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Back when I was in school, Jacques d'Amboise, understanding that we wore our pointe shoes to death because we couldn't afford to replace them frequently, brought in a box of "used" pointe shoes from NYCB. I think the idea was that while one use was enough for the ballerinas, they were less used than what we dancing in. Some of them were just rejects and had never even been worn. We pawed through taking whatever fit us. Apparently a couple dancers didn't understand hat he was collecting them for because in the box also were a handful of autographed shoes... Which is how I came to discover Karin von Aroldingen must have a foot similar to mine... (and yes, of course, I DO still have them, several decades later!).

The flagship Capezio on Times Square used to have several old slippers ftom famous dancers on display, some extremely old... It was interesting to see in person (rather than just in a photograph) how very little support was in the oldest shoes.

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... My slightly loony great-aunt from new Orleans had a 1/4-inch-square piece of cloth from a garment once worn by Blessed Claude de la Colombiere, which she kept foisting on members of our family who had to go to the hospital -- she was interested more in the possibillity that a certifiable miracle would occur that she could document and send in to the Vatican, in hopes of moving Blessed Claude up the ranks out of the beatificate into the status of sainthood.

Ah, another part of the fannish world.

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I used to watch open classes at the National Ballet of Canada studios (Kevin Pugh's Dance Teq) when my daughter took them as a young teenager. Kevin always had several NBoC dancers taking his classes because they enjoyed his teaching so much. Occasionally one of them would toss a pair of old pointe shoes in the trash bin (after having worn them in class for barre) by the door where I was sitting. I was never alone enough to surreptitiously remove them for my budding collection, but I sure wanted to!

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Eva (Zoe Saldana): No way people actually buy this s***!

Jody (Amanda Schull): It’s signed by Kathleen Donahue.

Eva: It’s a smelly old shoe.

It's a free country, of course, but I tend to agree with Birdsall, the Europeans, and Eva/Zoe on this one.

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I think that if you've ever danced in pointe shoes, there's something special about owning a pair worn by one of your favorite dancers. They're usually in pretty good shape when they're put up for sale. And they don't smell at all, ever.

I have been turned off, however, by the men's ballet slippers, and have never been tempted to buy a pair. They always look very worn, as if they've taken a great deal of punishment, even when displayed on the Grand Tier of the Met. I've never attempted to smell one.

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Men's slippers last a lot longer, and, as a result, they get a lot more wear. I could have broken a window with Heather Watts' shoe -- I had never held a pointe shoe before, and the hardness terrified me -- but it was too soft to be useful to her anymore.

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I can't imagine the gift shops actually flogging odorous pointe shoes (or bloody ones, or any others exhibiting too much wear and tear).

Offhand I can't think of another dance form where collecting shoes is such a central aspect of fandom and I suspect it has more to do with the totemic value of the pointe shoe than anything else.

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Hello, All,

One year at SPAC, I bought a pair of point shoes for $10 from a basket of shoes (which were indeed stinky), the proceeds going to NYCB. I chose the most gently used and they turned out to be Faye Arthurs, who is a corps member. Her feet are very tiny! Most of the shoes in the basket were pretty beat up and I was happy to find Faye's pair in very good condition - the satin on the points isn't even torn. They are so pretty and the pink color of the satin is exquisite (they're Freeds). I'm going to have them bronzed and either make them a sculpture or outfit them to a base for a lamp with a shade - I think that'd be really nice!

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One year at SPAC, I bought a pair of point shoes for $10 from a basket of shoes (which were indeed stinky), the proceeds going to NYCB. I chose the most gently used and they turned out to be Faye Arthurs, who is a corps member. Her feet are very tiny! Most of the shoes in the basket were pretty beat up and I was happy to find Faye's pair in very good condition - the satin on the points isn't even torn. They are so pretty and the pink color of the satin is exquisite (they're Freeds). I'm going to have them bronzed and either make them a sculpture or outfit them to a base for a lamp with a shade - I think that'd be really nice!

Somewhat OT but Freeds are, or were, the makers for NYCB. As SAB students we used to get rejected company pairs really cheaply. It was never clear whose they were though, you just looked for your size and which maker worked best for you.

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I have a few pairs of signed shoes: Veronika Part, Megan Fairchild, Misa Kuranaga, and Whitney Jensen. I keep them at my office, not in a display case but on top of a cabinet, where people can see them and even handle them if they want to.

Some people think they are gross. They don't smell but they are dirty and worn. My boss calls them my "creepy shoes." On the other hand, some of my women colleagues are fascinated by them and have even tried them on,

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