Gaynor Minden is the trade name of Gaynor Minden, Inc., an American company that makes shoes, clothing, accessories, and training aids for

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

rs.

History

Gaynor Minden was founded in 1992 by husband and wife John Minden and Eliza Gaynor Minden in their New York City apartment. Its only product was the patented

pointe shoe A pointe shoe (, ), also called a ballet toe shoe or simply toe shoe, is a type of shoe worn by ballet dancers when performing pointe work. Pointe shoes were conceived in response to the desire for dancers to appear weightless and sylph-like an ...

that Eliza, a devoted amateur dancer, had designed and developed over the preceding eight years — the first pointe shoe to successfully utilize modern materials in its construction. In 1993, Gaynor Minden opened a boutique in the parlor of a nineteenth century brownstone in the

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, where customers are fitted for pointe shoes by a staff of specially trained dancers and former dancers. Gaynor Minden also sold shoes by mail order using detailed questionnaires and foot tracings and established a wholesale business serving specialty dance wear stores. In 1996 John Minden secured the

domain Domain may refer to: Mathematics *Domain of a function, the set of input values for which the (total) function is defined **Domain of definition of a partial function **Natural domain of a partial function **Domain of holomorphy of a function * Do ...

dancer.com, making Gaynor Minden the first pointe shoe available on the internet. The original line of pointe shoes grew widely, and now includes an extensive range of size, shape, stiffness, and satin options for stock shoes. Further customizations are available by special order. All pointe shoes are handmade in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The original USA factory closed in 2020. Distribution extends to over 80 countries and to over 200 major

ballet companies A ballet company is a type of dance troupe which performs classical ballet, neoclassical ballet, and/or contemporary ballet in the European tradition, plus managerial and support staff. Most major ballet companies employ dancers on a year-round bas ...

Products

Gaynor Minden specializes in shoes and clothing specifically for

ballet dancer A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...

s, but over the years it has expanded its offerings to include technique slippers,

leotard A leotard () is a unisex skin-tight one-piece garment that covers the torso from the crotch to the shoulder. The garment was made famous by the French acrobatic performer Jules Léotard (1838–1870). There are sleeveless, short-sleeved, and lo ...

tights Tights are a kind of cloth garment, most often sheathing the body from the waist to the toe tips with a tight fit, hence the name. They come in absolute opaque, opaque, sheer and fishnet styles — or a combination, such as the original concept ...

, warm ups, accessories,

tutus Abu Sa'id Taj al-Dawla Tutush (; died 25 February 1095) or Tutush I, was the Seljuk emir of Damascus from 1078 to 1092, and sultan of Damascus from 1092 to 1094. Years under Malik Shah Tutush was a brother of the Seljuk sultan Malik-Shah I. In 10 ...

, and training aids suitable for other types of dance as well as ballet.

Pointe Shoe Manufacturing

Gaynor Minden's unique manufacturing system employs injection molded, thermoplastic elastomeric shanks and toe boxes, in a choice of stiffness. Impact and noise absorbing cellular urethane cushioning is located throughout the shoe. The exterior is traditional satin and a suede outer sole; the linings are treated with silver ion and combined directly to the satin. An elastic drawstring opens at the side. Unlike turnshoe manufacturing pleats are not used.

Notable Users

Source:{{Cite web, url=https://dancer.com/ambassadors/, title=Gaynor Minden - Our Ambassadors, website=www.dancer.com *

Gillian Murphy Gillian Murphy ( ; born April 11, 1979) is an American ballet dancer who is a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre. Early life and education Raised in Florence, South Carolina, Murphy was a member of Columbia City Ballet before att ...

, Principal Dancer,

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

* Svetlana Zakharova, Principal Dancer,

The Bolshoi Ballet The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...

Ekaterina Kondaurova Ekaterina Kondaurova (russian: Екатерина Кондаурова; born 20 August 1982) is a Russian ballet dancer, currently one of the stars of the Mariinsky Ballet from Saint Petersburg. Early life Born in Moscow, Kondaurova is the daug ...

, Principal Dancer, The Mariinsky Ballet *

Zenaida Yanowsky Zenaida Yanowsky, Lady Keenlyside (born 23 December 1975), is a French-born Spanish ballet dancer and a former principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London. Early life Yanowsky was born in Lyon, France, where her parents, Russian ballet dan ...

, Principal Dancer, The Royal Ballet *

Alina Cojocaru Alina Cojocaru (born 27 May 1981) is a Romanian ballet dancer. She was previously a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet and a lead principal with the English National Ballet. Early years Alina Cojocaru was born and raised in Bucharest, Roman ...

, Principal Dancer,

English National Ballet English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish ...

Jurgita Dronina Jurgita Dronina (born 27 March 1986) is a Russian-Lithuanian ballet dancer. She is a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada, having previously danced with Royal Swedish Ballet, Dutch National Ballet and English National Ballet. Earl ...

, Principal Dancer,

National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca as the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...

*Amanda Green, Principal Dancer,

Royal Winnipeg Ballet The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America. History It was founded in 1939 as the "Winnipeg Ballet Club" by Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally (who also fou ...

* Igone de Jonge, Principal Dancer,

Dutch National Ballet The Dutch National Ballet (Dutch: Het Nationale Ballet) is the official and largest ballet company in the Netherlands. History The Dutch National Ballet was formed in 1961 when the Amsterdam Ballet and the Nederlands Ballet merged. The company h ...

Erica Cornejo Erica Cornejo (born 1978/79) is an Argentine ballet dancer who was a principal dancer with the Boston Ballet. Early life Cornejo was born in San Luis, Argentina and raised in Buenos Aires. Her younger brother, Herman Cornejo, is currently a prin ...

, Principal Dancer,

Boston Ballet The Boston Ballet is an American professional classical ballet company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams and Sydney Leonard, and was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. I ...

* Viengsay Valdes, Prima Ballerina, Ballet Nacional de Cuba *

Evgenia Obraztsova Evgenia Viktorovna Obraztsova (russian: Евге́ния Ви́кторовна Образцо́ва; born 18 January 1984) is a Russian ballerina. She is a prima ballerina with the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, and with the Mariinsky Ballet. Early ...

, Principal Dancer, The Bolshoi Ballet *Ekaterina Shipulina, Principal Dancer, The Bolshoi Ballet *

Olga Smirnova Olga Smirnova may refer to: *Olga Smirnova (dancer) (born 1991), Russian ballet dancer *Olga Smirnova (wrestler) Olga Vladimirovna Smirnova (russian: Ольга Владимировна Смирнова; born May 11, 1979, in Novocheboksarsk, S ...

, Principal Dancer, The Bolshoi Ballet *Laura Bosenberg, Principal Dancer,

Cape Town City Ballet The Cape Town City Ballet Company, formerly known as the CAPAB Ballet Company, is a dance company based in Cape Town, South Africa. History The Cape Town City Ballet originated from the UCT Ballet Company, which was established by Dulcie Howe ...

*Claudia Mota, Principal Dancer, Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro *

Alina Somova Alina Alekseevna Somova (russian: Али́на Алексе́евна Со́мова; born 22 October 1985) is a Russian ballet dancer and principal dancer with the Mariinsky Ballet of Saint Petersburg. Early life When Somova was young, she went ...

, Principal Dancer, The Mariinsky Ballet * Michaela de Prince, Soloist, Dutch National Ballet * Maria Riccetto, Prima Ballerina, Ballet National del Sodre *Nadia Muzyca, Principal Dancer, Teatro Colón

References

Dancewear companies Sportswear brands Pointe shoe manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in New York City