Ballet shoe Ballet shoe A ballet shoe, or ballet slipper, is a lightweight shoe designed specifically for ballet dancing. It may be made from soft leather, canvas, or satin, and has flexible, thin soles. Traditionally, women wear pink shoes and men wear white or black shoes. Tan colored slippers—which are unobtrusive and thus give the appearance of dancing barefoot—are worn in modern ballets and sometimes modern dancing by both men and women. All dancers typically wear ballet slippers at the beginning of a ballet class, whereas female dancers may change into pointe shoes for centre work and performance. Ballet shoes must fit
Pointe shoe physical attributes of the foot to which it will be mated, and consequently the ribbons and elastic bands cannot be attached during the shoe manufacturing process. After acquiring a new pair of pointe shoes, a dancer must determine the appropriate attachment locations for the ribbons and elastic bands and then sew them, or arrange for them to be sewn, onto the shoes. A "demi-pointe" shoe, which is also variously called a "break-down", "pre-pointe", or a "soft-block" shoe, shares many characteristics with pointe shoes. For example, its outer appearance resembles that of a pointe shoe and it has a toe box,