Brown ballet shoes to be made for the first time in the UK so dancers of all ethnic backgrounds can have pumps that match their skin
- Brown pointed ballet shoes are to be made in the UK in a ‘historic moment’
- Dancers from ethnic minority backgrounds can now get matching footwear
- Those of non-white skin have had to rely on ‘pancaking’ to match their shoes
Brown ballet shoes are to be made for the first time in the UK in what is being hailed as a huge step forward for diversity.
Dancers from ethnic minority backgrounds can now get pointed shoes to match their skin tone instead of wearing traditional pink.
Ballet dancers wear the same colour shoes as their skin tone so they can keep an unbroken line from their fingertip to toe.
Ballet dancers wear the same colour shoes as their skin tone so they can keep an unbroken line from their fingertip to toe (stock)
Those of non-white skin have had to rely on ‘pancaking’, which involves applying powdered make-up to the shoes and surrounding skin.
The new footwear is made by Freed of London, Britain’s oldest manufacturer of ballet kit.
Cassa Pancho, of Ballet Black, a company of black and minority ethnic dancers, said: ‘Although it may seem like a small change to the outside world, I believe this is a historic moment in British ballet and another step forward for culturally diverse dancers across the globe.’
Dancers from ethnic minority backgrounds can now get pointed shoes to match their skin tone instead of wearing traditional pink (stock)