Primary Resources

There were a number of critics during the Nineteenth century who viewed and commented on the ballets in France and England. The most famous of these seems to have been Théophile Gautier. Luckily there are a number of English translations of his criticisms available by respected writers on the subject of dance including Ivor Guest and Cyril Beaumont. While I’ve only given these reviews a brief glance, it is worth noting the number of times a “foot” is mentioned in the writings of Gautier. It is clear that the foot adorned with a pointe shoe was an important aspect of the ballerina’s image. I will continue my research in this area by looking for reviews within the newspapers of London.

Considering how little the point shoe has changed since its appearance on the stage, first-hand interviews should be useful. I have made arrangements to speak with some of the dancers at the National Ballet of Canada as well as some retired dancers who may be able to provide an idea of how things have changed within the dance world (if they have at all). Another valuable resource will be the numerous images of dancers from the nineteenth century. Several of the authors cited in my bibliography have compared the nineteenth-century prints depicting ballerinas to twentieth-century posters of pin-up girls. Whether or not this is true, I have yet to discover, however the number of paintings, prints and sculptures from this period provide an excellent record of the use of pointe shoes and how the women wearing them were seen. The Victoria and Albert Museum houses a strong collection of such prints and I would like to contact the curator who cares for this collection to see if there is any information that he/she could offer me.