Dancers at the New York City Ballet go through about 7,000 pairs of pointe shoes each year. That's because traditional pointe shoes break down after only a few wears. All of them come from Freed of London, which has been one of the world's leading ballet-shoe manufacturers for nearly 80 years. We went behind the scenes with the New York City Ballet and Freed of London to see how pointe shoes became such a big business.
00:00 - Introduction
01:42 - Rehearsals at NYCB
03:02 - NYCB Shoe Room
04:30 - Shoe Fitting
05:52 - Breaking In
07:08 - Making Pointe Shoes at Freed of London
10:25 - History of Pointe Shoes
11:21 - Gaynor Minden Pointe Shoes
14:26 - Grace's Preference
15:52 - Dyeing Shoes
17:16 - Preparing for Performance
18:30 - Nutcracker Performance
19:28 - Credits
via Business Insider
Matt Coneybeare
Editor in Chief
Matt enjoys exploring the City's with his partner and son. He is an avid marathon runner, and spends most of his time eating, running, and working on cool stuff.
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