Kathryn Sullivan Endorses Gaynor Minden

Kathryn Sullivan, master ballet teacher, educator, and respected authority on teaching pointe work will appear in Gaynor Minden’s acclaimed “Amazing…Effortless” advertising campaign.

“Gaynor Mindens are excellent for the beginning pointe student. They enable the dancer to build her own strength in the foot, without overly relying on the shoe. They encourage the correct position of the toes, and provide just enough resistance for a smooth roll-up and roll-down. I strongly recommend this shoe–along with good training–as a perfect way to be introduced to the wonderful world of pointe work! It’s the shoe of the new generation,” she says.

Ms. Sullivan has been recommending the high tech and sometimes controversial pointe shoe to her students since 1995, just after it was introduced and long before it gained wide acceptance. Eliza Minden, the shoe’s creator says, “I’m enormously grateful to Kathy for having supported Gaynor Mindens when they were little known and a brand new concept. She believed in them long before they were regularly seen at the Met, Covent Garden, and the Maryinsky.”

A leading teacher of ballet and pointe, Ms. Sullivan has prestigious dance credentials. She is a professor at Barnard College and at New York University. She has published numerous articles on the teaching of pointework in major dance publications, created instructional videos on the subject, and for the past fifteen years been a leading teacher at one of New York City’s top dance schools, Steps on Broadway.

Ms. Sullivan joins legendary ballerina and teacher Melissa Hayden in participating in the Gaynor Minden endorsement campaign, which expanded in the Spring of 2006 to include prominent ballet teachers along with its celebrity dancers

The “Amazing…Effortless” advertisements all include the headline “It’s Amazing What Goes Into Making Something Effortless.” They show leading dancers who regularly and exclusively wear Gaynor Mindens—legitimate long term users, not just models—in performance, rehearsal, or class. The ads illustrate various aspects of the effort that goes into creating ballet’s look of effortlessness, or show examples of achieving it onstage. Participants include American Ballet Theatre’s Gillian Murphy, Maria Riccetto, Veronika Part, Erica Cornejo, Zhong-Jing Fang, and Kristi Boone; The Royal Ballet’s Alina Cojocaru, Zenaida Yanowsky, and Alexandra Ansanelli; The Royal Winnipeg’s Tara Birtwhistle, and The Kirov’s Tatiana Tchachenko among others.

John Minden, C.E.O. of Gaynor Minden, Inc. says, “Adding highly respected ballet teachers to the campaign acknowledges the importance of teachers in the process of creating a dancer’s technique and artistry. It’s training as well as talent that makes for great dancing.

“The new ads should also allay any concerns that other teachers, who may not have much familiarity with Gaynor Mindens, might have about their students using them.” Eliza Minden adds, “It’s now common knowledge that a lot of major dancers are using Gaynor Minden. Where there is still controversy and confusion is at the student level, and that’s why we’re showcasing teachers.”

Ms. Sullivan is also acclaimed for her choreography which has been presented at Joyce Soho, Cunningham Studio, New Choreographers on Pointe, commissioned by Barnard College and seen in numerous STEPS BEYOND showcases. She is a founding member of InnerLandscapes, a dance theater choreography collective.

Ms. Sullivan has written numerous articles for Dance Teacher, DANCER, Dance Spirit, and Pointe magazines, relating to pointe technique, leg shapes, teaching approaches, and ballet choreography. She appeared in The Pointe Book, advised on The Ballet Companion, made an instructional pointe training video through Hoctor Dance, Pointe Level 1, and collaborated on music CDs for ballet class, produced by Roper.

As a professional dancer she performed with the Boston Ballet, Les Grands Ballet Canadians, and Le Ballet de Nancy. She has taught at Broadway Dance Center, Ballet Hispanico, La Guardia High School of Performing Arts, New Jersey Ballet, and has done master classes and judging for Dance Masters of America, Professional Dance Teachers Association, and National Association of Dance and Affiliated Arts. For eight years she worked for the New York City Ballet’s Education Department, designing and presenting ballet workshops in public schools.

Unlike traditional pointe shoes in which the satin exterior covers internal components of leather, cardboard, paper, and/or burlap, held together with paste, Gaynor Minden’s internal components are durable thermoplastic elastomerics and resilient, impact-absorbing urethane foam. They are made in the U.S.A. For more information visit www.dancer.com.

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