A Brief History of Ballet Feet

“In the 1840s, when Marie Taglioni went on pointe for a few seconds in La Sylphide, her momentary weightlessness became an icon of the transcendent power of ballet. A pair of her shoes sold for 200 rubles and was cooked and eaten by her admirers.”
 — Was Marie the white swan and were her admirers black swans, or was Marie the black swan and were her admirers geese? The Atlantic’s Suzanne Fischer recaps the rise and repercussions of the pointe shoe. [20 minutes of internet searching passes.] Aaand this appears to have been linked to all over yesterday, so apologies if this is particularly old news. [Via]