General Lifespan of product – Men go through 1 pair of pumps once a month, ladies go through 1 pair once a year. One container of Kryolan shoe pan is enough to dye 3 to 4 pairs of pumps.
Gentlemen are issued 2 dance belts per year, 1 pair of ballet pumps per month (for ballet classes and rehearsal), as well as 3 or 4 pumps for stage productions.
Ladies are issued 1 pair of ballet pumps per year (for ballet classes). Ladies ranking from Senior corps de ballet to Principal get 6 of their pairs of their preferred pointe shoes, once every two months. Ladies ranking from Junior Corps de Ballet to Corps de Ballet get 4 of their pairs of their pointe shoes, once every two months. Ladies in the Aspirant programme (unless on sponsorship) purchase their own pointe shoes.
Full sole lace-up black Jazz shoes (men and women) = R485 per pair
General Lifespan of product – Luckily, we do not have many ballets where Jazz shoes are used so 1 pair roughly lasts 2 to 3 years
General Lifespan of product – Pointe shoes and their accessories are very role orientated. A Principal dancer can go through 4 to 5 pairs of pointe shoes per season (10 performances) and ouch pouches can last anywhere from 6 months to a year. A junior dancer will go through a pair of pointe shoes every 1 to (at a push) 2 months. Elastics and ribbon can be transplanted from shoe to shoe, but generally last no more than 3 to 4 months.
Various techniques exist where dancers can prolong their life of pointe shoes by spraying lacquer spray and then “baking” them in an oven, whereas some practices such as pre-breaking the shoes (to produce an even lovelier looking pointed foot) or hitting them repeatedly with a hammer to ensure that the dancers are less audible (therefore more ethereal) when landing from jumps and running on stage – and all to ensure that you as an audience member have a far more pleasant theatre performance experience!!