For these Pacific Northwest ballerinas, getting 'en pointe' is the ultimate milestone

At this dance school, young girls dream of wearing uncomfortable shoes that may only hold up for a few months — and their parents are fully supportive.

This isn’t a new fashion trend. It’s the reality for young dancers at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School. KUOW got to look behind the curtain at the first in-person pointe shoe fitting for the school since 2019.

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raduating to pointe is a rite of passage for ballet dancers, and finding the perfect shoes is a lifelong quest. A group of 10 to 12-year-old girls are ready for that journey, including Kathe Sua, Hadley Kala, Opal Martinez-Joshi, and Caroline Antone. They’re level four students who dance at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School.

“I’ve been waiting for this day since I started ballet,” says Caroline Antone, age 10. Calling this fitting a big moment is an understatement.

“Whenever the clock turns 11:11, she would say, '11:11 — make a wish. I wish to have pointe shoes one day,’” says Yoon-Mi Antone, Caroline Antone’s mother.

For Nicole Sleiers, mother of 11-year-old Kathe Sua, seeing her daughter in pointe shoes for the first time brought tears to her eyes.

“I am really proud of her and just moved, you know? This is such a growing step,” says Sleiers, who was also once a dancer.

10-year-old Hadley Kalal’s mother, Jennifer Kalal, was also a dancer. She recalls her first pointe shoe fitting.

“I just remember being intimidated by all the different shoes and all the different options,” she says.

As each dancer stands in front of a large, mirrored wall at the Francia Russell Center in Bellevue, fitters Julie Smith and Kelsie Jones ask them questions and look at their feet to figure out which shoes they should try on. The fitters work for the UK-based dance shoe manufacturer Freed of London; they flew in from out of state to help dancers find the right pair of pointe shoes. Freed sponsors the Pacific Northwest Ballet School, as well as professional dancers with the ballet's company.

Fittings for Pacific Northwest Ballet students (level 4 and above) happen twice a year: once at the beginning of the school year and once during the summer. 12-year-old Tess Chin, a second-year pointe student, has already gone through six pairs of shoes this year and remembers how she felt before her first fitting.

“Oh, I was shaking. I was so nervous that I was practically crying,” she says.

Kelsie Jones, one of the fitters, is also a former dancer. She says it can take trying on numerous different pointe shoes before a dancer finds that special pair.

“Some dancers will go to 15 to 20. I mean — just depends on the dancer. Essentially, you could try on everything.”

Being en pointe takes incredibly strong feet and ankles, and the parents at the Pacific Northwest Ballet aren't overly concerned about injuries to their kids' feet.

“Well there’s always concerns like if you were to do any other sport or whatever, but not that concerned yet,” says Corina Chin, Tess Chin’s mother.

It takes about three or four years for students to reach this milestone, and 11-year-old Opal Martinez-Joshi was surprised at how putting on pointe shoes would feel.

“It felt really good to be en pointe for the first time,” she says. “I was scared it would hurt a lot, but it wasn’t that painful.”

Yin Wang, mother of 11-year-old Emma Xie, is witnessing a pointe shoe fitting for the first time. She’s one of the many parents who say they didn’t get the opportunity to do ballet as a kid.

“I had no chance to dance,” she says. “No time, no money to do this.”

Pointe shoes are expensive. They start at around $100 dollars, and their lifespan ranges from roughly four months to about a year, depending on how often a person dances in them.

The diversity among those who have access to classical ballet training is changing though — and along with it, the pointe shoe.

In ballet, pointe shoes are meant to be perceived as a continuation of the dancer's leg, creating an extended line. Traditional pointe shoes come in a slightly shiny, peachy-pink color to match the skin tone of Caucasian dancers.

However about 70% of the level four students at the Pacific Northwest Ballet identify as Asian, Hispanic, African American, or Pacific Islander. Companies like Freed of London are taking notice of this changing demographic.

As Freed’s marketing manager, Kelsie Jones is helping to expand the variety of pointe shoe colors being offered by the company. She’s a former dancer, and a woman of color, who wants all ballerinas to have options.

“I try not to get emotional, but this is the first time in 200 years that dancers have had this ability,” she says.

Ballet mom Natalia Parker speaks to Kelsie Jones about ordering a pair of pointe shoes that resemble her daughter Kaya’s golden-brown skin.

“Beige isn’t the only skin tone,” Parker says. “Kaya’s mixed: she’s half Colombian, and Black and white, and we want to find something where she can be her authentic self.”

Kaya Parker was introduced to the Pacific Northwest Ballet School through the DanceChance program. Founded in 1994, the program partners with 19 Seattle Public schools, with a goal to improve diversity, equity, and access to classical ballet training.

Starting in the third grade, a select number of students are invited to join the Pacific Northwest Ballet School tuition-free. Young dancers don’t just need the shoes and support of their families — some will also wear toe pads and spacers, all of which they cover with a pair of tights. Each student also has to buy elastic and satin ribbons, which they will sew on their shoes by hand.

After the fitting, faculty and seasoned ballet students will take time to teach the girls how to sew their shoes. Only then will they be able to dance in them.

Each girl leaves the fitting with a pair of pointe shoes, a sewing kit, and a huge smile — because they know their dream of dancing en pointe is just within reach.

Audiences can see dancer Caroline Antone perform in the Nutcracker, as one of two Clara’s this holiday season. The show runs from Nov. 24 through Dec. 27.

The Pacific Northwest Ballet is a financial supporter of KUOW programming. The newsroom operates independently of the business department.