Pointe shoe New York City Ballet orders about 8,500 pairs of pointe shoes each year for 180 dancers, while the Royal Ballet dancers use about 12,000 pairs of shoes for each season. Pointe shoe A pointe shoe is a type of shoe worn by ballet dancers when performing pointe work. Pointe shoes were conceived in response to the desire for dancers to appear weightless and sylph-like and have evolved to enable dancers to dance "en pointe" (on the tips of their toes) for extended periods of time. They are manufactured in a variety of colors, most commonly in shades of light pink.
Pointe shoe the foot; it is usually either v-shaped or round. The "drawstring" is located within the binding on the throat; this may be made from either elastic or lace. The box is a rigid enclosure within the front end of the shoe that encases and supports the dancer's toes. The front end of the box is flattened so as to form a platform upon which the dancer can balance, and fabric covers the exterior of the box for aesthetics. In conventional pointe shoes, the box is typically made from tightly packed layers of paper and fabric that have been glued together