Old pirouet

Is that how it's spelt? A pirouette is the spinning action of a ballet dancer. But what do you call the shoes that is stuffed with card board at the tips. We were at the Singapore Dance Theatre today, and we were told about how much pain goes into the training of a dancer. We saw them in rehearsals too, succumbing to the dictates of a Korean choreographer, who gave instructions through an interpreter. These shoes are sometimes worn out by the dancers in a week. A ballerina's life span is not long either, usually no longer than by her early-30s. The male dancers have a longer shelf life, all on account of the fact that they are not required to dance on their toes as much as the girls. One can only imagine how excruciatingly punishing the whole routine is to the nails, toes, ankles, calves, thighs of the ballerinas. When we passed a box containing these old and stained pirouets(?), I could not help snapping the above photo. A cardboard box containing shoes with cardboard tips. The ravage of many graceful movements.

Chup