Dance Shoes

Steps of Education: A Mile in the Shoes of a Student

Children all around the country are educated in dance. In etiquette schools, dance was almost mandatory. Many can remember an instructor tapping a heel with a stick or calling out steps while the students clung to a bar. It is almost a rite of passage to see young girls anxiously line up on a stage in ballet attire in front of an audience of parents. What makes these moments so poignant? What makes these years of education sentimental in a piece of clothing? This is what we endeavor to explore. Two examples are presented.

We have asked the question: what gives these shoes their poignancy? It is the honor of success, the years that feet molded the shoe, and the shoe molded the dancer. These shoes have stepped throughout the American experience, guiding students in the ways of the past while still gliding them to the future. Many seasons change in our lives, but we can never forget the sacrifice of time, effort, and the belief that our instructors had on us to shine. Perhaps now, we are shining more than ever. A student with the right pair of shoes can create endless possibilities and define an American generation.

Item #474: "Black Tap Shoes"
Tap dancing shoes are the shining percussion of years of step-ball-change and split-second precision. Tap dance is an American tradition, built from African and Irish American dance forms combined. It was in the 19th century that slave owners took away traditional African percussion instruments; unwilling to let their spirits and stories be crushed, slaves turned to percussive dancing combining Irish clog with their own style. In the beginning, wooden shoes took the place of the shiny black shoes we have become accustomed to. As it evolved with minstrel shows, the shoes were made with wooden soles, and even sometimes with pennies attached to both the heel and to the toe. Tap dance would become a crucial part of the Harlem Renaissance. Yet, it could not be contained to merely one place. Movies began to boom and soon 1930’s Hollywood absorbed the style to give it a reputation of glamor. Children began to be educated in newer styles of dance; ballet was still present, but tap dance added a fun and percussive element to children. Today, tap has become more of a novelty. Although not held to the glamour it once was or the revolutionary reputation that built it, tap dance is still an element of American education that teaches our history and culture to a timeless rhythm.

Item #473: "Ornate Character Shoes"

Character shoes aren’t as flashy as other styles of shoes. The rare exception of an ornate pair actually limits its capability. Theater is a diverse art; it requires shoes that can expand as endlessly as it can. Most individuals can remember taking part in a school play or musical. Known for its ability to encourage public presence and oration, theater has been a unifying choice for most schools. Despite the many costumes that an actor requires, the shoes usually stay the same in neutral colors such as black, nude, brown, or white. Theater has been a part of American culture for as long as the country has existed. Theater was brought over mostly under British influence, the famed William Shakespeare having written his pieces mere years before the first successful settlement, Jamestown, Virginia. Theater would remain classical for most of its existence until a shift happened: vaudeville. Vaudeville was a collation of different acts meant to entertain a wide array of audiences; its style was anything but classical. The stage was seeing the incorporation of singing and dance from acts. What is believed to be the first American musical, Cohan's Little Johnny Jones, was created in 1904. Chorus lines boomed as time progressed into the Ziegfeld Follies, which was famous for its chorus girls. A universal shoe was needed to help these girls as well as other performers; although technically present, they were not addressed as “character shoes” at this time. For the term “character shoes”, it was a point likely in the ’40s and ’50s in America when background individuals (or non-leads) stopped being labeled as chorus girls or ballet chorus boys. Theater productions in schools began incorporating more dance, as was the popular style of Broadway at the time. A basic shoe that didn’t need to be repurchased with new costumes was an economic choice. Soon, public schools and dance schools began to favor character shoes for musical production. Today, character shoes remain with students from their first line reading to their final bow. Character shoes are a special shoe that can dance a student into the spotlight without taking any for itself.