Getting to the pointe: the biomechanics of feet and footwear in ballet

About

Talks on Tuesdays is a live event series bringing big ideas, real experts, and curious minds together - at your favourite local venues. Think thought-provoking lectures, audience questions, and post-talk mingling over drinks and dinner.

This isn’t a uni lecture. It’s a social, intelligent night out.Come alone or with friends, leave with something to talk about.

Event Schedule:

6.30pm Arrival & Doors Open

7pm Lecuture Starts

7.45pm Q&A

8pm Talk Concludes

8.30pm Event Closes.

*Please arrive close to 6.30pm

A La Carte menu and full bar available throughout the night - pay as you go.

Your Topic:
In professional ballet, pain and injury are often treated as a rite of passage, with foot and ankle injuries extremely common. The ballet pointe shoe is the single most important piece of equipment in supporting the female dancer’s foot, yet the materials and design of these shoes have barely changed over the last two centuries. Pointe shoes also break down so quickly that dancers may use them for only one or two performances. This means professional companies go through 6,000-7,000 custom-made pairs per year, costing upwards of $1 million.

Dr Aaron Fox researches ways to improve pointe shoe design so as to reduce injury risk. Come along to learn how the foot and ankle move and experience load during ballet, why pointe shoes break down so quickly, and what dancers themselves want to change. This talk blends biomechanics, materials science, and the lived experience of ballet dancers, whose pursuit of…