When the curtain rises on the National Ballet of Canada ’s glittering production of The Sleeping Beauty November 13, the choreography and costumes will be familiar to longtime subscribers: conceived by the great Rudolph Nureyev in 1972, the production was so lavish it nearly bankrupted the company. “Thank goodness our Board of Directors came through for us, ” recalls Lorna Geddes (above right), a dancer in the corps de ballet at the time and now Pointe Shoe Manager and Assistant Ballet Mistress for the company. “Those costumes were made of the heaviest, best brocades, which seemed a bit excessive at the time but they turned out to be a good investment, ” notes Geddes, “because we’re still wearing them. ”
When Geddes says “we, ” she’s not referring obliquely to the company; she may not be dancing as such, but she’s been a principal character artist for years and this month marks her 50th season since joining the company in 1959 at the age of 16. Geddes has truly spent her life in the ballet.
As pointe shoe manager it’s her job to keep the National Ballet’s 71 dancers (includes 10 apprentices) in shoes and slippers, not a responsibility to be taken lightly. “Shoes are THE most important part of dancer’s equipment, ” states ballerina Sarah Elena Wolff, above left.
“Ballet is just as physical as football, ” says Geddes. “Okay, there’s no hitting, but it’s very physically demanding and you have to do it all with a smile on your face. Just imagine the torque that’s on a shoe when the dancer is doing turns. All of her weight is on that one little pionte, a bit bigger than a toonie. If your shoes aren’t right you’re headed for injury. ”
The National Ballet spends $350,000 each year on pointe shoes, which are more ephemeral than butterflies. Depending on the demands of the role being danced, a pair of shoes might last eight hours or be kaput in as little as two.
“The shoes cost $80 and dancers go through from 120 – 150 pairs each year. They’re handmade with leather, cloth and glue so between the weight of the body and the sweating of the feet, well, they don’t last very long. When a shoe is wearing out you can actually feel the floor through the toe. ”
New pointe shoes need to be softened up and broken in, something that’s done with a variety of devices including hammers, even closing door frames on them.
“Not only would they be too hard to wear out of the box, ” says Geddes, “they’d be too noisy. Twenty-four swans would not sound pretty dancing across the stage in hard, new shoes. You have to soften them up so that they mould to the foot. ”
Geddes shows me principal dancer Greta Hodgkinson’s shoe order, which details her needs in every way from the size and width to the dimensions of the heel, the block, the vamp and the wings, even the particular shoemaker she prefers. And because dancers request specific makers, their orders can take up to eight months to be delivered. Most of the National’s shoes are made by Freed of London Ltd., although a New York company, Gaynor Minden, has made great gains by experimenting with longer-lasting, synthetic materials.
Geddes says it’s a joy to still be on stage “but I certainly don’t want to go up in these shoes again, ever again! ”
Although it was more than 30 years ago, Geddes still vividly recalls dancing alongside Nureyev as Prince Florimund with Karen Kain as Princess Aurora, below, in the original production (photo credit . . .)
“Nureyev was not a tall man, ” remembers Geddes, “and when Karen was up en pointe she was technically taller than him but the way he carried himself you never felt he was shorter. Part of the game is how you carry yourself and in so many ways he was a giant. ”
* * *
When Wolff’s fitting is done I take a photograph of her bare feet which are blemished and red, a testament to the punishment they endure day in and day out. My photo elicits great howls from both dancer and Shoe Manager: “All dancers hate their feet, ” says Geddes, “because they work so hard. That can’t be helped, it’s an occupational hazard. They get blisters, nails falling off. But when they’re wrapped in the shoes and up en pointe it’s one of the most beautiful, graceful sights imaginable. ”
Most ballerinas can get up on their toes without pointe shoes . . . for a second. But they certainly couldn’t stay up there and they definitely couldn’t glide across a stage or twirl in place as if suspended on a wire.
Pointe shoes are as important to a ballerina as shin pads are to a hockey player. In fact, says Lorna Geddes, left (supporting the dancer), “Ballet is just as physical as football. Okay, there’s no hitting, but it’s very physically demanding and you have to do it all with a smile on your face. Just imagine the torque that’s on a shoe when the dancer is doing turns. All of her weight is on that one little pionte, a bit bigger than a toonie.”
Few dancers know better than Geddes, the importance of the right shoe. She danced en pointe for 25 years as a member of the National Ballet’s corps de ballet and when she steps on stage in the character role of the Countess in next week’s season-opening performance of Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty, Geddes will be marking her 50th season! She joined the company in 1959 at the age of 16 — hers has truly been a life spent in the ballet.
As Pointe Shoe Manager and Assistant Ballet Mistress for the National Ballet, it’s Geddes’ job to keep the company’s 71 dancers (includes 10 apprentices) in shoes and slippers. “Shoes are THE most important part of dancer’s equipment,” states ballerina Sarah Elena Wolff, below.
The National Ballet spends $350,000 each year on pointe shoes, which are more ephemeral than butterflies. Depending on the demands of the role being danced, a pair of shoes might last eight hours or be kaput in as little as two.
“The shoes cost $80 and dancers go through from 120 – 150 pairs each year. They’re handmade with leather, cloth and glue so between the weight of the body and the sweating of the feet, well, they don’t last very long. When a shoe is wearing out you can actually feel the floor through the toe.”
New pointe shoes need to be softened up and broken in, something that’s done with a variety of devices including hammers; Geddes sometimes closes door hinges on the toes to soften them up.
“Not only would they be too hard to wear out of the box,” says Geddes, “they’d be too noisy. Twenty-four swans would not sound pretty dancing across the stage in hard, new shoes. You have to soften them up so that they mould to the foot.”
Geddes shows me principal dancer Greta Hodgkinson’s shoe order, which details her needs in every way from the size and width to the dimensions of the heel, the block, the vamp and the wings, even the particular shoemaker she prefers. And because dancers request specific makers, their orders can take up to eight months to be delivered. Most of the National’s shoes are made by Freed of London Ltd., although a New York company, Gaynor Minden, has made great gains by experimenting with longer-lasting, synthetic materials.
Geddes says it’s a joy to still be on stage “but I certainly don’t want to go up in these shoes again, ever again!”
When Wolff’s fitting is done I take a photograph of her bare feet which are blemished and red, a testament to the punishment they endure day in and day out. My photo elicits great howls from both dancer and Shoe Manager: “All dancers hate their feet,” says Geddes, “because they work so hard. That can’t be helped, it’s an occupational hazard. They get bunions, blisters, nails fall off. But when they’re wrapped in the shoes and up en pointe it’s one of the most beautiful, graceful sights imaginable.”
WHEN/WHERE: The National Ballet of Canada launches its 2009/10 season November 13 with Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.
Photos by Christopher Jones
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