Get to the Pointe

Calling all pointe shoe nerds! This video is for you. This week, Josephine's inner pointe shoe nerd blossomed! We got the chance to sit down with Professor Jennifer Fisher from the University of California, Irvine. Professor Fishers teaches Dance History in the Dance Department, part of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts. Josephine and Professor Fisher got to parse through her pointe shoe collection, which spans about 50 years. Professor Fisher also borrowed and brought some historical shoes from the late 19th century as well. She discussed how flimsy ballroom shoes were altered and handcrafted by women over time,...

It's summer intensive season!  In honor of one of the most fun (and grueling) times of the year for dancers, Josephine revisited a 2014 Teen Vogue series: Strictly Ballet. This inaugural season episode follows dancers at School of American Ballet in New York as they train & audition for coveted New York City Ballet spots. This group of dancers range from 17-19, in their final year as they either get promoted to the company or audition for other companies.  And of course, pointe shoes are involved. Watch along with Josephine as she geeks out over the pointe shoe room & follows...

This week, Josephine dipped her toes in the Barbie Cinematic Universe for the first time. All of the Barbie ballet movies are set in the context of Barbie, telling her younger sister Kelly, fairy tales - with a ballet twist of course.  Since Josephine grew up with brothers, she never watched these movies. She was mostly interested to see how the children's movie would handle the darker themes of the ballet. There are many versions of Swan Lake globally, but in general, it's a tragic ending. Odette usually dies of heartbreak in swan form - and Black Swan really cashed in...

"Our job is to make it look easy." When people see ballerinas on stage, they are entranced by their beauty and grace. But offstage, SO much work goes into a flawless looking performance. This week, Josephine reacted to a Refinery29 video from their series "Lucie for Hire." Their video producer Lucie, got to meet and dance with none other than Isabella Boylston!  No spoilers, but there are pointe shoes in the video. How do you think it went? Be sure to watch and find out!

We went back in time to the 2022 YAGP Finals in Tampa, Florida! In this video, Josephine got to meet and for the Junior Division's 2nd place winner, Yerin Ok. Yerin is from the Korean Division of Youth Grand Prix, YGP. While chatting with this gorgeous dancer, Josephine got to see her rehearsal and performance shoes. They're actually the same brand, size, and shank - just a slight difference between models.  For rehearsal, Yerin wears the Maya. For performance, she wears the Maya Pro. The shoes are basically the same, but her softer and quieter performance shoe is broken in...