The Bata Shoe Museum and Canada’s National Ballet School are ecstatic to announce their collaboration on an upcoming exhibition entitled On Pointe: The Rise of the Ballet Slipper.
The exhibition will feature approximately 50 artifacts drawn from the Museum’s private collection as well as historical and contemporary examples on loan from The Shoe Room, the principal supplier of pointe shoes in Canada.
“There is a certain myth or illusion surrounding ballet,” said Emanuele Lepri, Director of the Bata Shoe Museum. “As non-dancers, this movement and magic is perfection in our eyes yet this apparent effortlessness is far from the truth. We hope that Museum visitors gain a better understanding of the ballet shoe and how as a vehicle it has allowed only a few to accomplish flawless and precise performances.”
“Canada’s National Ballet School is thrilled to be working in conjunction with the Bata Shoe Museum on this exhibit,” said Mavis Staines, NBS Artistic Director. “This is an invaluable opportunity for our two organizations to engage with the community and tell the story of the evolution of ballet and the ballet slipper over time.”
Museum Curator Elizabeth Semmelhack adds, “The exhibition will juxtapose the brute athleticism of the discipline with the illusion of effortless grace created through performance and it will explore how the pointe shoe has been pivotal to these aspects of ballet.” Focusing on the origin of ballet and the technological advances in the development of the ballet slipper and pointe shoe, the influence of fashion on ballet and ballet’s influence on fashion will also be considered. -- www.batashoemuseum.com
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