Kate Bradshaw

_{Stanford graduate Leilani Tian puts on her pointe shoe over her PerfectFit Pointe shoe insert at Stanford University on June 21, 2022. Photo by Magali Gauthier.}

By Kate Bradshaw

June 30, 2022

Dancer and designer Kelly Schmutte was 11 years old when she finally got permission to go en pointe.

She remembers being thrilled. She was a kid growing up in Davis, California, and had taken a liking to ballet right away for its mix of technicality and artistry, she said in a recent interview.

“There’s a very creative artistic side to it, and it’s also a very technical dance form and requires a lot of concentration, thinking about form and technique,” she said.

Getting to go en pointe is considered a rite of passage for many young dancers.

“It’s this coming-of-age moment in the ballet world. It’s really special,” she said.

But when Schmutte actually went to put on her first pair of pointe shoes, it wasn’t the beautiful experience she’d thought it would be.

In fact, it was pretty painful.

“I pretty clearly remember thinking, ‘There’s got to be a better way to do this,’” she said.

Read more at almanacnews.com.