Pittsburgh Arts, Regional Theatre, New Work, Producing, Copyright, Labor Unions,
New Products, Coping Skills, J-O-Bs...
Theatre industry news, University & School of Drama Announcements, plus occasional course support for
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni.
NYTimes.com: When Broadway princesses need new glass slippers, they turn to Worldtone Dance, the city’s go-to place for theatrical and dancesport shoes.
Wow, this is a brilliant marketing plan. I remember in high school fighting the shoe battle of wanting to chance and customize the dance shoes to better go with all of the different costumes and still needing the performers to be very safe. I think it is very smart to have both on the shelf stock and also have a completely custom option. I recently found out that a lot of bridal stores sell every shoe they own in a dyeable material so that you can get the shoe to be the exact color of a bridesmaid prom dress. I think that type of shoe would be a great addition to their store that way the options would really be limitless, and also that would be a good cheaper option rather than full customization. I am actually suprised this is not more common of an idea, since dancing is a sport with just as much if not more footwork than any other and you always need very specific shoes for sports, these are even more important since appearance also matters so much.
Oh the world of dance shoes. This shop sounds really nice because its small, friendly and helpful. Back in high school, I remember my teacher telling her performers to just go online and order a pair of character heels. I was appalled. You can't just order dance shoes (though for the types of productions we put on it was completely fine).
When it came time to get dance shoes, there was a dance store a couple towns over and I would go there and spend a good hour or two trying on shoes to find the perfect fit (pointe shoes always took the longest). But every time I went there I couldn't help thinking "but what if these were blue point shoes with silver ribbons" or "foot undies that actually matched my skin tone".
When it came to the costuming world I always just assumed that the costumer bought the generic dance shoes and altered them to look just right. But a dance shoe company that does it for you, thats just brilliant. Costumers no longer have to worry about their shoes loosing their structural stability simply because they want them to look different. They can just go to the dance shoe makers. The people that know what they are doing. That way the shoes will be safe and unique.
Its interesting some of the little niches stores fit into especially with theater. It never occurred to me that there would be a store specifically for dance shoes but ti makes sense. In New York there are a lot of people who need dance shoes and it can get super specific when you are dealing with theater and apparently dance competitions. I wonder what the other crazy specific stores are in the theater category. Maybe Broadway has a hat-maker or a custom hardware store for parts a normal shop can engineer but not create. It would be fun to look through stores like this. And on a separate note, what on earth does an athletic shoe disguised as a high-heel look like?
While in new york this summer lachlan and i took every opportunity to go look around and find ourselves some back hole shops to obtain our props. our favorite being the military surplus stores who once they heard about our show loved helping us out and providing us with discounts in some cases. I find that especially in trying to buy pars, props, costumes, any supplies if you can find someone who truely cares about what it is they are going to sell you your experience will be that much more enjoyable and your product that much more reliable. Isaac, what they mean about an athletic shoe discuised as a high heel is that its a fashionable shoe like a high heel but has a structure to it designed for extrenuous activity. most high heels or even normal day to day shoes like converse are not designed for a dancers foot. they sell jazz converse that look almost identical to regular converse but the sole and arch support are changed to better support a dancer.
This is something I would never think about. I know there are companies that specialize in making specific types of dance shoes and that you can pay hundreds of dollars for a good pair of character shoes. However, I never stopped to think about the people who sell these shoes for a living. I completely understand the necessity of trying shoes on and testing them out before buying them, especially a specialty dance shoe that can cost upwards of $300. It's a big investment, and you have to be sure that you're getting exactly what you want and need. Buying from a mom and pop shop like this is also great. You know the people you're buying form really care about what they're selling, and want to make sure that the shoe you get is going to work for the purpose you need.
It's amazing to know that the quality in shoe can really make a difference with the activity you are doing. Like the girl, Haley, said, you have to have faith in your shoes. It's also great to know that there is a store that makes quality shoes that can be custom made to fit your show that you know are reliable because of how long this family business has been going on for. I think that having this company available has really helped the costume world in theatre, but also those who just really love dance and want a reliable shoe to make them feel good about themselves. This is great!
6 comments:
Wow, this is a brilliant marketing plan. I remember in high school fighting the shoe battle of wanting to chance and customize the dance shoes to better go with all of the different costumes and still needing the performers to be very safe. I think it is very smart to have both on the shelf stock and also have a completely custom option. I recently found out that a lot of bridal stores sell every shoe they own in a dyeable material so that you can get the shoe to be the exact color of a bridesmaid prom dress. I think that type of shoe would be a great addition to their store that way the options would really be limitless, and also that would be a good cheaper option rather than full customization. I am actually suprised this is not more common of an idea, since dancing is a sport with just as much if not more footwork than any other and you always need very specific shoes for sports, these are even more important since appearance also matters so much.
Oh the world of dance shoes. This shop sounds really nice because its small, friendly and helpful. Back in high school, I remember my teacher telling her performers to just go online and order a pair of character heels. I was appalled. You can't just order dance shoes (though for the types of productions we put on it was completely fine).
When it came time to get dance shoes, there was a dance store a couple towns over and I would go there and spend a good hour or two trying on shoes to find the perfect fit (pointe shoes always took the longest). But every time I went there I couldn't help thinking "but what if these were blue point shoes with silver ribbons" or "foot undies that actually matched my skin tone".
When it came to the costuming world I always just assumed that the costumer bought the generic dance shoes and altered them to look just right. But a dance shoe company that does it for you, thats just brilliant. Costumers no longer have to worry about their shoes loosing their structural stability simply because they want them to look different. They can just go to the dance shoe makers. The people that know what they are doing. That way the shoes will be safe and unique.
Its interesting some of the little niches stores fit into especially with theater. It never occurred to me that there would be a store specifically for dance shoes but ti makes sense. In New York there are a lot of people who need dance shoes and it can get super specific when you are dealing with theater and apparently dance competitions. I wonder what the other crazy specific stores are in the theater category. Maybe Broadway has a hat-maker or a custom hardware store for parts a normal shop can engineer but not create. It would be fun to look through stores like this. And on a separate note, what on earth does an athletic shoe disguised as a high-heel look like?
While in new york this summer lachlan and i took every opportunity to go look around and find ourselves some back hole shops to obtain our props. our favorite being the military surplus stores who once they heard about our show loved helping us out and providing us with discounts in some cases. I find that especially in trying to buy pars, props, costumes, any supplies if you can find someone who truely cares about what it is they are going to sell you your experience will be that much more enjoyable and your product that much more reliable.
Isaac, what they mean about an athletic shoe discuised as a high heel is that its a fashionable shoe like a high heel but has a structure to it designed for extrenuous activity. most high heels or even normal day to day shoes like converse are not designed for a dancers foot. they sell jazz converse that look almost identical to regular converse but the sole and arch support are changed to better support a dancer.
This is something I would never think about. I know there are companies that specialize in making specific types of dance shoes and that you can pay hundreds of dollars for a good pair of character shoes. However, I never stopped to think about the people who sell these shoes for a living. I completely understand the necessity of trying shoes on and testing them out before buying them, especially a specialty dance shoe that can cost upwards of $300. It's a big investment, and you have to be sure that you're getting exactly what you want and need. Buying from a mom and pop shop like this is also great. You know the people you're buying form really care about what they're selling, and want to make sure that the shoe you get is going to work for the purpose you need.
It's amazing to know that the quality in shoe can really make a difference with the activity you are doing. Like the girl, Haley, said, you have to have faith in your shoes. It's also great to know that there is a store that makes quality shoes that can be custom made to fit your show that you know are reliable because of how long this family business has been going on for. I think that having this company available has really helped the costume world in theatre, but also those who just really love dance and want a reliable shoe to make them feel good about themselves. This is great!
Post a Comment