Pointe shoe 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. Women began to dance ballet in 1681, twenty years after King Louis XIV of France ordered the founding of the Académie Royale de Danse. At that time, the standard women's
Court shoe pumps are the standard attire with swimsuits in beauty pageants. Pumps are also part of the costume of a ballroom dancer. They are made of satin, usually tan, though other colors are made as well, and worn on both the competition and practice floors. Court shoe A court shoe (British English), or pump (), is a shoe with a low-cut front, or vamp, and without a fastening. For the traditional formal menswear, the style is sometimes called an opera slipper or patent leather pump. The construction of pumps is simple, using a whole-cut leather top with a low vamp, lined