What's your job? Lorna Geddes, pointe shoe manager at National Ballet of Canada

Most people see pointe shoes and think they're pretty in pink with satin and ribbon. After five decades with the National Ballet of Canada, Lorna Geddes can't help but see them a little bit differently.

As the ballet company's pointe shoe manager since 1998, Geddes has seen the footwear get banged, bent, hammered and cut up. That's because it's her job to help the 72 dancers find their perfect shoes, measuring each important specification of the shoe such as the box, shank, vamp and more, so dancers can prevent injury, rehearse and perform to their best abilities in the 81 shows this season.

Taking care of pointe shoes keeps Geddes, 70, connected to her lifelong love of ballet, which she began dancing as a preschooler growing up in Waterloo, Ont. After finishing grade 11, she moved to Toronto and learned the art from Celia Franca, the founder of the National Ballet of Canada, and Betty Oliphant, founder of Canada's National Ballet School.

Geddes, who is also currently a character actor, joined the company in 1959 as a member of the corps de ballet. It is precisely the decades-long experience that makes the job of pointe shoe guardian such a great fit, she says.

How long do pointe shoes last?

Any shoe actually only lasts about six or eight hours. Dancers go through usually three a week. It depends on the strength of the dancer or how solid she needs her shoes. Some can do a lot of pointe work on quite soft shoes. By soft I mean the support in the arch. It depends on the role.

What's an example?

If a dancer is doing the swan queen in Swan Lake, this is a very difficult role. She does a pas de deux in the (white) swan scene. As the so-called black swan, she does 32 fouettes where you whip the leg around and turn 32 times on your own steam. She's going up and down on one foot and turning. That shoe is going to be pretty well mush. She might even wear out one pair in that act.

Interesting. What's the ballet's annual budget for pointe shoes?

The annual budget for the shoes is approximately $250,000-$300,000.

How did you get into this?

I was a dancer for 24 years. I continued on stage doing character parts, which is fun, I like the acting part of it. I wasn't up on those pointe shoes anymore. After 24 years it seemed to be enough. As you age it's harder and harder, of course.

Did you always know you'd be a dancer at the National Ballet?

I started dancing at the age of three. By the time I was about eight I was doing very well in my formal ballet exams, which at the time were often moderated by Celia and Betty. They both told me that I had the potential to be a professional ballerina, so, with their encouragement and stamp of approval, I kept dancing.

How did your jobs change within the company?

I've evolved from one thing to another, like four different jobs. I was in the corps de ballet for 24 years. I did some solo things. The next thing I did was I started doing some of the character roles as I got a bit older. Then I was a ballet mistress, which is like a coach within the corps de ballet. In the late 1990s, I evolved into pointe shoe manager.

Why do you like the job?

This is what keeps me connected to the company because of my age. I've been in the company since I was 16. It's been my life. I've never wanted to do anything else but be in a ballet company. I never wanted to be in any other company.

Is there a downside?

Sometimes it can take a couple of goes to get dancers' perfect shoes. It might take a year to get your right shoe. Sometimes that's the most frustrating thing.

What's the pay and market like for this job?

There is no market. In a lot of ballet companies it's a senior dancer, like I was, evolving into a different job, which is looking after the pointe shoes. You can't really do this off the street. If you've been in pointe shoes for 24 years then you sort of know what people need. It's not an advertised thing.

Back to pointe shoes, why do they need to fit so perfectly?

There are about 25 makers at Freed (of London). They make the shoes from beginning to end. It's not an assembly line. You can give the same specifications to three different makers and they will come out different. Each maker has their own way of making shoes. The measurements will be right, but they will feel different.

That's really neat

Well, no, it's not neat. The reason why it's a serious thing is they are dancing on the surface, on the toe, with their whole weight doing difficult moves on a space no bigger than a twoonie. It's vital you get the right shoe. If your shoe is crooked you could twist an ankle.

Is there anything surprising about pointe shoes?

It's surprising how much they cost (roughly $90 a pair) and the length of time they take to make.

How long?

Say you don't know what maker you want. Knowing size and specifications, you order two pairs from three different makers. I would get them in about three months. Maybe it's a maker that is very busy. I will order 30 pair and they will not come for 11 months.

You've been with the company a long time, what's a great memory?

The most exciting time I had was when we toured with Rudolf Nureyev. He had defected from Russia. This was in 1972 and we spent about three years with him at different times, touring with him, particularly with his Sleeping Beauty. We toured all over North America and Europe with him.

Any show that stands out?

One of the greatest times with Nureyev was at the Metropolitan Opera in New York opening night with Sleeping Beauty, and getting a standing ovation. The company had never played the Metropolitan Opera. It was an incredible thrill to be in that famous, famous theatre, with all those balconies. It was very special.

*Interview has been edited and condensed