The Capezio Fouette-American, Italian Or Brazilian?

When it comes to placing my pointe shoe brands into the right category on the sidebar here, I am beginning to learn that market globalization is making my job much harder! Such is the case with the Fouette model that Capezio makes strictly for the Brazilian market.

Black Satin Fouette by Capezio

Side placement drawstring

Russian-inspired vamp and box

From Italy To America  And Beyond- Capezio Gets Around

Here we have a pointe shoe made by Capezio, a dance supply company founded by an Italian. However, the pointe shoes made by Capezio for the American market are made in New Jersey. Capezio has a separate Brazilian market using factories in South America that most likely employ Brazilian cobblers.

The Fouette By Capezio Is Made In Brazil

Muito amor (much love) to the pointe shoe makers of Brazil

Capezio is technically an American brand name. The Fouette, however, is a Brazilian-made shoe. After giving it some thought, I knew that it wouldn’t be right to dismiss credit where credit is due. The Fouette is made by the skills, dedication, talents and hard work of the factory employees in Brazil. Without them, this beautiful shoe model would not exist. I am going to put the Fouette under Brazilian brands.

The Fouette Is Advertised As An Intermediate, Advanced Or Professional Shoe

The Capezio Fouette is a medium profile shoe with a  v-vamp, beautifully tapered box and side drawstring  adjustments . The Fouette has a Russian-style aesthetic that is very flattering on pointe. The side seams of this model are made on a slant, very much like the construction  of the discontinued Baryshnikov line.

To see the pretty Capezio Fouette, visit the website  Capezio Brazil. Go to Produtos, then Dance Shoes, then choose Ponta on the drop down bar to see the models.

Nike Pointe Shoes? Be Still My Heart!

When I hear the word Nike, I picture bulked-up athletes and jocks running back and forth on some basketball court sweating and panting. Never would I imagine anything by Nike having to do with the delicate, graceful art of ballet dancing. You can only imagine my shock when I found the Nike name in reference to a possible “concept” design called the Nike Arc Angel; a rubbery-looking, banded shoe that appears quite scary in the advertisements.

The Modernization Of Pointe Shoe Construction May Be Too Much For Traditionalists 

Nike Arc Angel

What would Pavlova, Fonteyn, Vaganova and Ulanova think about pointe shoes made by a company like Nike? Although the concept may be appealing to younger dancers who are used to the rapid changes of the high-tech world, this is going a bit far.

The End Of Ballerina Magic-Is It Near?

The Arc Angel is advertised as a footwear solution for easing impact during pointe training. It has installed bands that are supposed to train the foot into position. Ballerinas have been enjoying ( okay, not exactly enjoying) impact for hundreds of years. One of the aspects of professional ballet training is to pull up and out of your shoes to ease the impact. Should Gellows, Ouch Pouches and lambs wool retailers be concerned?

A Ballet Dancer Is An Athlete, But In A Magical Sort Of Way 

Anyone who follows the world of professional ballet understands how advanced the choreography is these days. A ballerina has to perform increasingly difficult physical moves. The magical part is the illusion she brings to the stage that is one of delicateness, lightness and grace when she is really a very strong and sturdy person.

Will  Professional Dance Companies Allow Training With The Arc Angel?

Even though these shoes may not grace the stage of The Bolshoi Theatre, one has to ask if a professional instructor from a traditional academy will allow something like this for serious students. Choosing black and blue as the shades of choice when we are speaking about impact may be something to rethink.

As a pink-satin-loving girly girl, the black rubber/blue band look is indeed heart-breaking. I might be a little less heart-broken if they  came in a pretty shade of ballerina pink. What about you? Any thoughts about this design?

Read about this new-age pointe shoe design here @ Nike Arc Angels

* * This post is not intended to disrespect The Nike Corporation, one of the most reputable manufacturers of athletic apparel in the world.*

The Adara Galina From England

Just a few posts back, I featured a beautiful yet mysterious pair of Russian-made pointe shoes with the model name Galina.  You can revisit the post here. Much to my surprise, I have found a new pointe shoe model by the very same name by a company that I have never heard of: Adara.

Before I started this post, I double-checked to make sure there were no other similarities between the two shoe models other than their names. I am convinced that we are looking at two very different shoes who both happen to honor Galina Ulanova, one of the most revered  dancers of all time.

Adara Dancewear- Where Have You Been Hiding?

I love that new companies and exciting new shoe options have increased over the last year or so.  As a blogger, new models give me something to blog about and for dancers, more options means a better chance of finding the perfect shoe.

At first, I was under the impression that The Adara Dancewear Company was a fresh, new upstart business.  After browsing through the company website, I learned that Adara is large enough to have many retail locations and /or retail suppliers  across England, France and even Hong Kong and Switzerland.

According to their official contact us page, the company is located in Newcastle upon Tyne, England which sounds romantically European to my American ears. I was disappointed to see that their about us page link did not work. Maybe there is a reason for that, who knows?

You Can Only Get Adara Dance Products Through Their Suppliers

Adara does not deal with the public directly, but only with dance supply retailers. No wonder I have never heard this brand name mentioned in the United States before. There are no suppliers in the U.S. or Canada or anywhere in this area of the globe that I know of.

About The Adara Galina-Peachy Pretty Pointe Shoes

The Adara Galina

According to the description in the product catalog, the Galina is a lightweight shoe that comes with a medium-strength full shank.

The toe box is slightly tapered and has a generous balancing platform. This model comes with a bit of built-in padding at the tip of the toe box.

It has a u-shaped vamp and a medium profile. The color is pale peach.

Although I did try to inquire about the Galina through their Facebook page, I never received a response from the company about the origins of their factory production. Until I find out otherwise, I will categorize them as a British pointe shoe brand.

You can learn more about the Galina pointe shoe in the product catalog on their official website, Adara Dancewear.

See Adara on Facebook@ https://www.facebook.com/Adaradancewear

Can The Right Pointe Shoes Elevate Your Status In The Dance World?

Suffolk Status

They might if they were a pair of Suffolk’s newest pointe shoe model, the Status. As I have mentioned before, visiting all the links on my own blog is enough to keep me busy full-time adding new shoes to these pages.

Last week I visited the Suffolk website and was pleasantly surprised to see that a few new models have been added to their collection; the Solo Prequel, Spotlight and Stellar.

You can find out more about these new models by visiting the links at the end of this post.

However, what was not included with the new additions is this gorgeous new model, the Suffolk Status. The Status appears to be so new that for now one can only find it mentioned on Suffolk’s Facebook page. According to Suffolk, the model will be  making its debut this coming fall.

For now, the shoe is described as a very low-profile, lightweight shoe with arch-hugging construction that allows the dancer to get over the box easily. The shoe is made with a medium u-shaped vamp.

What is interesting about Suffolk as a company is their ultra-modern photography and intriguing names. The newest models have names that represent the hard climb to the top of the ballet ladder. After all, a Stellar performance puts a dancer in the Spotlight and gives her Status on stage. How clever, Suffolk!

For more on the Suffolk Solo Prequel, Spotlight and Stellar visit Suffolkpointeusa..com.

Check out the Suffolk Status post ( you may have to scroll down a little )  on their Facebook Page.

Galina Pointe Shoes

If ever I get a chance to visit the ballet shoe “underworld” in St. Petersburg, Russia, I would have a lot of questions to ask about the seemingly secret society of cobblers who construct gorgeous pointe shoes that are so rarely mentioned or photographed. The pointe shoe in question is the Russian-made Galina shown here.

On the liner: Galina, handmade St. Petersburg Russia

This is indeed a mystery shoe. To get a closer look at the words on the liner, click on the photo. What is obvious is that the name of this pointe shoe honors Galina Ulanova, who was one of the most respected and revered teachers of ballet technique in Russia and around the world.

Looking at these beautiful shoes one can see that they have the flattering aesthetics of Russian construction methods. They do not appear to have drawstrings on their traditional v-shaped vamps.

Pointe shoes this lovely should never be kept hidden from the general market. Of course, they may well be easily accessed by Russian Dancers who commission professional cobblers for custom-made pointe shoes in St. Petersburg, a theatrical mecca.

The name Galina may be a brand name or it could be a model name from an  unknown collection. It is finding new shoes like this that makes my blog a never-ending quest for information and inspires me to “stay on the hunt”.