Igone on Pointe

"Igone" is of course Igone de Jongh, one of three female principals with the Dutch National Ballet. I have only seen her on film up to now coaching Martin ten Kortenaar and YuanYuan Zhang in the pas de deux from the white act in Swan Lake but maybe I shall be lucky enough to see her in the flesh at the Gala on the 8 Sept.

The film is in Dutch but there are English subtitles. De Jongh talks about her first time on pointe as a little girl. She also tells us how she feels wearing pointe now. Apparently they give her a sense of freedom. They are an extension of her limbs,

The film also introduces the company's shoe manager who describes his job and its many responsibilities. Each female dancer has her own shoes and often her own shoemaker and these have to be registered and tracked by computer,

Finally, the film shows folk who are prepared to pay good money for used pointe shoes. I'm a great fan of Sarah Kundi of English National, Ruth Brill of Birmingham Royal Ballet, Rachael Gillespie of Northern Ballet and indeed Michaela DePrince of the Dutch National Ballet but I'd draw the line there.