Industrial Designer Jae-Hyun An has developed a prosthetic leg designed specifically for amputee ballet dancers. Named after Swedish ballet dancer Marie Taglioni, the Marie-T prosthetic leg is made from a 3-D printed socket, foam injected rational moulded foot, carbon fibre, stainless steel toe and rubber grip toe.
In classical ballet, there is a technique called pointe where a dancer supports all body weight on the tips of a fully extended foot within pointe shoes. Due to the stress the pointe position causes to the ballet dancers’ feet, prolonged use is attributed to injuries such as blistering and bruising.
Designing a prosthetic leg that enables amputee ballet dancers to perform in 100% pointe, An states that Marie-T will “push the creation of new choreography for contemporary ballet.”
“I wanted to explore what would happen if you could allow a person to perform on pointe 100 per cent of the time,” said An. “How would ballet change? I wanted to create a tool for someone to take and let their imagination define the capabilities of the product.”
Marie-T’s prosthetic pieces can also be swapped in the case of resizing or replacing due to being worn down.
To learn more about the Marie-T prosthetic leg, click the link below.
