The Hall of Dance Direct - About us

A dancer should be a free spirit and we aim to help inspire all dancers to DANCE and set their spirit free! By wearing the latest technologically advanced dancewear from the worlds leading designers we aspire to help you with your passion to dance and set your SPRIT FREE!

 
Welcome to The Hall of Dance Direct! 

Founded in January 2007 by a passionate dancer and dance teacher, The Hall of Dance strives to offer a unique and exciting shopping experience that exceeds all of your expectations. We offer two shopping solutions for you. You can visit our retail outlet located in the historic market town of Ashby De La Zouch, Leicestershire where you can feel the “buzz” of dancewear as you browse our store or you can shop online right here on our dedicated online store! We sell only the best quality items that we would be pleased to purchase ourselves and offer you, our customers, a fantastic product with unrivalled service.


Customer service is of paramount importance to all at The Hall of Dance Direct and as such, we endeavour to deliver this at all times. We welcome your comments on what you liked, or how we could improve, and we regularly review our performance to maintain the highest level of service that we can achieve.

The Hall of Dance Direct have selected the best designers from around the world, making sure that you only get the very best!

Bloch brings you innovations in technical dance footwear and dancewear. Our experience and history of dance dates from 1932 when a master craftsman Jacob Bloch began making pointe shoes. Bloch's product range now extends to dance shoes and dance apparel for classical ballet, contemporary, jazz, tap, chorus through to ballroom, latin, salsa and hip hop.

Salvatore Capezio was born on April 13, 1871 in Muro Lucano, Italy. Uninterested in following in his fathers footsteps as a construction engineer, he became an artist of his own right, a cobbler. In 1887, at the age of 17, he opened his shop on Broadway and 39th Street, diagonally across from the old Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. At the time, the Statue of Liberty was barely a year old and the sign above his door read: The Theatrical & Historical Shoemaker.

He started out repairing theatrical shoes for the Met and his excellent craftsmanship and his easy-going personality made him a favorite among the dancers. After making an emergency pair of shoes for Jean De Reszke, Salvatore made the transition from cobbler to shoemaker. He had found that making dance shoes, pointe shoes in particular, was a challenging balance between delicate construction and complex engineering
Soon, the shop became a meeting place for dancers who would stop by to discuss their needs and to get a pair of his shoes. One dancer in particular, Angelina Passone, a graduate of La Scala, lingered over the discussion of her shoes and would later become his wife. As his popularity grew, dancers from around the world made it a point to visit him and purchase his shoes. In fact, Anna Pavlova purchased Capezio pointe shoes for herself and her entire company during her first tour of the United States in 1910. Pavlova's generous praise of Capezio pointe shoes ensured Salvatore's success.

As his fame grew, he entrusted his most precious shoemaking secrets to his family who joined him in the business. This expansion allowed for his business to grow and by the 1930's Capezio products were dancing across Broadway in the Ziegfeld Follies and in dozens of other musicals. In 1941 Claire McCardell showed the Capezio long-sole ballet shoe with her collection prompting Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus and other major stores to buy and promote Capezio footwear. This trend was so strong that in 1949 Capezio was featured on a cover of Vogue. As a major fashion influence, Capezio received the Coty Award, fashion's highest accolade, in 1952.

The innovation of the products that Salvatore Capezio created and the camaraderie he shared with the dancers molded the direction that his company would follow. In this image, The Capezio Foundation was established to promote and recognize ongoing achievements and participation in dance. The Capezio Dance Award was created to honor those who have made a continuous and major contribution to dance.

When Salvatore Capezio retired, he not only left behind a legacy, he left behind a genuine craft and an unsurpassed gift to the dance community. Continuing the legacies that Salvatore began are third and fourth generation family members and their commitment to dance is just as strong. The business that Salvatore began in 1887 and the business that his family runs today is vastly different but the core of our mission remains the same. Today, dance is a lifestyle, an attitude and a basis for exercise. Capezio®/Ballet Makers has and will continue to value and support the growing dance community.

The dance family now includes ice skaters and to support them we established Skatewear by Capezio in 1998 with Olympic Gold Medalist Tara Lipinski as our spokes model. In the same year, we also established Dancesport by Capezio to welcome the 2000 Olympics where ballroom dancing, the newest Olympic exhibition sport, will be in the limelight. Capezio are also an official sponsor of Dancesport Championship Limited (DCL).

Capezio products remain in the forefront in quality and in technological advances with innovations like the split-sole, the stretch-insert, the Dansneaker® and the Tapsneaker. In addition, we have established partnerships with some of the brightest young stars and with some of the hottest Broadway shows. Over 100 years after Salvatore fixed a pair of shoes for the Met, Capezio's SMU Theatrical Department is still hand crafting footwear for many shows and company's including the casts of The Lion King and Cats and for Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Disney World and Disney Land.

Sansha have over 50 years of European Pointe shoe making.

The European firm Rumpf focuses on the special needs of the dancer to manufacture the highest quality products.  Rumpf design supports your movements in total comfort with the widest range of fashion choices. Enjoy the dance experience with confidence.

BRIAN FRIEDMAN BOOTS

 SPECIAL OFFER!

From £52.95