At the beginning of the semester, our Advanced Ballet teacher told us her vision for our recital piece. The costume is unconventional, and she wanted to complete the look with black tights and black pointe shoes.
(My apologies for the crooked, terrible quality picture.)
She told us to let her know if our parents weren’t up for it since coloring a pair of shoes can potentially be an expense we may not be able to do. She told us how we could save the pair we were in right before they were dead to have so we could color them, or we could have on pair, dance our V’s ballet and color them before VI’s. (With a friend’s help, of course.) No one spoke up, so we were given the go ahead to color our shoes on Friday. I originally didn’t do this recital en pointe, but didn’t have time to get black flats (since I thought it would be done away with, and forgot to order some just in case) so I worked on it Monday before class to see if I could do it. There’s one part that’s a bit fast, but if I can tell myself I can do it, I think I can make it through.
I looked up different methods for coloring shoes–shoe polish, special paints, spray paint, etc–but ended up going with the original suggested method of sharpie.
I was a little sad, because these were the shoes I did the Swan Lake shows in, but they are my most not dead shoes, so they’re my best bet.
I jet glued two old pairs in hopes they work for V’s. Because they’re super dead. No guarantees, though. eep.
Here they are with one done. Ahhhhh
And both.
It took about 30 minutes per shoe. I would suggest wearing gloves, though Dawn soap helps get it off your hands. I would also suggest doing it at a table where you can sit right, as I woke up with a terribly sore neck this morning.
They look really good. The color is smooth and not splotchy.
I got the sharpie brand Pro king size, and was able to get both shoes with one marker, though I bought two in case. (And have the second with me.) this is what was suggested to me, and I believe it made a difference. Especially having the chisel size.
It was difficult on the pleats and the elastic, but it worked. If you can dye the ribbons and elastic separately, do it. But if they’re already sewn it’s possible to make it work with sharpie. May just need a few extra coats.
And here is a time lapse of doing the one shoe. It took 29 minutes and some seconds originally.
(Song: Something in the Water, Brooke Fraser) (ps she and her music are incredible. So check her out!)
Cameo by my dog, Honey, whose tail knocked the video down a bit. Haha!
There you have it, folks
Our first rehearsal is tonight, though it doesn’t involve all my quick changes. I’m very nervous about those. But. I’ll make it work. I have no other choice but to make it work.
Stay tuned for updates
Another Night at the Barre 