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

History

In 1887,

Salvatore Capezio Salvatore Capezio (1871–1940) was an Italian-born shoemaker who established Capezio, one of the world's largest manufacturers of dance apparel and specialized dance shoes, including ballet pointe shoe A pointe shoe (, ), also referred to as ...

, 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 a fine pair of shoes for Polish tenor

Jean de Reszke Jean de Reszke (born Jan Mieczysław Reszke; 14 January 18503 April 1925) was a Polish dramatic tenor and opera star. Reszke came from a wealthy Polish family with classical and operatic musical traditions. His mother gave him his first singing ...

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 Anna Pavlovna Pavlova. (born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova; – 23 January 1931) was a Russian prima ballerina. She was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev, but is most recognized for creating ...

, purchased Capezio

pointe shoe A pointe shoe (, ), also referred to as a ''ballet shoe'', is a type of shoe worn by ballet dancers when performing pointe technique, pointe work. Pointe shoes were conceived in response to the desire for dancers to appear weightless and sylph-li ...

s 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, especia ...

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 Lord & Taylor was an American department store chain founded in 1826 by Samuel Lord. It had 86 full-line stores in the Northeastern United States at its peak in the 2000s, and 38 locations at the time of its liquidation in 2021. The Lord & Tay ...

Neiman-Marcus Neiman Marcus is an American department store chain founded in 1907 in Dallas, Texas by Herbert Marcus, his sister Carrie Marcus Neiman, and her husband Abraham Lincoln Neiman. It has been owned by Saks Global, a spin-off of the Hudson ...

, 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 Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director 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, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...

Alicia Alonso Alicia Alonso (born Alicia Ernestina de la Caridad del Cobre Martínez del Hoyo; 21 December 1920 – 17 October 2019) was a Cuban prima ballerina assoluta and choreographer whose company became the Ballet Nacional de Cuba in 1955. She is bes ...

Bob Fosse Robert Louis Fosse (; June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American choreographer, dancer, filmmaker, and stage director. Known for his work on stage and screen, he is arguably the most influential figure in the field of jazz dance in th ...

Gregory Hines Gregory Oliver Hines (February 14, 1946 – August 9, 2003) was an American dancer, actor, choreographer, and singer. He is one of the most celebrated tap dancers of all time. As an actor, he is best known for '' Wolfen'' (1981), '' The Cotton C ...

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, ...

Ben Vereen Benjamin Augustus Vereen (né Middleton; October 10, 1946) is an American actor, dancer and singer. He gained prominence for his performances in the original Broadway productions of the musicals ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', for which he received ...

David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani Shelton ( ; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani rose to fame as a member and lead vocalist of the band No Doubt, whose hit singles include " Just a Girl", " Spiderwebs", an ...

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

and

Maddie Ziegler Madison Nicole Ziegler (; born September 30, 2002) is an American actress and dancer. She appeared in Lifetime (TV network), Lifetime's reality show ''Dance Moms'' from 2011 (at age 8) until 2016, and starred in a series of music videos by Si ...

Capezio Dance Award

The company established the "Capezio Dance Award" in 1952 to recognize significant achievements in dance. 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 su ...

* 1954:

Doris Humphrey Doris Batcheller Humphrey (October 17, 1895 – December 29, 1958) was an American dancer and choreographer of the early twentieth century. Along with her contemporaries Martha Graham and Katherine Dunham, Humphrey was one of the second gen ...

* 1955:

Louis Horst Louis Horst (born January 12, 1884, Kansas City, Missouri – died January 23, 1964, New York City) was a composer, and pianist. He helped to define the principles of modern dance choreographic technique, most notably the matching of choreography ...

*1956: Genevieve Oswald * 1957:

Ted Shawn Ted Shawn (born Edwin Myers Shawn; October 21, 1891 – January 9, 1972) was an American dancer and choreographer. Considered a pioneer of American modern dance, he created the Denishawn School together with his wife Ruth St. Denis. After their ...

* 1958:

Alexandra Danilova Aleksandra Dionisyevna Danilova (''Russian'': Александра Дионисьевна Данилова; November 20, 1903 – July 13, 1997) was a Russian-born prima ballerina, who became an American citizen. In 1989, she was recognized f ...

* 1959:

Sol Hurok Sol Hurok (also Solomon Israilevich Hurok; born Solomon Izrailevich Gurkov, Russian language, Russian Соломон Израилевич Гурков; April 9, 1888March 5, 1974) was a 20th-century American impresario. Early life Hurok was born ...

* 1960:

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer, teacher and choreographer, whose style, the Graham technique, reshaped the dance world and is still taught in academies worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over s ...

* 1961:

Ruth St. Denis Ruth St. Denis (born Ruth Dennis; January 20, 1879 – July 21, 1968) was an American pioneer of modern dance, introducing eastern ideas into the art and paving the way for other women in dance. She was inspired by the Delsarte advocate Gene ...

* 1962:

Barbara Karinska Varvara Jmoudsky, better known as Barbara Karinska or simply Karinska (October 3, 1886 – October 18, 1983), was the Oscar-winning costumier of cinema, ballet, musical and dramatic theatre, lyric opera and ice spectacles. Over her 50-year care ...

* 1963:

Donald McKayle Donald McKayle (July 6, 1930 – April 6, 2018) was an American modern dancer, choreographer, teacher, director and writer best known for creating socially conscious concert works during the 1950s and '60s that focus on expressing the human con ...

* 1964:

José Limón José Arcadio Limón (January 12, 1908 – December 2, 1972) was a dancer and choreographer from Mexico and who developed what is now known as 'Limón technique'. In the 1940s, he founded the José Limón Dance Company (now the Limón Dan ...

* 1965:

Maria Tallchief Maria Tallchief, born Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief ( "Two-Standards"; Osage language, Osage family name: , Osage script: ; January 24, 1925 – April 11, 2013), was an Osage Tribe, Osage and American ballerina. She was America's first major p ...

* 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) Paul Belville Taylor Jr. (July 29, 1930 – August 29, 2018) was an American dancer and choreographer. He was one of the last living members of the third generation of America's modern dance artists.The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed ...

* 1968:

Lucia Chase Lucia Hosmer Chase (March 24, 1897 – January 9, 1986) was an American dancer, actress, ballet director and also the co-founder of the American Ballet Theatre. Life and career Chase was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, the daughter of Elizabe ...

* 1969:

John Martin (dance critic) John Martin (June 2, 1893 – May 19, 1985) became America's first major dance critic in 1927. Focusing his efforts on propelling the modern dance movement, he greatly influenced the careers of dancers such as Martha Graham. Within his life he wro ...

*1970:

William Kolodney William Kolodney (1899 – January 18, 1976) was a Russian-born American cultural educator and program director for two major New York City institutions, the 92nd Street Y and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Early life and education Kolodney was ...

* 1971: Arthur Mitchell * 1972: La Meri, Reginald Laubin, Gladys Laubin * 1973: Isadora Bennett * 1974:

Robert Joffrey Robert Joffrey (December 24, 1930 – March 25, 1988) was an American dancer, teacher, producer, choreographer, and co-founder of the Joffrey Ballet, known for his highly imaginative modern ballets. He was born Anver Bey Abdullah Jaffa Khan in Se ...

* 1975: Robert Augustine Irving * 1976:

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

* 1977:

Merce Cunningham Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...

* 1978:

Hanya Holm Hanya Holm (born Johanna Eckert; 3 March 1893 – 3 November 1992) is known as one of the "Big Four" founders of American modern dance. She was a dancer, choreographer, and above all, a dance educator. Early life, connection with Mary Wigman Bo ...

* 1979:

Alvin Ailey Alvin Ailey Jr. (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Cent ...

*1980: Walter Terry (dance critic) *1981: Dorothy Alexander * 1982:

Alwin Nikolais Alwin Nikolais (November 25, 1910 – May 8, 1993) was an American choreographer, dancer, composer, musician, and teacher. He created the Nikolais Dance Theatre, and was known for his self-designed innovative costume, lighting, and production des ...

* 1983: Harvey Lichtenstein * 1984:

Willam Christensen Willam Farr Christensen (August 27, 1902 – October 14, 2001)Was born Christian William Christensen, until his mother changed his name to William Farr Christensen, to include her maiden name. As a professional dancer in San Francisco, Christense ...

Lew Christensen Lewellyn Farr Christensen (May 6, 1909 – October 9, 1984) was a ballet dancer, choreographer and director for many companies. He was largely associated with George Balanchine and the San Francisco Ballet, which he directed from 1952–1984. O ...

, Harold Christiansen *1985: Doris Hering * 1986:

Antony Tudor Antony Tudor (born William Cook; 4 April 1908 – 19 April 1987) was an English ballet choreographer, teacher and dancer. He founded the London Ballet, and later the Philadelphia Ballet Guild in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., in the mid-195 ...

* 1987:

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev (17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer. Nureyev is widely regarded as the preeminent male ballet dancer of his generation as well as one of the greatest ballet dancers of all ...

, Jac Venza * 1988: Charles "Honi" Coles * 1989:

Edward Villella Edward Villella (born October 1, 1936) is an American ballet dancer and choreographer. He is frequently cited as America's most celebrated male dancer of ballet at the time. He has won numerous awards, including the Daytime Emmy Award for Out ...

* 1990: Jacques d'Amboise * 1991:

John Curry John Anthony Curry, (9 September 1949 – 15 April 1994) was a British figure skater. He was the 1976 European, World and Olympic Champion. He was noted for combining ballet and modern dance influences into his skating. Early life Curry was ...

Katherine Dunham Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 – May 21, 2006) was an African American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century and directed her own dance compan ...

Darci Kistler Darci Kistler (born June 4, 1964) is an American ballerina. She is often said to be the last muse for choreographer George Balanchine. Early life Kistler was born in Riverside, California, the fifth child (with four older brothers) of a medic ...

Igor Youskevitch Igor Youskevitch (, ) (13 March 1912 – 13 June 1994) was a ballet dancer and a choreographer of Russian-Ukrainian origin, famous as one of the greatest male ballet dancers of the 20th century, as a master of the classic style, e.g., in ''After ...

* 1992:

Frederic Franklin Frederic Franklin (13 June 1914 – 4 May 2013), sometimes also called "Freddie", was a British-American ballet dancer, choreographer and director. Dancer Born in Liverpool, England, Frederic Franklin claimed that on seeing the 1924 film ...

* 1993: Dance/USA * 1994:

Urban Bush Women Urban Bush Women (UBW), founded in 1984 by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, is a Brooklyn, New York-based non-profit dance company and professional African-American women's dance company. The ensemble performs choreography by Zollar and several other chore ...

* 1995: Bruce Marks * 1996: Charles L. Reinhart * 1997: Mark Morris * 1998:

Jacob's Pillow Jacob's Pillow is a Dance studio, dance center, school and performance space located in Becket, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires. The facility itself was listed as a National Historic Landmark District in 2003. History The site of Jacob's Pi ...

Foundation trustees * 1999:

Bella Lewitsky Bella is a feminine given name. It is a diminutive form of names ending in -bella. ''Bella'' is related to the Italian, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese and Latin words for beautiful, and to the name Belle (given name), Belle, meaning ''beautiful'' in F ...

* 2000: David R. White *2001:

Career Transition for Dancers Career Transition For Dancers was invented in 1985. It has 4,600 active dancer-clients and has helped dancers in 47 states with their transitions through mobile National Outreach Projects. History In 1982, several foundations and unions including ...

* 2002: Michael M. Kaiser * 2003:

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Founded in 1958, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is the largest modern dance company in the United States.Dance Data Project (October 2024) 2024 Largest Contemporary and Modern Companies Report Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater ...

* 2004:

Savion Glover Savion Glover (born November 19, 1973) is an American tap dancer, actor and choreographer. Early life The youngest of three sons, Glover was born to a white father, who left the family before he was born, and a black mother. Glover's great-grand ...

* 2005:

Suzanne Farrell Suzanne Farrell (born August 16, 1945) is a former American ballerina and the founder of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Farrell began her ballet training as a child in Cincinnati. In 1960, she received a ...

* 2006: Donald Saddler *2007: Carmen de Lavallade *2008: Chuck Davis *2009: Arlene Shuler *2010:

Trisha Brown Trisha Brown (November 25, 1936 – March 18, 2017) was an American choreographer and dancer, and one of the founders of the Judson Dance Theater and the postmodern dance movement. Brown’s dance/movement method, with which she and her danc ...

*2011:

Desmond Richardson Desmond Richardson is an American dancer, actor and co-founder, and co-artistic director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet. He has mastered a wide range of dance forms including hip hop, classical, modern, classical ballet, and contemporary bal ...

*2012:

Tommy Tune Thomas James Tune (born February 28, 1939) is an American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer. Over the course of his career, he has won ten Tony Awards, the National Medal of Arts, and a star on the Hollywood Wal ...

*2013:

Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1965 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance, which merged with American Ballet Theatre in 1988. She regrouped the compa ...

*2014:

Cynthia Gregory Cynthia Kathleen Gregory (born July 8, 1946) is an American former prima ballerina. Career Born in Los Angeles, Gregory took up dancing when she was five, with the encouragement of her parents, who hoped exercise would stem her history of childho ...

*2015:

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

*2018:

Debbie Allen Deborah Kaye Allen (born January 16, 1950) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an Emmy Award ...

, David Parsons,

Michelle Dorrance Michelle Dorrance (born September 12, 1979) is an American tap dancer, performer, choreographer, teacher and director. Awarded a MacArthur Fellows Program, MacArthur "Genius Grant", she is the Founder and artistic director of Dorrance Dance. Do ...

, Mr. Wiggles,

Wendy Whelan Wendy Whelan (; born May 7, 1967) is an American ballet dancer. She was principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and performed with the company for 30 years, and toured in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Whelan has also been an influential gue ...

Capezio A.C.E. Awards

The Capezio A.C.E. Awards competition ran from 2009–2021 and recognized influential choreographers. Around 150 to 250 choreographers applied each year and 15 finalists were selected to compete for winner, 1st runner-up, and 2nd runner-up. Monetary prizes are awarded to help fund the choreographers next piece, respectively, $15,000, $5,000, and $3,000. All styles of dance are represented, including tap, jazz, ballet, modern, lyrical, and musical theater. Award Recipients and Winning Pieces: * 2009:

Travis Wall Travis Michael Wall (born September 16, 1987) is an American dancer, instructor, and choreographer specializing in contemporary and jazz dance styles. He rose to international attention in 2006 as a competitor on the second season of the Fox ...

, "Its Gonna Be A Long Walk" * 2010: Peter Chu * 2011: Al Blackstone, "Brown Eyed Girl" * 2012:

Melinda Sullivan Melinda Sullivan (born September 30, 1987) is an American dancer, choreographer and actress. She is known for her work on the U.S. version of ''So You Think You Can Dance'', where she was a contestant in the television series' seventh season, an ...

, "Something More" * 2013: Erica Sobol, "Black Flies/Heavy Skies" * 2014: Talia Favia, "The Difference Between Actions and Words" * 2015: Kristen Russell, "Islands" * 2016: Martha Nichols, "Tilted" * 2017: Will Johnstone and Marissa Osato, "Peel" * 2018: Mary Grace McNally, "Not For Picking" * 2020: Grayson McGuire and Shiori Kamijo, "Boots" * 2021: Taylor Tsvyetkov, "You Broke Me First"

Notes

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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 American dance awards 1887 establishments in New York (state)