Former dancer Seth Orza debuts ballet shoe with built-in sneaker cushioning

Seth Orza, a former New York City Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet principal, has spent 14 years designing the Orza Pro, a ballet shoe that incorporates shock-absorbing sneaker technology to provide support from the heel up. Orza began the project after suffering plantar fasciitis during his dance career and finding relief from a heel cup that was later discontinued.

The Orza differs from standard ballet shoes by adding a supportive heel and layers of foam to cushion the metatarsal, which Orza says makes the shoe “more stable and safer.” The shoe is built on what Orza describes as sneaker-style shock absorption rather than the generally flat padding of traditional ballet footwear.

Industry figures and dancers offered mixed responses. David Wilkenfeld, creative director of Bloch, said not many advances had been made in men’s ballet shoes and questioned whether drastic change was necessary; Wilkenfeld and Fred Perez of Bloch said they were not influenced by the Orza.

Some dancers have adopted the shoe: City Ballet soloist Harrison Coll uses Orza shoes when he can, and principal Miriam Miller said the shoe has helped her manage Achilles tendinitis and change the way she uses larger muscle groups. The Orza 2.0 retails at $69, compared with a general range of $20 to $50 for traditional shoes, and the company is run by Orza and his wife, Sarah, with advisers including Jonathan Stafford and Craig Hall.

Key Topics

Culture, Seth Orza, City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Plantar Fasciitis, Bloch