Who was first depicted on pointe?

Answer 1

In 1832, the famous ballerina Marie Taglioni was the first to dance a full length Ballet (Les Sylphide) en pointe, although her shoes were much different than the pointe shoes used today. They were most like regular ballet shoes, with the ends "darned" or reinforced with extra thread. Most likely, dancers used these pointe shoes before her famous performance, but she is the first to dance a full length ballet in them, and is thus given the credit. Dancers at this time were beginning to jump and turn more than dancers previously, and this required a change in the shoe that they needed. When ballet first appeared, dancers wore a shoe with a heel on it. As ballet technique progressed and became more demanding, the shoe changed as well, to a flat shoe, pleated on the bottom, with ribbons to secure it around the ankle. In Taglioni's day, when dancers were trying to portray ethereal, ghost-like creatures, as in Les Sylphide, the ability to rise on one's toes made them appear to be floating or gliding across the stage. The pointe shoe evolved because of the demands of ballet, and the needs of the ballerinas dancing those roles.