Dancers of color are often told to obtain brown pointe ballet shoes (the hard-toed lace-up shoes you probably associate with ballet), and not the traditional pink.

But few manufacturers make brown pointe shoes - not only is there very little diversity in ballet itself, but what exacerbates the issue is that there is often zero diversity in shoe shades. If you don’t fit the one shade of shoe color, you automatically feel like you don’t belong.

Capezio, one of the largest and most well known suppliers of ballet pointe shoes, needs to start producing pointe shoes that are made for more than those who have a white or tan skin tone.

Ballet dancers of color are forced to buy hundreds of tubes of cheap foundation and spend hours caking it on their shoes. Virginia Johnson, the artistic director of the Dance Theater of Harlem, told The New York Times, “This isn’t about shoes, this is about who belongs in ballet and who doesn’t.”

But now one of the largest distributors of ballet pointe shoes has announced that it will start producing shoes in bronze and brown to match the skin tones of a more diverse audience.

Demand Capezio follow their lead and start making a diverse range of shades for their ballet pointe shoes - every person deserves to feel included in something they love.