Pointe shoe ballet shoe had heels. Mid-18th century dancer Marie Camargo of the Paris Opéra Ballet was the first to wear a non-heeled shoe, enabling her to perform leaps that would have been difficult, if not impossible, in the more conventional shoes of the age. After the French Revolution, heels were completely eliminated from standard ballet shoes. These flat-bottomed predecessors of the modern pointe shoe were secured to the feet by ribbons and incorporated pleats under the toes to enable dancers to leap, execute turns, and fully extend their feet. The first dancers to rise up on their toes did so with
Pointe shoe internal structural elements and lending an aesthetically pleasing look to the shoe. Most pointe shoes are covered with satin, but some are available with canvas exteriors. Pointe shoes are most often available in light pink colors and less commonly in black and white. When other colors are desired (e.g., to match a costume), pointe shoes may be dyed or, if available, ordered in custom colors. The "vamp" refers to the shoe's upper piece, measured from the platform to the drawstring; normally, longer toes call for a longer vamp. The "throat" is the edge of the vamp above the arch of