Alumna Emma Capen presentation at CORPS de Ballet International
Alumna Emma Capen (Ballet MFA ‘25) gave a presentation titled “Vantage Pointe: An Examination of Evolving Pointe Techniques and Technologies” at the 27th Annual CORPS de Ballet International Conference, this year hosted on the U campus from June 18-20, 2025.
Title:
An Examination of Evolving Pointe Techniques and Technologies
Abstract:
Why would dancers want to rise onto the tips of their toes? Pointe shoes represent an iconic symbol of ballet, aiding dancers in performing physical feats impossible without them. With these unique, customizable shoes, dancers continually develop their abilities in performing pointe choreography. In examining the historical evolution of pointe shoe technologies over nearly two centuries, the evident relationship between progressing pointe shoe technologies and pointe choreography reveals the significance of the shoe to dancer performance. My research delves into the intimate, symbiotic relationship between pointe shoes and pointe dancers, investigating how pointe shoes impact a dancer's execution of pointe choreography from different historical eras. This study considers the role of pointe shoes through ethnographic and grounded theoretical frameworks by interacting with pointe shoes from artistic and technological standpoints. My choreographic work, Vantage Pointe, establishes a practical medium for examining the Romantic, Neoclassical, Contemporary, and present-day eras of pointe movements through the lens of twenty-first-century pointe shoe technologies. Dancers' intimate knowledge of their technological needs to perform pointe movements can support their artistic performance and growth. Vantage Pointe contributes to the broader impact of everevolving pointe choreography by examining pointe shoes as an adaptive, artistic technology capable of enhancing the artistic expression of pointe dancers.