Shoes - The Agony and the Ecstacy

Ballet slippers, 1960s

Viscose satin and leather

This item is on display in the function section of the exhibition.

Margaret Aarsted, a ballet teacher in Newcastle upon Tyne, wore these pointe shoes. She added a piece of Elastoplast to the toe for extra grip, a trick she would never have condoned in her pupils. These are deceptively simple slippers. The toes are blocked out and the sole is very strong. They have been worn so much that the sole has taken on the graceful curve all ballet dancers strive to achieve.

TWCMS: S30