Investigations

Broadway Ballet Shoes

The Case:

A 13-year old ballet dancer in Long Island, New York, recently learned from her grandmother that her deceased grandfather once made ballet shoes for many of the top dancers in the 1920s and 30s, including the legendary Ziegfeld star Marilyn Miller.

According to grandma's tale, "Master Michele" was a craftsman who immigrated to the U.S. in 1909, spoke virtually no English, yet created superb dance shoes from his tiny workshop on 42nd Street.

The story grew seemingly more fantastic: grandma said her husband's apprentice had been none other than Salvatore Capezio, who went on to become one of the most famous designers of ballet shoes.

Our junior investigator joins the History Detectives as they travel to Louisiana and New York to find out if there is truth to the grandmother's startling tale

Discuss this story

Aired:
Season 3, Episode 9

Detective:
Elyse Luray Location:
Port Washington, New York

Related Content

Comments

This is a place for opinions, comments, questions and discussion; a place where viewers of History Detectives can express their points of view and connect with others who value history. We ask that posters be polite and respectful of all opinions. History Detectives reserves the right to delete comments that don’t conform to this conduct. We will not respond to every post, but will do our best to answer specific questions, or address an error.

 

blog comments powered by Disqus