Capezio is the trade name of Capezio Ballet Makers Inc., an American manufacturer of dance shoes, apparel and accessories.

History

In 1887, Salvatore Capezio, an Italian cobbler emigrated to the United States, opened a shoe repair shop near the old Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. He began his business by repairing theatrical shoes for the Met, and transitioned from cobbler to shoemaker when he created pair of shoes for Polish tenor Jean de Reszke in an emergency. His shop soon became a meeting place for dancers who would stop by to discuss their needs and purchase his shoes. Over time, his reputation grew and visiting dancers would often come to his shop to purchase shoes. One of those visitors, Anna Pavlova, purchased Capezio pointe shoes for herself and her entire company during her first tour of the United States in 1910, thereby helping Capezio establish wide public visibility. From 1940,

Ben Sommers Ben Sommers (1906-1985) was a leading philanthropic figure in the world of dance, and president of the Capezio dance and theatre shoe company from 1940 to his death. He established the Capezio Foundation in 1951, which focused on dance, especiall ...

was president of the company until his death in 1985. He used his position to promote and support dance and performance art, establishing events such as National Dance Week in 1978 and in 1957, the Capezio Dance Award. Under Sommers's tenure, in 1941, Lord & Taylor, Neiman-Marcus, and other stores began to market and distribute Capezio footwear. Salvatore Capezio's family eventually joined him in the business, and today the company is operated by third- and fourth-generation family members. The company now employs modern, computerized manufacturing systems, though its Special Make-up Department continues to hand craft special order footwear. In 2017, Lynn Shanahan became the first non-family CEO of Capezio.

Notable users

Numerous celebrities endorsed the company's products over the years, such as Fred Astaire,

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

Sammy Davis, Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

, Alicia Alonso, Bob Fosse, Gregory Hines, Mick Jagger,

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...

, Ben Vereen,

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs ...

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...

, Lady Gaga and Maddie Ziegler.

Capezio Dance Award

The company established the "Capezio Dance Award" in 1952 to recognize significant achievements in dance, and in 1953 it created the Capezio Foundation to administer the awards program and operate a grant program for non-profit organizations. ;Award recipients * 1952: Zachary Solov *1953:

Lincoln Kirstein Lincoln Edward Kirstein (May 4, 1907 – January 5, 1996) was an American writer, impresario, art connoisseur, philanthropist, and cultural figure in New York City, noted especially as co-founder of the New York City Ballet. He developed and sus ...

* 1954: Doris Humphrey * 1955: Louis Horst *1956: Genevieve Oswald * 1957: Ted Shawn * 1958: Alexandra Danilova * 1959: Sol Hurok * 1960:

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She wa ...

* 1961:

Ruth St. Denis Ruth St. Denis (born Ruth Denis; January 20, 1879 – July 21, 1968) was an American pioneer of modern dance, introducing eastern ideas into the art. She was the co-founder of the American Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts and the teac ...

* 1962: Barbara Karinska * 1963: Donald McKayle * 1964: José Limón * 1965: Maria Tallchief * 1966:

Agnes de Mille Agnes George de Mille (September 18, 1905 – October 7, 1993) was an American dancer and choreographer. Early years Agnes de Mille was born in New York City into a well-connected family of theater professionals. Her father William C. deMill ...

* 1967: Paul Taylor (choreographer) * 1968: Lucia Chase * 1969: John Martin (dance critic) *1970: William Kolodney * 1971: Arthur Mitchell * 1972: La Meri,

Reginald Laubin Reginald Laubin (December 4, 1903 – April 5, 2000) was an American writer, dancer, and expert on Native American culture and customs. With his wife, Gladys Laubin, he performed theatrical interpretations of Plains Indian dances. A white man, L ...

, Gladys Laubin * 1973:

Isadora Bennett Isadora Bennett (July 21, 1900 – February 8, 1980) was a publicity agent for modern dance theatre. Her work has been considered significant for establishing modern dance. Her clients included Martha Graham, José Limón, José Greco, Americ ...

* 1974: Robert Joffrey * 1975: Robert Augustine Irving * 1976: Jerome Robbins * 1977: Merce Cunningham * 1978: Hanya Holm * 1979: Alvin Ailey *1980: Walter Terry (dance critic) *1981: Dorothy Alexander * 1982: Alwin Nikolais * 1983:

Harvey Lichtenstein Harvey Lichtenstein (April 9, 1929 – February 11, 2017) was an American arts administrator. He is best known for his 32-year tenure (1967–99) as president and executive producer of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, or BAM, as it became known und ...

* 1984: Willam Christensen, Lew Christensen, Harold Christiansen *1985: Doris Hering * 1986: Antony Tudor * 1987: Fred Astaire, Bob Fosse, Rudolf Nureyev,

Jac Venza Jac Venza (born 1926/1927) is an American public television producer who is directly responsible for most of the theatre and music programs that have been seen on PBS since its creation in 1970. From the early 1960s until his retirement in 2005, V ...

* 1988: Charles "Honi" Coles * 1989: Edward Villella * 1990: Jacques d'Amboise * 1991: John Curry, Katherine Dunham, Darci Kistler, Igor Youskevitch * 1992: Frederic Franklin * 1993: Dance/USA * 1994: Urban Bush Women * 1995: Bruce Marks * 1996: Charles L. Reinhart * 1997: Mark Morris * 1998: Jacob's Pillow Foundation trustees * 1999: Bella Lewitsky * 2000:

David R. White David R. White is an American artistic director and executive producer. He served as the executive director of the Dance Theater Workshop from 1975 to 2003 and is The Yard's artistic director and executive producer. Roles *1988–present: Cha ...

*2001:

Career Transition for Dancers Career Transition For Dancers is a nonprofit organization with offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago that helps dancers establish new careers when they have retired from their performing careers. Founded in 1985, the organization has 4,60 ...

* 2002: Michael M. Kaiser * 2003: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater * 2004: Savion Glover * 2005: Suzanne Farrell * 2006: Donald Saddler *2007: Carmen de Lavallade *2008: Chuck Davis *2009: Arlene Shuler *2010: Trisha Brown *2011: Desmond Richardson *2012: Tommy Tune *2013: Twyla Tharp *2014: Cynthia Gregory *2015: Juilliard School{{Cite web, url=https://danceinforma.us/articles/64th-capezio-dance-award-goes-to-juilliard/, title=64th Capezio Dance Award goes to Juilliard - Dance Informa USA, website=danceinforma.us, access-date=2019-08-21

References

1970s fashion 1990s fashion Clothing brands of the United States Companies based in Passaic County, New Jersey Clothing companies established in 1887 Dancewear companies Pointe shoe manufacturers Shoe companies of the United States Dance awards 1887 establishments in New York (state)