Pointe shoe appeal

Did you know that a Principal dancer can go through as many as three pairs of pointe shoes in a single performance?

Donate now to our annual Pointe Shoe Appeal to keep our dancers on their toes.

Pointe shoes are some of our dancers’ most important tools and are essential to their craft.

These special shoes are reinforced around the toes, sole and ball of the foot to make them stiff enough that dancers can stand on the very tips of their toes, creating the elongated and elegant line of the legs and feet which are so essential to classical ballet.

Depending on the rehearsal and performance schedule, and on the repertoire, dancers can wear out their pointe shoes very quickly.

Each month we provide our dancers with multiple pairs of pointe shoes so that they can perform at their best. Once no longer usable, the shoes are recycled at the Drop-Off Pointe, an initiative led by English National Ballet dancers to fight against pointe shoe waste. Some of the collected pairs go to textile recycling companies, while others get a new life reworked by visual artists.

Precious Adams prepares her pointe shoes
If I was a painter, my paintbrush would be my pointe shoes and the stage would be the canvas.
Julia Conway, ENB First Soloist
£1,000 can pay for 20 pairs of pointe shoes for one dancer.
£500 can pay for a month’s allocation of pointe shoes for one dancer.
£50 can pay for one pair of pointe shoes.

Please donate now to keep our dancers on their toes

Thank you for your support.