A pointe shoe, is sometimes known as a toe shoe or a ballerina slipper.
It is the tool ballerina's use to dance on their toes. This shoe enables the girls to look like they're dancing effortlessly but when really it takes alot of strength, skill and practise to do so.
The platform is the section of the shoe that you dance on. You should try to get as far over onto it as possible. The vamp is the top of the box which covers the toes. It can be found on the front of the shoe. The pleats are the area between the shank and the platform which helps support the toes and add a decorative beauty to the shoe. A shank is a leather sole made to support the arch. The drawstring, similar to in a ballet slipper, tightens to fit the shoe to the foot like a glove or a second layer of skin. In children's drawings it can be seen to be tied in a bow, in ballet girls tuck it under the front of the shoe, towards the toes. The side wing also known as side quarters or a quarter panel fit snuggly to the foot.
The ribbons and sometimes the elastic is sewn into the inside of the side quarters. The side quarters are connected to the front half of the shoe which origionally looked like a small 'v'. The binding essentially holds the shoe together and helps it for better. The toe box is a very important piece of the pointe shoe, it is what the dancer balances on when she glides across the floor, it is made out of cotton, fabric, burlap and paste, it is merely a papier mache`. The ribbons and elastic hold the shoe onto the foot by the lower ankles, keeping the shoe from slipping off the heel while she is dancing.
Information reworded from: http://members.tripod.com/animal_lover70/id11.html
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