P-rouette
3D-printed ballet shoe
Bezalel Academy of Art and Design graduate Hadar Neeman has created personalised ballet shoes using 3D-printing technology to reduce dancer's pain. The reimagined ballet shoe is adapted to fit the user's foot, providing comfort and protection, with the result three-times more durable than traditional ballet shoes. Neeman realised that 3D printing technology had been employed in almost every domain in life, including sportswear. However, it had not yet been used to improve the shoes worn by ballet dancers. . The shoe is made in a multistep process. First the dancer's foot is scanned, then a detailed map of the shoe is created on a computer. The dancer can scan their foot using a mobile phone app. The P-rouette pointe shoe aims to reduce the risk of injury for the dancer and enables the user to dance on the tip toes with less pain than when using traditional shoes. These shoes also last three times longer than their traditional counterparts.