Photography by Paul Swanson
If your spending habits on shoes give Carrie Bradshaw a run for her money, consider this: Citie Ballet spends about $25,000 annually on pointe shoes for its dancers, who go through a pair per week of the requisite $125 pair of shoes. As a way to fundraise for this expenditure, Citie Ballet Executive Director Sheri Somerville created the Art and Sole event. “We thought: Let’s do a fashion show based on footwear,” says Somerville. “We have a real focus on feet as a ballet company, as everything is dependent on the dancers’ feet being in good shape.”
“We are so excited that Edmontonians support their arts companies,” continues Somerville. “Edmontonians are a really engaged group and we have a very loyal base. We appreciate people coming to our show whether it’s to see shoes or see what Citie Ballet has to offer.”
Avenue Edmonton’s Best New Restaurant, Chartier, catered the event at the ATB Financial Arts Barn and 60 local businesses donated prizes for the silent auction. Nine models – including four dancers from the company – walked the runway in clothing by Workhall, jewellery by So Pretty Cara Cotter, socks by Good Luck Sock, and footwear from local retailers Kunitz Shoes, March First Footwear and Poppy Barley.
