<P> As dance progressed into the 19th century, the emphasis on technical skill increased, as did the desire to dance en pointe without the aid of wires . When Marie Taglioni first danced La Sylphide en pointe, her shoes were nothing more than modified satin slippers; the soles were made of leather and the sides and toes were darned to help the shoes hold their shapes . Because the shoes of this period offered no support, dancers would pad their toes for comfort and rely on the strength of their feet and ankles for support . </P> <P> The next substantially different form of pointe shoe appeared in Italy in the late 19th century . Dancers like Pierina Legnani wore shoes with a sturdy, flat platform at the front end of the shoe, rather than the more sharply pointed toe of earlier models . These shoes also included a box--made of layers of fabric--for containing the toes, and a stiffer, stronger sole . They were constructed without nails and the soles were only stiffened at the toes, making them nearly silent . </P> <P> The birth of the modern pointe shoe is often attributed to the early 20th - century Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who was one of the most famous and influential dancers of her time . Pavlova had particularly high, arched insteps, which left her vulnerable to injury when dancing en pointe . She also had slender, tapered feet, which resulted in excessive pressure on her big toes . To compensate for this, she inserted toughened leather soles into her shoes for extra support and flattened and hardened the toe area to form a box . </P> <P> Every dancer has unique feet, with variations that include toe length and shape, arch flexibility, and mechanical strength . Consequently, most pointe shoe manufacturers produce more than one model of shoe, with each model offering a different fit, as well as custom fitted shoes . Regardless of the manufacturer or model, however, all pointe shoes share two important structural features that enable dancers to dance on the tips of their toes: </P>

Who invented the first pair of pointe shoes