The Hidden Afterlife of Dance Shoes: Challenge of Sustainable Movement

In the dance world, shoes carry the weight of the body. But more than that, they carry years of growth, artistry, and memory. But what happens to them after the curtain falls? Most dancers know the feeling of wearing out a pair of shoes. Whether it’s a pair of soft ballet flats, jazz shoes, or the famously unforgiving pointe shoe, dance footwear doesn’t last long. Few talk about where they end up.

Beginning with pointe shoes, these are arguably the most iconic and structurally complex shoes in the dance world. A single pointe shoe is carefully engineered, designed to support the dancer’s entire body on the tips of their toes. The toe box, which is responsible for this, is made from piled layers of fabric, paper, and paste or glue, all of them hardened to form a structure strong enough to withstand utmost pressure. The shank supports the arch of the foot. It's made from cardboard, hardened burlap, leather, or other rigid materials. The exterior is usually wrapped in satin, with leather soles and elastic or ribbon to complete it. 

When I first started this project, I wanted to understand firsthand what pointe shoes were made of, so I took one apart myself. Struggling for hours for not even one full pair, I tried to separate layers of cardboard, hardened glue, satin, nails, and wood, tightly packed into one small object. It became immediately clear why these shoes are so difficult to recycle or biodegrade. Even though some elements of the shoe are biodegradable when isolated, the glues and adhesives used to bind them means that most of the shoes become non-recyclable. As a result, nearly all pointe shoes are discarded as general waste. Professional ballet dancers can go through one pair a week, meaning that waste adds up quickly while posing a threat to the environment. There is a very quiet but serious sustainability issue hiding in something so central to the art.

The issue isn’t limited to pointe shoes. Other dance footwear such as jazz shoes, character shoes, tap shoes, or ballroom shoes, often face similar challenges. These are typically made of blended plastics, leather, foam padding, and rubber soles, with adhesives used for final assembly. Once again, the mixed materials and adhesive-based construction make traditional recycling methods impractical. Therefore, most end up in landfills or incinerated, contributing even further to its grave environmental impact.

Dance shoes are rarely built with its end-of-life in mind. While certain sportswear companies have introduced recycling schemes for sneakers (repurposing soles into track surfaces or playground flooring), these programs often exclude the unique make up of dance shoes. Their materials are harder to break down, and their relatively low resale or recycling value makes them a poor fit for mainstream reselling systems.

Addressing this issue is complex. Dance shoes are made the way they are for important reasons: support, safety, and aesthetics. They can’t simply be replaced with a one-material alternative. But what we can begin to do is imagine a culture around dance that not only values the artistry of movement, but also considers what happens after. 

The problem of dance shoe waste won’t be solved overnight, but awareness is the first step. By understanding what dance shoes are made of, how difficult they are to recycle, and what happens when they’re discarded, we can begin to reimagine the role of sustainability in dance. Through this project, we contribute to a more circular model of collecting used dance shoes and redistributing them to dancers and communities who need them. Instead of sending shoes to landfills, we extend their life, reduce unnecessary waste, and create opportunity through reuse. This allows us to rethink and contribute to how dance, like any industry, can move toward a future that is both acknowledged and environmentally responsible.

By Koel Malhotra