Improvement of the Toe Pad for Pointe Shoes According to Foot Shape

School Name

Center for Advanced Technical Studies

Grade Level

12th Grade

Presentation Topic

Engineering

Presentation Type

Non-Mentored

Oral Presentation Award

3rd Place

Abstract

Ballet, although an art form, can lead to a series of injuries that occur regularly in dancer who are especially training on pointe. However, some types of feet are better fit for this training based off of which toe the brunt of the force is being exerted. Without well fitting cushioning for the toes, injuries are even more likely to occur because it is the failure to effectively absorb the forces exerted on the foot that cause 33% of dance injuries (Caselli 2017). If there was a customized cushion for each of the four foot shapes, it would have a guaranteed efficiency for each dancer. The creation and administration of a survey will give insight on which foot shape to make a mold for first. After taking molds of dancer’s feet according to their foot shape using ballistics gelatin, a prototype will be able to be produced and eventually 3D printed for further testing and eventually use. Using the gelatin molds, exact dimensions and suggestions of material will be provided to allow the precise amount of padding needed for each foot shape customization. Therefore, this innovation would prove to be successful if the customized toe pad provides more support, less negative space between the toes and the pointe shoe, and lessens the amount of bruising or injury of the toes. In the future, this could expand the number of dancers who are able to dance on pointe as well as decrease injuries caused by the inefficient padding of pointe shoes. Keywords: -Toe Pads -Foot Shape -Customized

Location

Lassiter 118

Start Date

4-14-2018 11:45 AM

Presentation Format

Oral Only

COinS
 
Apr 14th, 11:45 AM

Improvement of the Toe Pad for Pointe Shoes According to Foot Shape

Lassiter 118

Ballet, although an art form, can lead to a series of injuries that occur regularly in dancer who are especially training on pointe. However, some types of feet are better fit for this training based off of which toe the brunt of the force is being exerted. Without well fitting cushioning for the toes, injuries are even more likely to occur because it is the failure to effectively absorb the forces exerted on the foot that cause 33% of dance injuries (Caselli 2017). If there was a customized cushion for each of the four foot shapes, it would have a guaranteed efficiency for each dancer. The creation and administration of a survey will give insight on which foot shape to make a mold for first. After taking molds of dancer’s feet according to their foot shape using ballistics gelatin, a prototype will be able to be produced and eventually 3D printed for further testing and eventually use. Using the gelatin molds, exact dimensions and suggestions of material will be provided to allow the precise amount of padding needed for each foot shape customization. Therefore, this innovation would prove to be successful if the customized toe pad provides more support, less negative space between the toes and the pointe shoe, and lessens the amount of bruising or injury of the toes. In the future, this could expand the number of dancers who are able to dance on pointe as well as decrease injuries caused by the inefficient padding of pointe shoes. Keywords: -Toe Pads -Foot Shape -Customized