The Foot Position on pointe

The dance on pointe is the ultimate in technical attainment for the female ballet dancer. Although the art of ballet is some three hundred years old, dancing on the tips of the toes did nit come into being until the early part of the nineteenth century. It is believed that it was invented by Philippe Taglioni for his daughter Marie, who was one of the greatest ballerinas of her day.

The purpose of rising to the ends of the toes was to give a quality of lightness and ethereality to the dance. The romantic ballet was born in the 1830's , and this use of pointes in dancing helped to convey a feeling of supernatural lightness and an 'out of this world' quality to the dancers who were portraying wraiths , sylphs, and wilis in such ballets as La Sylphide and Giselle.