Chatting with Paola Vismara

Choosing ballet shoes

We went to discover some details about pointe shoes, the symbol par excellence of ballerinas and their ethereal lightness. We therefore asked a few questions to Paola Vismara, a former student who is now a teacher at the Accademia Teatro alla Scala Dance School.

When is the right time to wear spikes: is it a purely physiological or technical question?

It is not recommended to start before the age of 11-12 and a serious school does not do it, even if recently the age is lowering because now there are many preparatory courses and in any case because girls start dancing very early - parents they write to us even when they are only 3 years old!

However, I am against starting too early: the foot is growing and is not yet structured. And it's not just a question of the feet, but of the entire articulation of the hips and legs. And then not all feet are suitable, and this is one of the characteristics we take into account when selecting. Not all feet are made for toes and it is better to wait for the joint to strengthen; you also need to set up the technique first. In the Dance School we do basic exercises from the first course (11 years), to work at the right times and in the correct way. These are barre exercises, which gives support and helps the dancers. It all starts from the demi-pointe technique anyway. These were made of leather in my day, now they are soft, made of canvas, and the interrupted insole is actually lighter and allows for more softness.

If one has the "right feet", will one certainly master the pointe technique?

Nothing is certain: as you prepare to become a professional dancer, you grow and your body changes. We can have girls with beautiful feet, who then develop other problems that make this job difficult. Or having dancers with less "beautiful" feet - from our point of view - but very technically strong. Naturally there are standards and there are expectations based on the starting point: but what really counts above all is tenacity and talent.

Are the tips chosen depending on your foot or use?

The tips are chosen in relation to your foot - those with a lot of neck may need a higher vamp or a reinforced insole, for example. But they are also chosen in relation to their role; I had them made to measure when I danced, and this practice is very widespread among soloists and principal dancers, perhaps less so among corps de ballet dancers. There are many brands and models available and the important thing, for a girl with her first pair, is to feel well how the foot fits and not to take advice only from retailers, but also to rely on teachers who know how to direct you towards what is best in based on your anatomy.

You favourite shoes?

They were Freed, a brand that is also widely used today all over the world. I especially like them because they allow proper footwork, which is indispensable for every dancer. Of course, they ‘come off’ easily and you get to change even a pair a week, and pointe shoes cost a lot, they are a real investment! So at the Ballet School we don't force you to buy these, the girls are free to choose from the different brands on the market. The new shoes do indeed last much longer, but the work is not the same.

Let's talk about pointe preparation...

The dancers have to know how to sew the ribbons on the inside of the shoes, and sometimes also how to add elastic bands so that the heel does not slip out. Other times, perhaps a little embroidery is done on the toe, to have more friction. I pass on these little tricks and more to my students: preparing the toes is a real ritual. In the corps de ballet, a lot of time is spent on this operation, using various tricks even to soften the sole, but the girls who are still studying tend to keep their shoes harder, because they haven't mastered the technique yet and would immediately break them if they were too soft.

Two personal curiosities: do the shoes have to be washed? And do all the ballerinas use toe protectors?

It seems that the new shoes even go in the washing machine!

They are not normally washed, but obviously they have to be cleaned: I recommend using a cloth and hot water or alcohol, or even non-foaming products – and obviously without using soap, in the case of cleaning with water, because it would make the shoes slippery if it were not rinsed well. We then use pancake, the theatrical foundation, which cleans all the stains by mattifying the satin. This operation is sometimes also required to even out the colors of the shoes, which can be different from pair to pair; for example, it happens in the White Acts, such as in Bayadère, where it is certainly not nice to see a row of different shoes. Sometimes, however, the choreographer asks for the exact opposite, that is, that the color of the satin be seen – Balachine did it, for example.

As for the toe protector, however, I can say that I have always hated it and I try to advise against its use even to my students. Sure, it helps by making the toes rub less. But first of all it is not hygienic when it is not made of natural materials, and then it takes away sensitivity. You no longer have the sensation of wearing a glove, so to speak, and this is not positive for a dancer: adherence is important and professionals even cut their stockings, at the toe, to have more contact. Often the students of the School use the toe protector and I understand, their feet are still young and tender; but I always recommend preferring cloth plasters to put on each toe and at most wrapping the toes with paper towels.

Paola Vismara graduated from the Ballet School of the Teatro alla Scala in 1988 and in the same year she joined the Ballet Corps of the Teatro alla Scala. She subsequently worked with the Aterballetto and at the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, under the guidance of Elisabetta Terabust. In 1991 she won First Prize at the International Dance Competition Città di Rieti. In 1993 Peter Schaufuss called her to the Deutsche Opera Ballet Company in Berlin and entrusted her with numerous roles from the classical and contemporary repertoire. In 1996 she returned to Italy and, having won the competition, became a permanent member of the MaggioDanza company, of the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. She plays the main roles in ballets from the classical repertoire and works with the most important choreographers. Since 2011 she has been a teacher of classical, pointe and repertoire at the Ballet School Accademia Teatro alla Scala.