The birth of the modern pointe shoe may be due to the early 20th century Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who was one of the most famous and influential dancers of her time. Pavlova's feet had particularly high archs, which left her vulnerable to injury when dancing en pointe. To help this problem, she would put tough leather soles into her shoes for extra support, and would flatten and harden the toe area to form a box. While this practice made dancing en pointe easier for her, it was regarded by her rivals as 'cheating'.