Why? Because these pointe shoes are made specifically for brown-skinned ballerinas. Ballet Black, a dance company composed diverse dancers, and Freed, a ballet shoe manufacturer in the UK ...

New York City Ballet dancers go through about 7,000 pairs of pointe shoes a year. That's because traditional ones break down after only a few wears.

Making pointe shoes for ballet dancers is a skill held by very few across the UK – and there is only one producer left in London. Freed of London, based in Hackney, has been making pointe shoes ...