Pointe shoe and tights worn by Alexandra Jacob of Dance Theatre of Harlem: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

.1: One (1) ballet pointe shoe custom-colored with cosmetics to a light brown to match the skin tone of the dancer. The exterior of the shoe is made of satin fabric and has a leather sole. An elastic drawstring runs around the top of the foot opening and is tied in a knot at the vamp with the ends trimmed short. Two lengths of custom-colored elastic tape are stitched with one end on either side of the back seam and the other end sewn at the left and right quarter sides of the shoe, with the elastic crossed around the front of the wearer's foot. Two lengths of custom-colored satin ribbon are hand sewn to the binding, one each on the left and right side quarters of the shoe. Heavy stitching around the platform of the toe box may be evidence of a replacement of the original platform fabric due to heavy wear. Uneven wear on the platform of the toe box indicates this shoe was worn on the left foot. The fabric-covered shank is broken at the arch of the foot. Text reading "L" is hand written in purple ink near the arch on the fabric covering the shank.

.2: Pair of dance tights with inherent holes in feet that are custom-dyed to a light brown to match the skin tone of the dancer. The foot openings allow the tights to be worn covering the foot and toes, with the hole at the ball of the foot, or worn footless with the foot portion rolled at the ankle. The tights have an elastic waistband.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2013-2014
• Created by: Unidentified
• Worn by: Alexandra Jacob, American
• Type: toe shoes
• Type: tights (opaque stockings)
• Medium: Shoe: satin cloth and ribbons, elastic, leather, paper, cloth, adhesive, and cosmetics;
• Medium: Tights: nylon, spandex, and dye
• Dimensions: H x W x D (.1 without ribbons extended): 8 3/4 × 3 7/16 × 3 1/2 in. (22.2 × 8.7 × 8.9 cm)
• Dimensions: L (.1 PL ribbon): 16 1/2 in. (41.9 cm)
• Dimensions: L (.1 PR ribbon): 20 3/8 in. (51.8 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (.2 on form): 23 × 5 1/2 × 4 1/2 in. (58.4 × 14 × 11.4 cm)
• Dimensions: L x W (.2 flat): 27 1/2 × 6 1/2 in. (69.9 × 16.5 cm)
• Place collected: New York City, Manhattan, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Ballet
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Costume
• Object number: 2015.19.2.1-.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Dance Theatre of Harlem
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.