Up boys with knee length leather boots, tight jeans, white T shirts and leather jackets. Few in the fashion industry could predict Mod fashions and for a short time anyway chaos ruled within the rag trade. Whilst most young idealists followed the road to enlightenment and self discovery many rejected materialism displaying this symbolically by going barefoot. The thong became part of the accepted outfit along with kaftans, bells, loons and afghan coats. Dancing was more self expression with little interaction between partners. The dance style of the time would resemble folk dancing of ancient times. Experimentation with mind altering drugs meant less well co-ordinated movements were common and hence no need for supportive footwear. Many soldiers returning from Vietnam suffered battle fatigue and some found themselves unable to adjust to civilian life. More and more were attracted to alternative life styles such as nomadic bikers. Membership of the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Clubs (1%' ers) grow in vast numbers. The teenage cult movie "Easy Rider" for once did not depict adolescent fun and games at high school but instead dealt with real adult themes living in a country still divided by prejudice. 'Easy rider` assured the urban cowboy image was legitimised and the Hollywood cowboy boots a macho icon forever.

Raising hemlines, panty hose and the Swinging Sixties

2009-01-25T23:39:00.000-08:00

Between the years 1960-63 Tin Pan Alley moguls kept cash registers filled by adhering to the tried and tested systems of previous decades. Stifling originality a return to tailored suits and patent leather shoes was the stage fashion as the beat generation metamorphosed into the new Mersey Beat. Women's hemlines became shorter matching the length of men's jackets. Tight fitting bolero suits (or bum freezers) for men and two piece outfits for women were accompanied with trendy pointed slip-ons. Better off kids wore loafers which were the fashion of the US Ivy Leaguers. Court style shoes took on in the sixties when Jacky Kennedy made them the shoe. She bought her shoes from Rene Mancini in Paris. Her monthly order was 12 pairs every three months although this dropped to 8 pairs after her marriage to Onasis. During the early days of the Beatles shoes took on a boot style and incorporated Cuban heels for men. Needless to say the fashion became ubiquitous before the toes began to widen and the Chelsea boot or chisel toe became vogue. A point of interest the Beatle Boot was less macho and resembled the style of boot favoured by Victorian ladies. Whilst not effeminate it was distinctly a softer less aggressive style that brothel creepers and winkle pickers. The boots often incorporated a French seam or central stitch running from ankle to toe on the upper. In the convention of symbols this referred to the vulva opposite to the phallus of the long toes or winklepicker shoes. If the Beatles were the conventional side of pop then the Rolling Stones were definitely their nemesis. Anarchy ruled, or at least so it was portrayed, and the scruffy lads expressed their individualism on stage by wearing clothes that suited their personality. Perhaps the only physical link that united the five piece band was the sneakers they wore. When most male singers were being groomed for cabaret, girl groups came on with a vengeance. Tights and mini skirts meant legs became the focus of attention and the longer the better. Although definitely not the first girl group the Shangri-las captured the sultry look by wearing slacks and high heeled ankle boots. Only solo female artists had the confidence to appear in mini skirts with long high heeled boots. Jim Proby will probably be best remembered for his trouser splitting performances on the ill fated, English tour (1965). However his sartorial style was more a reflection of Henry Fielding's 'Tom Jones'. The bawdy adventures of the eighteenth century Jack the Lad was captured on film and Proby was quick to cash in. Soon young men were wearing high heeled buckle shoes similar to those worn by the Sun King (Louis IVX). Just like the original style, buckles fell from favour when the fashion for boots took over. P.J Proby wrote the hit 'Clown Shoes' for Johnny Burnette and was reputed to sing demos for the King (Elvis).

Let's Twist

2009-01-24T20:50:00.000-08:00

After the deeply sexual couplings of rock & roll, the '60's brought a very strange phenomenon - a dance with absolutely no body contact. Permissive society had arrived and there was no need to simulate it within dance. Instead adults adopted the music and style and moved the 'in crowd' from dancehalls to small clubs or discos. The twist was described as a dance, which required you to initially move the shoes in a left and right fashion as if stubbing out a cigarette, then to combine this with swinging the arms and hips as if an imaginary towel was drying the back. Clothes became more tailored and suits were the order of the day. Wrinkle pickers or needlepoint shoes replaced the cumbersome crepe soled shoes. They were lightweight streamlined shoes with dandy looks yet menacingly dangerous. Winkle pickers were the second generation rockers and very much the property of the early sixties generation. The pointed toes were a reworking of the notorious poulaines of the Middle Ages. These were outrageously phallic and distinctly male. Courtship took place on the dance floor and ability 'swing right' was caught in many of the contemporary lyrics e.g. Let's dance by Chris Montez and Twisting the Night Away by Sam Cooke. The 1950's considered the heel of the female foot particularly erotic. Mules were all the rage, and attention was drawn to the naked heel by novel designs. The Stiletto heel was introduced in 1952 and was 4" in height. It was on a classic pump with a pointed toe. Known as the "Cobblers Delight" because the bottom tips needed frequent replacement. The heels pierced floors and were banned in aircraft and many public buildings. Despite their bad reputation by the end of the 50's stilettos were the only shoes a fashionable woman wore. High heels were considered symbols of playful defiance, and heightened sexuality; the shoes became the trademarks of the naughty girl. The height and size of shoes have erotic connotations. High heels are considered to make even the average bottom look more pert, round and trim. According to experts buttocks protrude by 25% just by wearing ankle breakers. Effects on the posture have been studied and the change in the body's centre of mass causes the back to curve, breasts to jut forward, the buttocks to hike up and the legs to look and sexy. The calves and ankles appear shapelier and the arches heave from the shoes. According to psychologist Lloyd-Elliott the length of the leg is an arousal signal. They were less concerned with what the shoe looked like than what it could do for their bodies. High heeled court shoes were definitely the thing to be seen in for the older more sophisticate. Later the advent of seamless stockings without heel reinforcement brought the sling back into fashion.

The Stomp

2009-01-23T14:34:00.001-08:00

The stomp was a form of Opvnkv Haco (a traditional dance of the Indigenous American tribes common to southeast) and in Cherokee, Creeks and Seminole societies the dance had both social and religious significance e.g. fertility ceremonies. There were different dances for men and women and the movements were a mixture of shuffle and stomp which resembled the movements of an inebriate. The dance emphasised movements of the feet and postures for the head but the arms were not considered important. The dance usually took place inside confined floor space and whilst the Stomp was not meant to be a physically challenging exercise, all the participants were likely to dance most of the night. The Opvnkv Haco was set to a drum beat. The dance style lent itself well to the emerging youth culture of the fifties with an emphasis on bass and drums the single stance movement provided opportunity to break with the close proximity of previous popular dances. Now individuals could with minimum physical exertion stand alone or in formation doing the Stomp. The dance became popular among beatniks, ton up boys (pre-rockers) and surfies. The term skiffle was originally used to describe Chicago jug bands of the 20's whose original sound came from replacing traditional instruments with kazoos, washboards, broom handle basses and liquor jugs. Lonnie Donegan was the champion, yet despite chart success in the States, the 'do it yourself' fifties fad died as quickly as it started. Although it did not contribute significantly to popular music per se, it did give prominence to the guitar as an instrument to be played. At first rock records had used guitars as music to listen to. Skiffle bands were often seen on stage wearing thongs. The fashion had been made popular at the Melbourne Olympics by the Japanese swimming team who wore them as sports sandals. Around the same time, beatniks were usually young intellectuals, who followed the beat generation as typified by Alan Ginsberg and Jack Kourack, wore sandals or preferred to walk bare feet as an alternative break from convention. As the seventies approached many beatniks had become hippies. The term Ton-Up referred to bikers in the UK who travelled at 100 miles per hour on the new motorway system. These were different and considered tougher than the Teddy boys and their main obsession was with motor bikes. Their style included leather jackets with colours, jeans & studded belts, T Shirts and cowboy boots. Their music was distinctly Rock & Roll and they listened to it on jukeboxes, drinking coke or expresso, in coffee bars. Two distinctive characteristics of the new breed of delinquent was their walk, al la James Dean; and the new language of youth, 'Daddy-O'. Much preparation and pruning went into just looking 'cool'. A must fashion accessory for the distinctive quaff was the ubiquitous hair comb and the more macho it looked the better. 'Flickcombs' were essential. Footwear took on a cowboy boot flavour. Not quite as ostentatious as the original Hollywood styles of the 30's but distinctly macho none the less. Their boots were similar to Mexican riding boots (or vaquero) and sat well on the bike but the shoe portion was made so tight it made walking difficult and often painful. As both boots were made on the same last they needed breaking in which may have accounted for the Ton Up boys aggressive behaviour. Surfies particularly in Australia went barefoot and the Stomp was their preferred dance throughout the fifties and early sixties. Stomping was often so loud and potentially damaging to dance floors many dance halls banned the dance.

Blue Suede Shoes

2009-01-21T20:16:00.000-08:00

Had Carl Perkins not penned this tune and Elvis sang it then who knows what kind of world we would have today. The anthem was right and the image was as they say 'smoke'n'. The appeal of brothel creepers lay in their deliberate crudeness. Leather or suede was sown into crepe sole, sometimes two inches thick. The name spells out the sexuality of the shoe. They were a celebration of unsubtle masculinity and were the working class equivalent of the desert boot. Originally worn by officers during the desert campaign in North Africa, the originals were suede bottees with crepe soles. The origins are blurred but it is thought Egyptian cobblers made the shoes for the soldiers. Most comfortable shoes the fashion was developed by Clarke's of England and became popular with the middle class smoothies after the war. Teddy boys wore a modified dessert boot with a particularly thick crepe sole. Brothel creepers were as aggressive as desert boots were urbane. Worn originally with drapes and drainpipe trousers they were a variation of the sartorial style of Prince Edward, hence Teddy boys. An interesting innovation was the unconventional use of a boot lace, worn as a tie i.e. Slim Jims, this symbolically acknowledged the importance of 'Hillbilly Music' in the emerging music scene as well as flying in the convention of shirt and tie brigade. Dress codes became very important in public places like dance halls and pubs. All in all the style was the right image for angry young men and made up the post war generation, which burst into life with the onset of Rock'n Roll. Roll over Beethoven as Chuck Berry sang in 1956. the young Chuck Berry invented his famous 'duck walk’ routine to distract the audiences attention from his wrinkled suit.

Dance on, cha, cha, cha

2009-01-19T14:06:00.000-08:00

The Cha Cha Cha was danced with elbows bent at right angles, chest puffed, feet shuffling snugly side by side. The 'cha' embodied the dance's extra step rhythm. The dance originated in Cuba in the early fifties and was a variation of the double step mamba. The name is thought to be an echoic, deriving from the doing of the dance. Couples only make fleeting contact and for most of the dance each concentrates on their own footwork. Popular with old and young because it allowed youngsters to display individualism and older people were already familiar with the dance steps of the mambo and rumba. The Merengue originated in the Dominican Republic and incorporated what was known as the 'limp' step. Legend has it the origin of this strange dance was out of respect for a general with a limp who was trying to dance the samba at a ball. His guests fearful of offending him copied his movements. This affectation was stylised to become a distinctive feature of an otherwise vigorous dance. Following on from the hits of Harry Belafonte, the Calypso caught on as a dance craze in the US. Calypso was a Trinidadian dance but the origins of the name remain unknown. It is not thought to be related to the Greek sea nymph, or the orchid. The young Americans soon combined the steps of the Cha Cha Cha with the Calypso to dance the "Cha-lypso" on the new program for youth called "American Bandstand". The influence of this TV show was immeasurable to new dance crazes and even although each craze only lasted a short time, they came thick and fast throughout the fifties.

Jive

2009-01-18T14:23:00.000-08:00

Post war youth wanted to celebrate living and throw off the old image of dancing locked together in the embrace of the waltz and tango. Instead they jitterbugged to the sounds of the big band sounds. By the fifties jive was established and the frankest portrayal of sex yet performed. Kids no longer needed the dress as their forebears did but instead needed to be free to Rock'n Roll. No surprise then when athletic shoes were adopted for the purpose. The humble sneaker, or canvas topped, rubber soled shoe was escalated to the fashion icon of rebellious youth and remarkably has remained there, to this very day. Sneakers are perhaps the most lasting design of all sport shoes. Not only did they spurn sports shoes they also form the basis of all leisure shoes. The word sneaker was first used in 1875 and it referred to an early croquet shoe which was developed in the US. By the 1950's sneakers had become the preferred footwear of teenagers and the symbol of rebellion. Because they were cheap, the shoes were worn by students around the world. In North America, cheerleaders wore sweaters, short skirts, ankle socks with canvas topped shoes (or keds). Dancing was very much part of the emerging youth culture and the spasmodic body contact interspersed with vigorous gyrations more reminiscent of the Kama Sutra than the Ballroom Gazette necessitated freedom of movement. Sneakers were the footwear of choice (keds for girls and chucks for boys). Kids flocked to the new 'Teen movies" including Elvis Presley in Jailhouse wearing sneakers and saddle shoes (a close relative). The fashion was officially sanctioned when James Dean was photographed wearing his Levis jeans and white sneakers. Twenty years on Lennon wore white sandshoes with his tailored white suits. Forty years later, contemporary Rappers continue to extol the virtues of youths' favourite shoes. The sole pattern of Keds was circles and squares (cool, or what). American Bandstand and Dick Clark introduced dance craze, after dance craze to the eager youth of America.

Bob, Slop and Stroll: Dance crazes of the Post War teenager

2009-01-17T20:50:00.001-08:00

War played a major role in creating the cult of the teenager. With men over eighteen in the service, younger boys stepped in as "heads of families". As big men about town and picked up easy pocket cash in a labour scarce work force. Girls too earned money to lavish on themselves by baby sitting for parents on night shifts at war plants. Teens had money and Madison Avenue moved to milk it off by promoting clothing crazes, pop songs, and dances. Saturday nights, crowds of teenage kids would converge on their local dancehalls. Teenagers of the late forties were largely innocent, sexually naive, uncynical, and uncritical of adults and the world around them. The biggest problem in their lives was coping with zits. By the late forties girls had a uniform of pleated skirt, baggy sweater, bobby sox and loafers. The absent father and working mother was also attributed to the alienated teenager who roamed the streets at night and was dubbed the juvenile delinquent. After the war the great North American population felt the years of hardship behind them now deserved better and for the next two decades they turned their back on realism in search of magic. By the close of the decade American teens were wearing motor cycle jackets and boots or else penny loafers. Girls or bobby soxers had poodle skirts and two tone saddle shoes. Poddle skirts were made from felt and bore an appliqué of a fully coiffed French poodle with rhinestones for eyes and additional rhinestones defining a collar. The Bunny hop was a conga type dance. Participants held the hip of the person in front of them and moved left from right with their feet, as they hopped to the beat. The Bop followed and consisted of couples faced each other, jumped up and down and on landing furiously ground their heels into the floor. The dance is thought to have originated from Southern California and was discovered on bandstand. A laid back version was known as the Sloppy. To bop while skipping in place was called the pony, whereas doing the bop to other animal mimicry became the chicken, monkey, the dog and the alligator (both danced were banned from the program because they were considered too risqué. A line dance reminiscent of the old fashioned Virginia reel know as the Stroll.

Swing (Part Two) The War Years

2009-01-16T14:26:00.000-08:00

The Swing Era that began in the Thirties was interrupted by World War II. With men at war the invention of the record player meant women could dance in their living rooms. This was where the jitterbug grew up and had elements of other dances from previous times. The jitterbug was danced to the music of Benny Goodman. Named after the jitters or too much alcohol, participants suffered many injuries. Because the adult men were serving their country, dance halls filled with teenagers would boogie woogie to the jitterbug. The dance craze spread where ever GI's were posted. The zoot suit or baggy broad shouldered look may have had its popularity from the simple fact teenagers were seen to replace their elders during the war years. The cut of the jackets inferred they belonged to bigger people i.e. the missing adult. The jacket had wide lapels with a long narrow "reet" pleat heavily padded shoulders, and multi-button sleeves, and was worn with high wasted trousers cut full in the thigh and tapering to a ankle-hugging tightness called the peg leg. In many versions the foot opening was so narrow that the trousers needed ankle zippers. Kids would wear a wide brimmed fedora hat, a glaringly patterned fish tail tie, and a lengthy loop of curving key chain that began at the belt plunged below the knee and came to nestle in the trouser pocket. The clothing style in the forties was closely associated with the underworld and the loose fit provided easy place to conceal weapons. The zoot suit was condemned in many states and clergy warned the suit only appealed to pre-repentant Mary Magdalene kind of women. Riots broke out in New York and California in the 1940's when servicemen attacked wide boys wearing the attire. This led to a ban on servicemen visiting the Big Apple and Los Angeles unless by prior permission. In the UK a similar craze was happening and many historians believe the zoot suit may have been the invention of a tailor called F P Scholte at the end of the nineteenth century. He adapted the oversized coats of Guard officers to become zoots, i.e. rhyming slang for suits. These were very popular with the spivs or wide boys of the time. These were street traders selling black market goods. The fashion came to an end when L-85 restrictions on clothing were introduced in 1943.

Swing (Part One) and glamorous shoes

2009-01-14T16:29:00.000-08:00

In the thirties dancing to the sound of the big bands spirited swing music which took people's minds off the grimness of the Depression. Dance became a means of cutting loose from the hardships of reality and for working class people became an established form of escapism. Dance marathons became incredibly popular with literally many people dancing until they dropped. The decades beat was lively but smooth, and lovingly called swing. Swing steps were more athletic then its predecessor, the Charleston. Dancers were younger and dancing was more physical. Inspiration for the new steps came from many sources including the Lindy or Lindy Hop which was a dance rendition of Charles Lindberg's solo struggle across the Atlantic in 1927. Partners faced each other and the male tossed the woman in a blizzard of solo turns and supported leaps. With hemlines becoming shorter than ever before underwear became a serious dress consideration. The Big Apple was the next craze and took its origins from country folk dances. Dancers would parade in acircle hands joined together and a caller chose which pair was to move to the centre. The dance incorporated elements of four other popular styles i.e. the Shag, Suzi Q, Truckin' and Hokey Pokey. Most of the dances were North American but the UK, Lambeth Walk enjoyed intense popularity for a short time. The sensuous Samba originated in Rio de Janeiro and was introduced at the 1939 New York World's Fair, Carmen Miranda danced the Samba to stardom. The Samba led the way for Latin American dance and was soon joined with the Paso Doble, Mambo, Cha Cha, and Merengue. Amplification meant the new automatic phonographs could be heard even in a crowd. The developing plastics industry meant castings could be made in an array of attractive ways and combined with water effects and light shows, the juke box was invented. For the price of a nickel, the host could entertain friends. Prior to the Depression it was important to have shoes for both daytime as well as evening wear. After 1929 most women preferred to wear styles which could be worn during the day as well as at night. Skirt lengths had come down to mid calf and remained there until 1939 (Van Zendt, 1999). As hemlines dropped shoes took on high vamps and hugging heels. Toes became rounded in this more conservative look and the borderlines between different types of shoes began to blur. Court shoes became broader, toes less pointed and heels were lowered to around 4 cm, although high heels remained in vogue for dancing. According to Trasko, (1989) rounded toes even affected the styling of fetish shoes. There were many variations on the T strap with cutaway sides and open toes. Evening shoes had to be hard wearing and the luxurious silks, satins and suede and kid replaced velvets of the beginning of the decade. Exotic hides, such as python and lizard remained chic. As the decade progressed, although black was the most popular colour for daywear, gold and silver were discretely piped on evening shoes. Wine, maroon, and navy were the colours of choice until in 1935 when pastel colours replaced them. Just before the Second World War, bright coloured footwear made reappearance. (Pattison & Cawthorne, 1997). Fashionable footwear of the thirties were draped in silk bands and decorated with soft bows or ornamental buckles on high fronted town shoes. Alternatively the shoes were laced over the arch of the foot with silk or fancy cord laces. Small cuts like stencil patterns or tiny perforated dots decorated the fronts and sides of some styles. Other features included rows of top stitching or very narrow strips of leather on suede as decorative effects on toe boxes and heel caps. As the world’s economy recovered a mark of success was the tailored suit (referred to as the English Look). This became popular daytime wear for both male and female and suits were cut comfortably to highlight the waist. A fashion accessory was the business shoe broader more angular and with a lowered heel. Walking shoes for women were introduced during the economically depressed years of the early 30's. These were worn with tweed suits or tailored dress (Pattison & Cawthorne, 1997). Adverts of the time tried to capture the style conscious consumer with practical items such as Quarter tips to protect heels from wear. This is the origin of the sensible shoe, oft cited as good advice to the foot challenged of today. The brogue fashion became popular in ladies style. The Sahara sandal was introduced for women in 1931. Despite its name it had a moccasin construction and the new fabric, rayon was used as shoe uppers. A new fad for outdoors meant boots were briefly fashionable i.e. short ankle boots. Although these disappeared after 1934 as sandals became prominent. Sandals started as beachwear but were eventually worn for eveningwear. The sandals of the thirties were made with sturdy soles for dancing while the open toes kept the foot cool (O'Keeffe, 1996). By the end of the decade sandals were worn during the day. In the absence of nylon stockings, legs were made up with cosmetics. When open toed shoes and sling backs were introduced they became an instant success (Pattison A & Cawthorne N 1997). Italian women continued to wear long, slender high heeled shoes made in black leather and decorated with metal buckles or jewels. 1937 gradually eclipsed court shoes by wedges, platform shoes and sandals. In 1938, shoes with cork platforms appeared covered in cloth or leather and decorated with sequins for eveningwear. By the end of the decade dark grey stockings and black shoes were popular. Elsa Schiaparelli was a major influence on fashion in the 30's and let shoe designer Perugia produced shoes with twisted metal heels, fish shapes and golden globes. Schiapelli even produced yellow bootees with gold toenails painted on them. She also collaborated with Salvador Dali to produce the famous, shoe hat (Pattison & Cawthorne, 1997). Adrian Adolf Greenberg was a designed for MGM film studios and was credited for creating the slim & long image of the thirties. This definitely influenced Elisa Schiaparelli (aka Scap) and other Paris designers. Carmen Miranda wore six inch high platforms studded with diamante or nail heads. High wedges were often cut out in different shapes like modern sculpture. As war began shoes began to narrow and heel initially increased in height. Later war shortages and rationing restricted the height of heels to an inch and three quarters. Philip Magnone was commissioned to design the new uniforms for the US Women’s Army Service. Even war had its glamorous side with the 1939 uniform for women including beige stockings, brown shoes and matching shoulder bag. (Cassin-Scott J, 1997). Shoes with holes in their soles were referred to as "Hoover Shoes" after President Hoover, whose misfortune it was to be in the Whitehouse during the Depression.

Bibliography
Cassin-Scott J 1997 The illustrated encyclopaedia of costume and fashion from 1066 to the present London: Studio Vista
O'Keeffe L 1996 Shoes: A celebration of pumps, sandals, slippers & more New York: Workman Publishing
Pattison A & Cawthorne N 1997 A century of shoes: Icons of style in the 20th century Australia: Universal International
Trasko M 1989 Heavenly soles: Extraordinary twentieth-century shoes New York: Abbeville Press
Van Zandt E 1988 20th century fashion Hove: Wayland Publishers.

Jazz, Golf and Spectators: Baby your feet's too big!

2009-01-13T15:03:00.001-08:00

In the 1920's, jazz moved across the social barriers that had previously divided black and white communities. It suddenly became chic to dance to jazz music and the effects on fashion were considerable. Two-tone shoes were introduced at this time and reached its fashion zenith in the thirties. The spectator (name given the two-tone in the US) was considered elegant for both sexes and both races. It also attracted the fashionable sporting types and was made socially acceptable when the Prince of Wales was seen wearing spectators on the golf links.

"Oh your feets too big
Don't want you cause your feet's too big
Mad at you cause your feet's too big
I hate you cause your feet's too big
Oh your pedal extremities are colossal"

The singer is clearly displaying his symbiotic and erotic anxieties vis a vis, women. These anxieties of intimacy with his companion become focused on her pedal extremities. Shocked at the sight of them he affirms the foot role as a symbol of all that is truly feminine and defensively denies those characteristics of women that are abhorrent to him. Perhaps the idea of a huge phallus in the form of her feet may also evoke corresponding homosexual anxieties.

Flappers did the Charleston and Rumba

2009-01-12T17:58:00.000-08:00

The Charleston and its spin offs: the Shimmy, Black Bottom, and Varsity rag were the dances of the trendy non-prohibitionists. They drank giggle water and danced in the speakeasy to jazz. Flappers flicked their knees open and closed with what was called ' peekaboo indifference". The dance required swivelling on the balls of the feet, balancing pigeon toed, swaying the body side to side, and knocking the knees with their hands in a maddening frenzy. The Charleston was enormous and spread throughout the western world but had its critics and was condemned by clergy and other moral guardians of society. After a tragic accident in a dancehall where a roof fell on revellers many buildings displayed notices like "The Building cannot withstand the Charleston" to deter young people from dancing the new dances. Shoe styles of the mid twenties reflected contemporary events such as the sensational opening of the tomb of Tutankhamen, which saw a flurry of fashion for all things Egyptian. Glamorous dance shoes sported designs and trapping of the rich and exotic culture. Towards the end of the decade the Rumba from Cuba came like the Tango with festering sensualness as Caribbean and African rhythms and movements increasingly influenced social dancing.

Despite the unsettling effects of the First World War, the 1920s stood out as a bright, youth orientated period with great enthusiasm for its own time. People had confidence in the future. Woman's fashions included more leg on show and the impacting fashion was immense. According to Bond (1992) the sight of young women confidently wearing clothing which showed their knees and thighs as they got in and out of cars, or sat on trains and buses represented the allure of glamour dressing in its most potent form. Daytime shoes were neat and feminine looking, with oval toes and straight, high heels. The classic court shoe was an everyday basic but the new look, slender high heeled sandals with ankle and "T straps" in reptile skins, soft kid, suede and satin were very much the desire of most. Shoe styles reflected contemporary events and with the sensational opening of the tomb of Tutankhamen came a fashion flurry for all things Egyptian. Fashionable shoes were no different and often sported designs and trapping of the rich and exotic culture. Gold and silver 'Charleston' sandals were very popular and a ready accessory for eveningwear. Shoe designs of the 20s reflected art deco style with mixtures of leather and suede. Many styles boasted of cushioned heels for dancing. Shoes had pointed toes with low heels many with button straps shoes and pierced hole design over the toe box (brogue style). Evening shoes were immaculately presented, matt fabrics were always well brushed and leather buffed to a high gloss. Strappy designs were a popular feature in elegant evening shoes. The straps were sometimes plaited or made of satin ribbon and crossed over like ballet pumps. Other styles were dotted with glitter and fastened with fancy gold, silver or diamante buckles. The sides and heels of the shoes were sometimes decorated with tiny gold flecks or diamante tips. Other shoes were covered with fabric to match a particular dress. Alternatively dresses in plain velvet satin or chiffon were worn with patterned shoes. High heeled sandals covered in eye-catching, glittering brocade became the focus of leg watching. Men followed fashion in a more clandestine way and style was shown in subtle forms and imagery displayed within the bounds of long established conventions. During the 20s, the English style was at its most classic with emphasis on being dressed in high quality, perfectly fitting clothing which flattered rather than promoting a strong designer look. The more extreme image of men's fashion included the two-tone shoes, which at the time were thought to be very brash. These styles, according to Bond (1992) were popular among a few male groups including students, celebrities and artists. Changes for men were slow and conservative whereas radical fashion changes had taken place for women during this period. The main shift in fashion for men was also on the legs. Unlike women's preoccupation with how much of the leg should be shown off with fit and up and down hemlines, the controversy for men was how much fabric should be used to cover them up. At the beginning of the twentieth century men wore tailored trousers which were both slim and tapered. Sportswear was also conservative with modestly wide knickerbockers. The name came from the Dutch living in New York at the turn of the century and continued to wear traditional knee pants. By the 1920s these ballooned out into baggy plus fours. The number depicted the length in inches, the trousers hung below the knee. During a very hot summer Oxford students were banned from wearing them and defiantly continued to wear them under loosely fitting wide, legged trousers. Called Oxford bags. These measured as much as 66cm (26") round the trouser bottoms and would hide the forbidden knickerbockers. Later oarsmen wore the style of trouser over their shorts. Only those who could afford it wore these styles and the fashion soon caught on in the US. By the end of the decade, men's trousers were cut fuller.

Foxtrot and Tango: Risqué stuff

2009-01-11T16:38:00.000-08:00

Each era would kicked off not just a new dance craze but also a new venue in which to dance. Across the globe couples were enjoying the fox trot and the tango in the ballroom. Late in 1913, Harry Fox was a music hall performer and trotted out a jerky two step to ragtime. When the dance was refined it would became the most popular form of dancing associated with the war years. During the early decades of the 20th century the tango with its smooth suave Latin sensualness became the dirty dancing of the period. The dance was thought to resemble a sadistic Apache dance in which a woman attempts to love a sadistic man. The origins of the word ‘tango’ are thought to be the Spanish ‘tengo,’ meaning first person singular, or "I possess". No dance craze swept the world faster than the tango and brought millions of dollars to dance studios. Originating in Argentina it found its way to Paris via the Atlantic luxury cruisers of the time. Rudolph Valentino tangoed his way to fame causing women in the audience to swoon and faint from worship. The dance was banned in many cities with the threat of fines and imprisonment. By 1913 the craze hit England and became very much a tea dance phenomenon. Irene and Vernon Castle were the key dancers of the time predating Fred Astair and Ginger Rogers by at least two decades. Their following was in the millions and their appearance was studied by thousands of fans. Vernon and Irene Castle were 'the' people in dancing circles as well as fashion icons. When she wore white satin shoes stores could not keep the items in stock. When Vernon wore a wrist watch he broke the macho custom of wearing a fob (pocket) watch. Until this time wrist watches were thought rather effeminate but hence forth all real men sported wrist watches. Women's shoes were made from silk, fabric or kid leathers with styles including straps and buttons. Louis heels began to re-appear and shoes were made for dual day wear as well as dancing.

Dance: Everybody's Doing' It Now

2009-01-10T20:08:00.000-08:00

On the dance floor the kid’s behaviour was likened to that of animals and no surprise therefore to find each subsequent dance craze embraced the idea. The Turkey Trot was perhaps the best known and was introduced by the youth of 1900 and danced to ragtime beat. The undoubted attractions were the kids moved together, touched, pawed and intimately supported each other as they perilously off-balance gyrations. Thought to have originated in night clubs from San Francisco' Barbary Coast the dance became a craze after the 1910 musical review, Over the River. Al Johnson was known to have danced the Turkey Trot. Establishment objected and had kids arrested for dancing the trot and other animal dances. Soon ballrooms employed floor walkers to route out troublemaking revellers. The next fad was called the 'Grizzly Bear" and owed its success to Irving Berlin's "Everybody's Doing' It Now". The reaction from establishment was predictable but the gravity surpassed anything before it. From the Vatican, Pope Pius X asked the faithful to forswear the animal mimicry and sanely return to dancing the medieval, furlana. Italian in origin this dance was in effect a wild courtship configuration for couples, which even Casanova considered violently passionate. Ladies shoes in the early part of the 1900's were medium heel pumps. The fashion for boots had passed and the court slip-on was worn with Cuban heels. The raising of the hemlines meant the legs were on show and the focus of both male and female attention.

From the Polka to the Cakewalk

2009-01-08T05:12:00.000-08:00

In the US the fashion for dance and the concentration on all matters military came to a crescendo at the turn of the 19th century. Coming of age politically, in global terms, meant the sons of America had experienced colonisation and the women wanted to be as fashionable as the Europeans. The invention of a dance style which incorporated marching and skipping was not by chance. John Philip Sousa introduced the world to the two step, a dance which displayed power. The origins of the Polka are still clouded but it may have been based on a Polish or Czechoslovakian step. The popularity of the Polka followed the waltz and was less intimate, more novel celebrating the new fashion for militaria. Royalty embraced the new dance and the top down order was again assured. The Duke of Wellington danced the polka six times to celebrate the Queen Victoria's birthday. The American newspapers papers commented on the dance's wonderfully militaristic, march like tempo. In the southern states of North America, for the amusement of the rich, black folks were encouraged to lampoon the dancing styles of the formal balls. Prizes were offered to those dancers who displayed the greatest agility and creativeness. The prize usually consisted of a cake and the competitions became known as the cakewalk. These were true satire on the popular elegance of ballroom dancing styles and the steps encouraged individuality which allowed elimination during competition. Most significantly the cakewalk contributed to the birth of later dance trends based on jazz rhythms and its music influenced the growth of ragtime in the second decade of the new century. The term "taking the cake" refers to this dance craze, where quite literally the winner, took the cake. The physical exertion associated with dancing the cakewalk soon had the masses baying for "ragged" music which led to the craze for 'ragtime music" and the prominence of composers like Scott Joplin.

The Waltz: Dirty dancing

2009-01-07T16:41:00.001-08:00

During the 16th century ballrooms became popular and being dressed for a ball all the more so. The best finery was the order of the day and more and more the noblemen and women wore special ballroom slippers. These became known as the “dancing shoes” or “pumps.” After the political upheavals of the 18th and 19th centuries, dances once performed by the aristocracy alone, became popular among ordinary people. By the mid-19th century, popular dances attracted many participants who performed minuets, quadrilles, polkas, and waltzes all of European origin. Napoleon's legacy to cultured Europe was the fashionable dress balls that were he held in his honour. As soon as Paris succumbed to dancing for pleasure then popularity for such occasions swept through the civilised world. This came at a time when militarism was engulfing the fashionable West and the uniform was the preferred male dress coupled with the new neo-Grecian styles for women. The superb opportunity to display the peacock arrogance of the male contrasted well against the delicate simple line of classic fashion of the female form. The new dancing steps were more vigorous than the previous minuets and the ladies shoes did suffer as a consequence. Men wore boots and women wore slippers every bit as delicate as modern ballet shoes. It was common enough for women to take a second pair to the ball. Ladies shoes, or Empire shoes, were low heel pumps sometimes with laces to wrap around the ankle. As a manual of etiquette put it "a ball is too formal a place for anyone to indulge in personal preference, and the massacre of one's shoes had to be borne with stoicism." After one wearing the Empress Josephine discovered a hole in her dancing slipper and complained to her shoemaker. "Ah I see what the problem is, Madame" he exclaimed, "You have walked in them." By far the most popular dance was the Waltz (German, walzen: to revolve ) which had been introduced to the Austrian court in the 17th century. The waltz was a new freedom for couples with its gliding, whirling movements. Whilst incredibly popular it was also considered the dirty dancing of its day. The older generation downright denounced it and young people danced it non-stop. There were three main problems, couples held themselves temptingly close; they moved into turns at high speeds which was intoxicating to the brain; and the music tempo was fast. In 1760 the performance of waltzes was banned by the church in parts of Germany and elsewhere. Part of condemnation may have been a reaction to the lower classes emulating their betters by taking to public displays of dancing. This may well have accounted for the outburst of moral indignation recorded by contemporaries in the higher strata of society. To its critics the Waltz was considered "will corrupting", "disgusting" and "immodest” and Lord Byron claimed 'Lewd grasp and lawless contact between dancers in public would not leave much to mystery to the nuptial night. Strauss waltzes dominated popular dance music for the remainder of the nineteenth century. By the time it reached North America in 1816, parents forbade their children to dance it. Waltz instrumental music was outlawed and lambasted by orthodoxy. Needless to say the waltz established itself despite the moribund protestations and in 1855 it was the fad dance. The amazing popularity of the waltz was at least in part due to the opportunity it gave young people to touch intimately in public. New freedoms brought the need for change in clothing styles. In the shadow of the Great War, people stopped dancing it simply because it was mistakenly thought to be a German dance. The Waltz craze passed with the onslaught of the Great War. By the early 20th century the waltz as an art form was exhausted. It found a final admirer in the French composer Maurice Ravel, whose orchestral piece 'The Waltz' both celebrates the dance's traditions and mourns its passing out of fashion.

Ballet: The common injuries

2009-01-06T19:46:00.000-08:00

The nature of ballet movements is unusual, and therefore leads to some unusual injuries. Dancers frequently suffer minor trauma, which would not trouble an average person however they make such demand on their bodies as to prevent the ballerina from performing. Many dancers attribute the cause of injury to the hardness of the stage floor. Most are wooden and lay directly on concrete to provide a very hard, unremitting surface. This is essential to support the body mass when landing. Traditional pointe shoes provide no shock attenuation and subsequently the number of injuries was higher prior to the introduction of the newer pointe shoes. Deterioration of the toe box with use meant no support was given to the foot. Segmental deterioration of the shoe also caused the dancer to use her body to compensate when standing on pointes. This was thought by many experts to be the reason why the ankle was so often damaged when the dancer sprang onto the full pointe position. Pointe work often results in damage to the great nail with Black nail, Onychauxis and ingrown nails commonly reported. According to Quirk (1988) ballet dancers are no more prone to bunions than non ballet dancers but may suffer arthritic changes on the first metatarsal phalangeal joint or hallux rigidus. Corns and calluses are common however and pressure to the Achilles tendon at the posterior aspect of the malleoli is reported. Everting the foot when the dancer adopts a turned out position can lead to tendinitis. Repeated jumping and landing may irritate the sesamoid bones causing sesamoiditis. Dancers are taught to land lightly and with a small bend of the knees to dissipate the shock of hitting the hard floor. To ignore this may lead to chondromalacia of one of the sesamoid bones. Stress fractures are frequently reported with the most common site in the second metatarsal. This is thought however to be more common in demi pointe work. Impingement syndrome is caused when repeated pointing of the foot which compresses the lower tibia and the upper calcaneum, thus flattening the posterior tubercle (os trigonum). Another consequence of repeatedly pointing the foot is the development of traction osteophytes at the front of the ankle. These can break off forming loose bodies in the front of the ankle joint that lead to anterior impingement when the foot is dorsiflexed. The ankle tendons are often overused and sometime crepitus occurs. The most vulnerable is the flexor hallucis longus. This tendon plantarflexes the big toe and helps the dancer get up onto pointe. Overuse of this tendon can produce a nodule which can be felt moving with the tendon just behind the medial malleolus. The tendo Achilles often involved with a calcaneal bursa and this is caused by tying the ribbons too tight. Anterior compartment syndrome (or shin splints) may also be found with tibial stress fracture. The most common age for girls to start ballet classes is five years but pointe work would normally not commence until around the age of 11 years. Most authorities agree the introduction of pointe work at earlier years is dangerous and may harm normal development. In contrast to ballet injuries, some modern dance performers wear stiff boots or hard clogs to amplify their stomping sounds. Instead of dancing softly on pointes, dancers stomp on their feet. Many are not trained dancers and subsequently their accidental and repetitive-motion foot problems are more similar to injuries suffered by the general public than those seen in traditional dance companies.

Dance: Modern to hip hop

2009-01-05T18:38:00.001-08:00

Isadora Duncan discovered a new dance form at the beginning of the twentieth century. The female body was now free from constraining corsets and the spirituality between earth and heaven was caught in the more natural movement of bare feet. Isadora Duncan was trained in ballet but found herself constrained by the conventions which did not allow her as much expression as she desired. Rather than modifying the postures and steps, she disregarded them entirely preferring a free form dance which was more spontaneous. Isadora Duncan became a critic of the aesthetics of classical ballet, in particular the constricting and painful pointe shoes. The once epitome of grace had become to the post modern feminist the nemesis of freedom itself. The Modern Dance movement of the 1930s and 40s reflected the utilitarian times with performances which expressed the struggle against repression (gravity). Barefoot dancing came to represent control, economy, and immediacy. Isadora Duncan inspired younger people to express themselves through a new form which became known as modern dance. As the twentieth century progressed modern choreographers demanded dancers coped not only with pointe work but also the many new choreographic moves, which had come subsequently to the acceptance of modern dance. Pointe works spread into Jazz which even though the steps were from a different idiom, the shoes had to be extremely supple, responsive and simultaneously supportive and durable. Americans also recreated ballet opera by integrating dancing and drama with the musical. Dance steps from ballet, folk dance and modern dance were carefully choreographed to bring a new vitality to the musical theatre. By the 1960s there was another revolt against much that had been tradition in Western dance performance with deliberately deglamourised and sneakers replaced ballet pumps as performers danced in their everyday shoes. Even work boots made an appearance as popular tap become accepted into the avant grade dance form. Eventually this free form became hip hop, danced to rap music.

Ballet Shoemakers

2009-01-02T15:04:00.001-08:00

According to McDowell (1994) the coming of the French Revolution swept away the courtly costumes. This combined with increasing technical demands of dance meant shoes needed to meet the task. The first ballet shoes were based on "straights" worn for ballroom dancing but had no block in the toe. Specialist shoemakers began to appear in every city that had a ballet company. The most famous shoemakers could be found in Paris and Janssen was the best known and made Taglionis' shoes. A close rival was Crait who started in Lyons in 1823 but moved to Paris in 1850. His shoes were well sought after and the great Adel Grantzan from the St Petersburg ballet ordered her shoes exclusively from him. In 1879 he was made official supplier to the Paris Opera. The Belle Epoque saw the founding of many specialist ballet shoe firms including Ebermann of Berlin, Romeo Niccolini of Milan, Capezio in New York (1887), Gamba in London. Anello & Davide & Frederich Freed. Some started by accident, Salvatore Capezio for example was asked to make a replacement pair of shoes for danseur Jean de Reske when he was performing in Romeo & Juliet. Capezio's shoe shop was close at hand to the Metropolitan Opera. The project interested Capezio so much he started to specialise in ballet shoes. The London based Gamba was formed by an Italian waiter in 1894. Luigi Gamba designed shoes for Pavlova and Nijinsky. Today, Freed of London is the world's leading ballet supplier and makes over 1000 pairs a day. Dancers have their favourite shoe makers and are fiercely loyal as the tiniest variation in paper or glue in the toe block can mean the difference between agony and comfort. Patrick Buiell for example has worn Capezio for most of is career whereas Anthony Dowell prefers Gamba. The weight of pointes has also varied Emma Livry danced in shoes, which weighed 34 grams each whereas Anna Pavlova's modern blocked shoes weighed 74 grams. Makers pay great attention and can remould the lasts with plaster to take into account of the dancer individual foot shape. The shoes are made in very short time but the treatment of the toe block requires to be baked in a special oven at 140 F(60C) for 14 hours. A major ballet company will use three thousand pairs per year. In 1998 the shoe budget for the Royal Ballet (London) was in excess of $170,000 (US). To try to recoup some of the costs they sold off discarded pointes at $90 a pair. Nureyev's old shoes fetched $9,400 (US) at a Chrisitie's auction. Dancers have several pairs of shoes per week and they rarely last longer than one performance. Whilst the need to break in pointes is less necessary with today's shoes this has not stopped some of the high profile ballerinas from ritualistically preparing their favourite footwear. Some dancers will steam their shoes over kettle steam or crush them in hinges in doors. Others paint their shoes with shellac varnish to harden specific patches. Anna Pavlova tore her shoes apart then reassembled them before a performance. Margo Fontain was reputed to beat her shoes against the stairs and Kirkland beats her shoes with a special steel hammer she carries around with her for the sole purpose. Dancers usually take responsibility for caring for their shoes and will repairing them when necessary. Dancers have their favourite shoes and try on several pairs in the wings before finding the right ones. Many performances are completed with the dancer wearing shoes, which have literally disintegrated.

A brief history of Pointe Shoes

2009-01-01T15:10:00.001-08:00

Marie Taglioni is given the credit for being the first ballerina to dance on pointe but no one is really quite sure. She did perform La Sylphide on pointes (1832) and was certainly a pioneer who developed the technique which was responsible for revolutionising ballet. Toe dancing was transformed into an artistic expression. Needless to say her grace, lightness, elevation and style earned the adoration of her audience and she subsequently enjoyed a brilliant career. She wore well fitting soft satin slippers with leather sole. The sole and sides of her shoes were reinforced with darning but the tip her pointes was left free. Her dance technique mirrored the bare foot. The dancer's alignment was different and she was less vertical, less straight up and down, with her hips released back and her upper body tilted slightly forward. Her Russian fans loved her so much they were reported to cook her discarded slippers and eat them with a sauce. The Danes choreographed jumping and bouncing sequences in the 1800s and although the softer ballet shoes of the period were adequate; the later incorporation of pirouettes and balances on full pointe instead of demi-pointe, meant new shoes had to be found. Shoemakers needed to make shoes, soft enough for jumping yet sturdy enough for the balances and turns. At first some dancers resorted to wearing a soft pointe shoe for jumping on one foot and a hard one to support the leg for balances and pirouettes. The spectacularly graceful and charming Italian ballerina, Pierina Legnani had her shoes made with a leather shank and her party trick was to place a rouble on the floor and chalk its circumference. She then did thirty two fouettes with the supporting leg never wandering outside the chalk circle. Her influence on the Russian ballet was profound and the Russian school of dance began teaching ballet classes in the Italian method of training. The introduction of stiffer shoes made possible new technical achievements not previously known. The ballerina shoe was considered as an extension of her body and intimately related to her profession and art. It was the shoe, which made the dancing possible. The conventionally made, old style pointe shoe often had a span of only one performance. Due to their frailty, the danseuse would require to replace her shoes at least once during a performance. This was because the box became too soft to brace the toes adequately, or the shoe shank lost its stiffness. The toe box was made from layers of burlap and paper saturated with glue. These would often swell with wear and conform to the foot, however the suppleness required for dancing was temporary because the toe box eventually became too soft. The shank or midsole was made from cardboard or fibreboard and steel shanks were seldom used. Occasionally the pointe shoes of a male dancer did incorporate a steel shank alternatively a reinforced strut was secured to the under surface of the shoe. The shoes were held together by glue, stitching and small nails with the outer satin material gathered in pleats under the toe. Irregularities or lumps like pleats made the shoe unstable. The original pointe shoes offered no protection to the feet and ankles. Female pointe dancers tended to suffer many foot ailments, with stress fracture, tendinitis and black nails common. It has been reported 80% of professional dancers suffered ankle injuries. Many dancers used lamb's wool or toe pads the make their shoes more bearable. Too much wading however prevented the dancer from feeling the floor. Traditional shoemaking materials required being thick and hard to provide enough support, but loud clomping pointe shoes undermined the illusion of effortless grace for which the ballerina was striving for. Noisy pointe shoes make the dancer seem heavy and earthbound undermining the ballerina's performance both dramatically and technically. Pointe shoes were generally three sizes smaller than the length of a street shoe. Ballerinas required pointe shoes to fit like a second skin and she needed to feel all five toes. Most importantly they needed to feel the end of the toe box. Each foot was fitted separately. Old Pointe shoes started off rigid when new and had to be 'broken in' by the dancer. The breaking in process took many hours and was done in several ways. These included manually flexing the shoe back and forth, jumping on it, jamming it in a door, bashing it with a hammer, soaking it in warm eater or alcohol and scraping the sole. The shoe was commonly brushed with floor wax or shellac. Shellac is a solution of lac in alcohol or acetone. Applied to surfaces such as wood and plaster, the solution forms a hard coating upon evaporation of the solvent. All dancers sewed their own ribbons which criss crossed the ankles keeping the shoe on and upright in the full-pointe position. Many used elastic. Occasionally old shoes were be used for class work or light rehearsal but most were discarded. Autographed shoes from celebrated ballerinas have become highly prized. The new pointe shoes allowed the dancer to poise indefinitely on tiptoe. It is her strength and technique, which bring her from the normal standing position. Once on pointe she maintains the position by contracting the muscles of her feet, ankles, leg and torso to pull her up put of the shoe. Without proper training and technique any attempt to toe dance will meet with injury. For that reason children are never encouraged to dance on pointe. Dancers train for several years in soft slippers before they wear pointe shoes. Then only a few minutes of each class are devoted to special pointe exercises. Eventually dancers progress to wear pointes for long active periods until they can complete the whole class. The pointe shoe supports the foot underneath the arch with a stiff sole or shank. The box of the shoe tightly encases the toes to allow the dancer's weight to rest on an oval shaped platform. The incorporation of elastic materials within the toe box of modern pointe shoes has given more serviceable support to the shoe. Further new pointe shoes incorporate a stable shank giving the shoes the necessary resilience and comfort. Modern pointe shoes are constructed so that the shank and toe box are made from one piece. Shanks have varying degrees of flexibility and the toe box may have different configurations. The upper material is usually pink satin and can be dyed for performance to costume designer's specifications. Pointe shoes are made to fit either foot and it is rare for the danseur (male dancer) to wear pointe shoes. Now the ballerina no longer requires to 'breaking in' her shoes and more robust footwear outlasts the traditional ballet pumps.

The Balanchine body

2008-12-31T18:58:00.000-08:00

In the early English Ballet an entire story was portrayed through dance and pantomime but after 1735 greater attention was paid to ballet. About the same time England became the place where foreign ballet dancers performed in front of rich patrons. However it was not until the early part of the twentieth century before English ballet dancers began seriously contributing to the art form. Margot Fonteyn was a major dancer and was the focus of Ballet world attention for almost thirty years. In 1929 after the Ballets Russes was dissolved many dancers immigrated to the United States. Those that remained in Europe joined companies such as the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and the Original Ballet Russe. In the 1930s they toured the United States from coast to coast. The School of American Ballet was established in 1934. The Ballet Theatre (American Ballet Theatre) was founded in 1940 and a few years later George Balanchine formed Ballet Society. The formal costumes for the premier performance were very too constricting and Balanchine discarded them to let the dancers dance in rehearsal costumes. The look caught on and was instantly recognised in Balanchine's ballets. The choreographer gave his name also to the stereotypical slimline body image now associated with ballet dancers and achieving the "Balanchine body" has unfortunately led to many eating disorders in ballerinas and ballerina. In 1948 the director of New York City's City Centre Theatre invited the Ballet Society to work alongside the New York City Opera in the Theatre. This was the beginning of the New York City Ballet. Balanchine's influence on American ballet was immense and in his romantic "Walpurgresnacht Ballet", the ballerinas dance the first and third sections in high heeled shoes. Their steps are deliberately restrained and their feet are symbolically floored by their footwear. In the second section, the dancers wear classical pointe shoes and their movements express an impassioned freedom. The choice of shoes was central to the ballet's story as the choreographer was offering the ballerina's pink satin pointe slippers as a metaphor for elusive sexual love. An interesting comparison especially when European dance shoes of the Chinoiserie period have been compared to the bound feet of Chinese women.

On pointe: From spotting to pouncing

2008-12-30T17:13:00.000-08:00

The Italian school was known for athleticism and dancers like Cecchetti who developed powerful calves and thighs. The Italian dancers pushed technique to the limit in order to achieve dazzling virtuosic works. They developed 'spotting' (a technique involving turning multiple pirouettes) and to achieve this, dancers required more stable shoes and the female ballerinas adopted a shorter dancing skirt or tutu. In 1738, the Russian Monarchy established the St. Petersburg school which is the world's second oldest ballet academy. The Empress Catherine of Russia (1762-1796) took the French ballet to St Petersburg but it was the Italian, Marius Petipa (1855-1881) who developed and defined romantic ballet and created the core repertoire of the Russian ballet. The Russians emphasised refinement and preserved the integrity of the ballet during the late 19th century. Pepita perfected the full-length, evening-long story ballet that combined set dances with mimed scenes. His best-known works were The Sleeping Beauty (1890) and Swan Lake both set to commissioned scores by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky. In Russia, opera houses were under the direct control of the Tsar and hence productions were paid from the Imperial purse. During this time dancers became part of the Imperial household. Prior to the Revolution, Russian Ballet reverted to reflect the Tsar’s superiority and presentations symbolised grandeur. This changed, and posts revolution People's Commissar for Enlightenment, allowed ballet as long as it was light and uplifting. At first through necessity and lack of talented dancers local folk dancers were introduced. This meant dancing styles were more robust and incorporated athletic style, especially for male dancers. Dancers needed new stronger shoes and shoemakers made harder shoes which Petipa made good use of. His complex 'pouncing' routines required the dancer to complete everything on pointes. The significance of pointe dancing became inseparable with the depiction of the supernatural characters being depicted. This meant ballet shoes needed to be stronger. Harder shanks were introduced with reinforced toe boxes to make the platform bigger. New shoes allowed dancers to extend their repertoire to do more on pointe. As the new century began, people tired of Petipa's ideas and principles of ballet and looked for fresh ideas. By now the Russian ballet had surpassed the French ballet and many Russian dancers had become international stars. Probably the most notable ballerina of this time was Anna Pavlova, (1881-1931). She maintained the ideal of balancing on the smallest, pointiest tip, and it is report had her photographs retouched to remove some of the platform tip. In 1907 Mikhail Folkine, (1880-1942), put on a Greek style ballet entitled Eunice, and made the dancers look like they were in bare feet by having toes painted on the dancers' shoes. Until then it was against the rules of the imperial theatre for performers to dance with bare feet or legs. A new dance company Ballet Russes was formed in 1909 by Sergei, (or Serge), Diaghilev, (1872-1929) and when Diaghilev brought Russian Ballet to western Europe decor costume and music were as important as the dance itself. To commemorate the opening of the Theatre des Champs-Elysees in Paris (1913), a performance of the Rite of Spring was interrupted by a riot. The agitated audience complained loudly about the barbarism of the music and erotic nature of the dancing. Followers of Russian born composer Igor Stravinsky retaliated and a full blown fight ensued. Impresario Sergei Diaghilev brought together some of the foremost artists of his time.

The origins of En Pointe

2008-12-28T16:06:00.001-08:00

As ballet entered the nineteenth century it was in a state of transition, known as the pre-romantic phase. During the pre-romantic era male dancers reached their peak and ballerinas first started dancing on the very tips of their toes, or en pointe. The earliest record of dancing en pointe is a lithograph of Fanny Bias en pointe (1821). It is possible, Genevieve Gosselin was en pointe in 1815 but there is no photographic evidence to support this. The danseuse traditionally credited with being the first dancer to dance en pointe was the Italian, Marie Taglioni, (1804-1884), and records support she was en pointe when she was eighteen years old. In 1832 her father choreographed La Sylphide, for her to perform. Her bell shaped dress with a fitted and boned bodice became the forerunner on which the Romantic tutu was based fifty years later. In the Romantic Era of the nineteenth century, ballet stories told of fairies, sylphs, and other unreal creatures that tempted humans from their real lives into fantasies of other-worldly happiness. Subsequently emphasis on vertical posture and airborne movement became critical as ballerinas expressed their ethereal characters by dancing on the tips of their toes. Although they wore shoes, the danseuse would imagine they were barefoot and perform as if they themself could fly. Dancers appeared to move with elongated legs and feet with only the most tenuous connection to the ground With the reasonably new skill of dancing en pointe improving, the ballerinas ruled the Romantic era and became the objects of public adulation. From then Romantic Period onwards pointe dancing became a tradition of ballet which was considered essential to story telling. In the telling of supernatural stories, the danseuse's dancing had to convey supernatural weightlessness, to make the character more convincing. As a fairy or a sylph, the ballerina used her pointes to flit as if by magic about the stage. The Romanic Age was transfixed with beauty, passion, with natural and supernatural things and the power of love. The great ballets of the time were always passionate but tragic encounters between a mortal, terrestrial man and supernatural female. The female characters were usually inhabitant of the supernatural world and always depicted, as a women not bound to the earth, so dainty she could balance on a flower petal. In their less ornate costumes the feminine purity and virtue could be seen. The effectiveness of rising on points underlined the ethereal lightness and other worldly grace. Pointe dancing was not another virtuosic feat like entrechat quatre. Instead it was a deliberate means of enhancing the female role. Lincoln Kirstein referred to pointe dancing as "the speech of the inexpressible." The dominance of women was partly due to changes in social attitude towards women and partly to a technical invention, the pointe shoe. The heeled shoe was slowly replaced by heelless directoire slippers and the device of the invisible supporting wires enabled dancers to seem to float across the stage. In the 1770s, Anne Heinel was described as 'on stilts like tip toe' She would stuff the toe of her slipper with cotton wool. The now stiffened toe box allowed the ballerina to appear to be airborne and when combined with her leaps and poses completed the mirage. By the middle of the century the fires of romantic ballet had begun to pass in London and Paris. What started as an expressive art form began to turn into a variety of vaudeville, a convenient and agreeable excuse for the display of feminine charm. According to Bland (1968) shows became mass voyeurism full of sensuality and girlie show sensibility. Till the turn of the next century Russia became the dance centre of the western world.

Then there was Opera Ballet

2008-12-27T16:31:00.001-08:00

During the seventeenth century ballet was normally performed in the same productions as opera and was known as opera-ballet. Lully set the standard in the opera-ballet, and his audiences came to see the dancing as much as the music. When the composer of one opera-ballet, L'Europe Galante, (1697), suggested making the dance sequences longer as well as shortening the skirts of the female dancers, ballet became increasingly popular. By 1735 when Rameau put on an opera-ballet called Les Indes Galantes, the dancers were definitely doing ballet, as the ballroom and ballet dance forms were now recognised as separate entities. The turning out the legs which had been originally to display the buckles of shoes become much more important in ballet, although it was still desirable in ballroom dancing. Now, ballet requires almost flat turnout and in ballroom turnout is not really necessary at all. With the French revolution came a fashion revolution in ballet. Costumes were much lighter and women dancers wore light flowing dresses with a cut similar to the French Empire line, and both male and female dancers wore soft flexible footwear.

Ballet d'action and the soloist

2008-12-25T13:49:00.000-08:00

Ballet d'action was the name given to dance without masks. English dance master, John Weaver (1673-1760) was thought to have choreographed the first performance in 1717 i.e. ballet with no spoken words. Ballet d'action might well have died with Weaver had it not been for Italian, Gaspero Angiolili, (1731-1803), and the French-Swiss Jean Georges Noverre, (1727-1810). Both pursued with the ballet d'action and ballets were performed on stage with female dancers. At first the audiences were ill at ease but gradually came accept them and in doing so emergenced of the star dancer, which was usually a danseuse. By the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries women were becoming more accepted. By this time the centre of dance had moved from Italy to France. New steps were introduced by choreographers to express gesture as dancing became more creative and personal. Performers would add steps and gestures of their own as the soloist began to emerge. Mademoiselle de Lafontaine (1665-1738) was the first recorded lady dancer at the Paris Opera (1681). Although very little was written about her, she was hailed as the "Queen of Dance" and very much admired for her elegance and style. When she retired she became a nun. Other favourites soon followed, Mademoiselle Subligny and Marie Prevost became firm favourites, albeit their performances were severely limited by their costumes. By 1720 two further rivals had appeared Marie Salle , (1707-1756) & Marie Ann Cupis de Camargo (1710-1770). Marie raised her hemline to show her footwork and she was considered so spectacular to be compared to male dancers. Marie Salle became famous for her ability to portray character and ability to interact dramatically with her partner. Carmargo, or La Carmargo as she was known, pursued pure dance. In the solo, she concentrated on the jumps and developed the "beating" steps, or batterie. According to Wilson, Madame Camargo had small feet and her small shoes became the vogue of court. Her shoemaker became incredibly popular. Both La Carmargo and Salle contributed to shortening the ballerina's dress by performing in shorter skirts. These were just barely above the ankle. As a precaution the ballerinas had to wear calcons de precaution, so the audience would not see anything inappropriate. About 1730, danse haute superseded danse basse and dancers begin to leap, hop and jump. Clothing and costume were required to give the female dancer more freedom. Fierce rivalry existed and when Marie Salle appeared wearing more loosely fitting clothing and danced with her hair down, her rival Marie Ann Cupis de Camargo took the heel from her shoes and shortened the hem on her skirts to better perform the flashy new steps which previously had never been performed, (entrechat quatre and cabriole). As the eighteenth century progressed, more women dancers took part. Subsequent introduction of new moves further increased the lexicon of ballet. Mademoiselle Lyonnais introduced gargoulliades and Fraulin Heinel dazzled Europe with her multiple pirouettes on demi pointe.

Start of professional dancing

2008-12-24T14:31:00.001-08:00

Professional dancers started to appear in 1630 and by 1659 were well established. In 1672, Jean Baptiste Lully formed a dance academy within the Academie Royale de Musique. This dance company survives today as the ballet of the Paris Opera. Lully's seriousness towards the study of dance led to the development of professional dancers as opposed to courtiers who could dance. Jean G Noverre (1727) introduced choreography based on character and situation rather than personal display. He was dissatisfied with the dress of dancers and held the belief they should not wear masks. Maximillien Gardel was the first to appear without his mask but the corps de ballet continued to use masks in grotesque roles until the end of the eighteenth century. During this time professional dancing masters became an integral part of court life. Courtiers were trained in correct deportment and dancing from an early age. Dancing was used to political effect i.e. establishing the dominance of the French Court. The fashion for court entertainment in the French style spread across Europe. With the emergence of professional dancers, they influenced technique, and moved dance towards an expressive art form that was accessible to a broad audience. The developing mercantile class meant a public existed with capital to be spent on leisure pursuits such as attending theatres. As the art form advanced with more dance and less speak it became more attractive to paying audiences. As professional dancers were evolving movement techniques appropriate to new audiences, choreographers were adapting their work to new spaces. In the Paris Opera and the many new theatres that appeared at the end of the eighteenth century, the perspective of the audience was radically changed. Instead of performing in a space surrounded by an audience on three sides, sometimes seated in raised galleries, dancers now were separated from their audiences and framed by a proscenium arch. Movement was now viewed in the frontal plane, which replaced floor pattern as the most visible spatial effect. Technically, the use of soft, flat shoes by professional dancers allowed them to explore a range of movement different from that used in court dances. Jumps replaced the small springing steps and elevation became more and more important. An ironic tragedy was Lully died in 1687, as a result of a self inflicted injury he received by accidentally stabbing his foot with his time marking stick during a performance of Te Deum (a Latin hymn of thanksgiving to God). The wound festered and the foot became gangrenous and Lully died from blood poisoning.

Ballet de Court: Mind your ps and qs.

2008-12-22T17:02:00.000-08:00

When Catherine de Medici married the King of France (Henri II) in 1553 she introduced ballet de court, or court ballet to the Court of France, during the sixteenth century. The main characteristic of Ballet de court was the starring roles were performed by the highest figures of the land. At first these were usually masked extravaganzas with costumed courtiers, dancing. Initially the dances were complex, with elaborate floor patterns and step sequences. Although the technique required excellent balance and control, dress limited the possibilities of the movement. Shoes worn for early ballet were often specifically designed but usually followed current court fashion. This was both true for men and women (McDowell, 1994). Men's fashion for long toed shoes hampered their ability to move freely, as did the fashion for long wide sleeved gowns. Hence arm and foot position became important. Women wearing heavy dresses were unable to develop their footwork. Flexible soles allowed for small springing steps, but the raised heels restricted the possibility of jumping. Eventually a codified vocabulary of steps emerged. Louis XIII appeared in La Douairiere de Billebahaut (1626) but his successor and namesake, King Louis XIV loved dancing and starred in many court productions. According to historians he had two compassions, himself and theatre. The attraction was the gracious worship often played out in the dance reflected the character's mortal glory. He appeared in Ballet de la Nuit (1653) dressed as the sun and henceforth became known as the Sun King. Louis XIV wore high-heeled shoes with massive guilt sun buckles complete with rays. Men's clothing was now well fitted for nimbleness but their high-heeled shoes severely limited the possibilities. When Louis XIV became too old to participate he continued to patronise ballet and founded the Academie Royal de danse (1661). Later this became the Paris Opera Ballet and up until 1681 all female roles were danced by young men. Many historians believe the reluctance to include female dancers was related to clothing. Men's costume was light by comparison to women's, who wore heavy wigs and enormous headdresses with full heavy skirts, heeled shoes and probably thigh corsets. Men meantime wore tights. Decorum prohibited anything more daring than modified ballroom steps in the gavotte, the pavane, the courante or the minuet. Feet were elegantly pointed outwards to show off buckles and coupled with arm gestures careful to avoid brushing the full sleeve became the foundation of classical ballet. Pierre Beachamps became the ballet master for Louis and is credited with the establishment of classical ballet's basic five positions and he stressed technical steps and movements as opposed to the sino-geometrical movements then in fashion. The origins of 'minding your p & qs' may originated when dance masters would caution their pupils to mind their pieds (feet) and queues (tails of their wigs) when they took to the floor. As was the convention dancers would greet each other by bowing, to bow too low would result in the embarrassment of loosing your wig.

The beginning of ballet

2008-12-15T15:10:00.000-08:00

The word ballet appeared to originate in 1416 Domenico di Piacenza wrote "On the Art of Dancing and Conducting Dances" (De Arte Saltandi ed Choreas Ducendi). Domenico di Piacenza described the components of various dances and divided them into 12 movements i.e. nine natural and three artificial. He named four types of danse in accelerating tempi. These were the stately Basse danse; the Quadrilena; the Saltarello; and the vigorous bagpipe dance called the Piva. The Basse danse was the basis for many variations known as Balli. His use of the Italian word 'ballo' instead of 'danza', to describe the choreography meant his dances subsequently became known as baletti or balli, (singular: balletto). Ballet was used initially to describe theatrical dance. Although today the language of ballet is French originally it was in Italian. During the Renaissance there were huge pageants where dancers were both members of the aristocracy and hired performers. These occasions were often used to impress the nobility of neighbouring states. During this era dancers wore "contemporary" court fashions. This meant full wigs and bloomers for men, with hard shoes and heavy long-skirted gowns for the women. Court spectacles had casts of hundreds and audiences numbering in the thousands. Some people consider the first ballet took place in 1489 at a banquet in Italy directed by Bergonzio di Botta. Each course of the meal was heralded with a dance called an "entree". On at least one occasion the scenes and stage machinery was made by Leonardo da Vinci. In 1490, da Vinci designed an extravaganza to entertain the Duke of Milan. In keeping with his genius, the presentation was based on astronomy. The ancient Greek concept of the cosmic dance was incorporated into the Renaissance worldview. The motions of the dancers were understood to mirror the harmony and order to the celestial bodies. Dance was thought to establish order out of chaos and bring peace and harmony to those involved in the event, either as participants or spectators. Although during the 1400s there were men who were considered to be the earliest "ballet masters." most historians believe the performance of the Ballet Comique de la Royne at the Palais du Petit Bourbon in Paris was the birth of ballet (1581). Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx staged the ballet in front of an audience of ten thousand people for Queen Louise of France. The drama (comique) lasted five hours. When in the same year Fabritio Caroso published Il Ballarino, Italy became the world centre for ballet. In 1700 Choreographie, ou l'art de decrire la danse was published by Raoul Auger Feuillet in France. The author recorded both conventions of stage and ballroom dancing and attempted to create a dance notation similar to music. Although this notation was never finalised and standardised, it remains the system still in use today. The word choreographie translated became choreography and is derived from the Greek khorea, (to dance), and graphein, (to write). By 1700 many of the words and movements common in today's ballet were already in use, including jete, sissone, chasse, entrechat, pirouette, and cabriole. In 1713 the Paris Opera established its own dance school, which taught a technique based on Feuillet's writings.

The origins of ballet shoes

2008-12-14T22:50:00.000-08:00

Ballet comes from the Italian word, ballareto, to dance. It describes the classic, formalised solo or ensemble dancing of a disciplined, dramatic nature performed to music. Foreshadowed in mummeries and masquerades, it emerged as a distinct form in Italy before the 16th cent. The first ballet combined dance, decor, and special effects and was presented in 1581 at the French Court of Catherine de'Medici. Guglielmo Ebreo da Pesaro (William the Jew) was a fifteenth century dancing master who wrote a treatise on dancing called Trattato dell' Arte del Ballare. Not only is this one of the earliest written references to dancing choreography it was also written for professionals and amateurs to perform balletti at festive balls. When dancing became popular in theatre it was called intermezzos and performed between the acts of classical comedies, tragedies, or operas. The first ballet is thought to have been written in 1581 and was called 'Circe' and contained a mixture of theatrical elements. A few years later Thoinot Arbeau wrote 'Orchesoraphie' which set forth the dance steps and rhythms that became the ballet postures and movements in the 17th and 18th centuries. The 17th century court ballets were danced by males and only until 1681 and incorporated dance and drama. Choreographic notation came be traced to the 18th century when ballet was used to exlore mythological themes. Italian influence brought elevated and less horizontal movement, and Pierre Beauchamps established the five basic foot positions. Marie Camargo introduced a shortened skirt, tights, and the first ballet slippers, allowing great freedom of movement. Her rival, Marie Sallé (the first female choreographer), wore a liberating, Grecian-style costume. The ballet d'action, was developed circa 1760 by Jean Georges Noverre and told a story through movement and facial expression. Modern ballet technique, stressing the turned-out leg and resulting variety of movement, was set down in 1820 by Carlo Blasis. With La Sylphide (1832) the romantic period began. Brilliant choreography emphasised the beauty and virtuosity of the prima ballerina whereas the male dancer functioned only as her partner until the 20th century, when virtuoso male dancing was revived. Conflicts of reality and illusion, flesh and spirit were revealed in romantic love stories and fairy tales. Under the pressure of naturalism in the theatre, ballet declined through the mid 19th century but after 1875 a renaissance in romantic ballet began in Russia, where Marius Petipa and other European masters created many of the great standard ballets, like Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. In 1909 the Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev brought his Ballets Russes to Paris. In the following 20 years the Russian style, with the revolutionary music of composers like Stravinsky and modified by the modern dance influences of Isadora Duncan and others, brought the ballet renaissance to Europe and America. Paris, London, and New York City became major centres. Today Russian and English ballet continues to exemplify one major trend, toward storytelling and lavish production. American ballet, under the influence of George Balanchine, displays an opposing tendency toward abstraction in theme and simplicity in design. Foot binding was known to take place in both the French and Italian Courts, practised by courtesans keen to attract the attention of the regent. Ballet shoes are thought, by some, to be an historic remnant of this practice.

Dancing Plague and the Dance of Death

2008-12-09T02:22:00.000-08:00

Between the 13th to 16th century large populations of Europe were afflicted with frenzied dancing. People would gather together and dance until they dropped with exhaustion or sometimes death. The Dancing Plague or choreomania was a significant challenge to public health as it pervaded through the populations of Germany, Holland and Italy for three centuries. First described medically by Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim better known as Paracelsus (1493-1541). The cause of the dancing plague (or dancing mania) remains unknown. Paracelsus, Philippus Aureolus, was a Swiss physician, chemist, alchemist and metallurgist, he gained wide popularity, although his contemporaries often opposed him. Paracelsus classified variants of the disorder according to whether the underlying cause was lust, an abnormal mental state, or some unidentified physical factor. Davidson (1867) later defined the condition of choreomania as a psycho-physical disease in which the will, intellectual faculties, and moral feelings are more or less perverted, with an irresistible impulse to motion, and an insane love of music, often sporadic, but with a tendency in certain circumstances to become epidemic. The essential features of the disease were it could occur sporadically or in epidemics. It was a psychological disease distinguishable from modern chorea, and from organic nervous diseases. Choreomania was always characterised by an uncontrollable impulse to dance, and a morbid love of music. Physical contact with an affected person was not a prerequisite for contracting the disease (the sight or sound of someone already afflicted could be sufficient). In its epidemic form, an attack was generally preceded by premonitory nervous symptoms and the disease was commonly manifest by physical symptoms including death. Many claims were made as to the actual cause including demonic possession, epilepsy, tarantula bites, ergot poisoning as well as social adversity. It is unlikely to have been caused by any one single event but instead due to multiple factors combined with predisposition such as cultural background, and triggered by adverse circumstances. (Donaldson, Cavanagh and Rankin, 1997) Corrupt clergy claimed baptism prevented the disease and hence, by reverse logic, claims were made the dancing plague was caused by demonic possession. Because the involuntary movements during an epileptic seizure appeared similar to dance like movement many contemporaries confused the condition but it is unlikely the dancing plague had any connection with epilepsy. In Italy from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries as deforestation took place a large population of tarantulas appeared in the Apulian region. Many claimed spider bites were the cause of choreomania but due to the nature of the disease this is also thought unlikely. The most plausible cause was poisoning due to eating rye contaminated with a fungus, claviceps purpura. This resulted in ergot poisoning which gave symptoms such as nausea, abdominal cramps, itching, muscle pain, spasms, and visual and hearing disturbances, all of which may precede epileptic convulsions. Larger quantities of rye were consumed during periods of hardship when people could not afford meat. The Christian church was determined to stamp out old and pagan religions and would brand previous forms of worship as the behaviour of the ill and disturbed. Another reason for the Dancing Plague was a spontaneous release from the bleakness of the Middle Ages. The Church realised the danger of dancing and a council meeting in Paris (1212) declared that "dancing was a worse crime then ploughing the soil on Sunday" (Hennig, 1995). By the sixteenth century court dancing was well established and the tune Green Sleeves was popular at this time. Green Sleeves is considered by many to be the oldest dance tune to have survived in modern times. During the 14th to the 16th century in Europe there was an important ritual called the Dance of Death. The parade was led by a figure representing death and became established after the Black Death in 1373. It is thought the dance of death reflected rituals performed by primitive peoples, who had also danced to acknowledge the passing of the seasons of the year and of a human life on Earth. Other dances in the Middle Ages did the same. In the spring dances, village people performed fertility dances including Morris Dancing and during certain saints' days women danced in churches. Battle dances including the sword dances were performed throughout Europe. Apart from ceremonial shoes which were found in tribal dancing from North America to Australia there appears to be no special shoe requirement for European dancing until after the 11th Century in Europe where more and more social dancing became the prerogative of aristocracy.

Dance: From Pre-history to the Middle Ages

2008-12-04T03:08:00.000-08:00

Dance is an important part of civilisation and became an intigral part of social ritual, ceremony and celebrations. The first recorded depiction of dance can be seen in cave paintings dating 9,000 years ago. Dance predates written culture and was thought to function as a key way to communicate identity and custom and in this way preserve the tribes continuity. Staged chorography (i.e. gestures and movement) demonstrated social mores which included feelings for the opposite sex and tradional dance and clothing contained reference to sexual movement. In many primal cultures music and dance formed part of wedding ceremonies and it may be asumed contained reference to appropriate nuptual behaviour. Early dance was also used as part of healing with estatic trance dances found in many early cultures. Two main dance forms evolved with social dance used to celebrate births, commemorated deaths, and mark special events in between; and magical or religious dances to ask the favour of the Gods’ favour. Egyptians used dance as a form of divination and performed ornate dancing rituals to bring luck to the hunt. Priest-dancers oversaw the chorography to ensure all was done properly. In the festivals held for worship of Isis and Osiris, and Apis, (the bull associated with fertility rituals) followers would openly dance and an assortment of stringed, wind, and percussion instruments including different sorts of whistles and harps were used. Eventually travelling troupes of professional dancers performed in public squares of great cities. By the 5th Century BC, the Greeks dance transformed dance into an art form which expressed all manner of human passion. Greek dances were not based on the relationship between men and women but instead were performed by either one sex or the other. Aristotle ranked dancing with poetry and said that certain dancers, with rhythm applied to gesture, could express manners, passions, and actions. Greek sculptors studied dancing to capture the expression of passions. Dance became very popular among the Greeks and they considered it a healthy pastime akin to aerobics. By the 3rd century BC, the Romans developed their own dance form which emphasised less aesthetic and spectacle and mime. Gestures become more crude as social dance declined and religious dance continued. Cicero had little to say to support dancing "no man, one may almost say, ever dances when sober, unless perhaps he be a madman; nor in solitude, nor in a moderate and sober party; dancing is the last companion of prolonged feasting, of luxurious situation, and of many refinements." By the time of the Christians dance was used as part of Latin mass but by the Middle Ages these dance sets were moved out of the church inot public spaces and become a form of entertainment. Both dance and song were used to express the full range of human emotions as travelling troubadours and other wandering minstrels entertained.

When did we start putting on our dancing shoes?

2008-11-26T03:06:00.000-08:00

From the begining of recorded history man seems to have enjoyed dancing, first by themself then with other men, and eventually and sensibly, with women. The earliest dances were probably to enhance fertility, to celebrate victory in battle, or rejoice in a bountiful harvest. Social dancing, as we understand it, became a feature of European life in the late twelfth century. Distinctly the pastime of nobility it featured only on special occasions and it took until a hundred and fifty years ago to become a popular pastime with the masses which required no audience, commemorative occasion or training. Subsequent dance crazes brought with it its own language and many of our current colloquisms and idiums have originated from this source. From antiquity dance was associated with amatory and sexual manifestations. The association is manifest in ancient temple worship, in Greece, in the Middle East and in India. Ancient Greek comedy frequently commented on the swaying and writhing of the female body as an erotic excitation and was referred to as periproctian. The Awalim were Egyptian dancing girls who would combine their womanly charms with prostitution. In the early centuries of the Roman Empire dancing was frowned upon especially for women because it was considered an erotic and licentious inducement. Later Ovid recommended dancing to all girls who were in love and dancing has remained a major part of courtship ever since.