Capezio is the trade name of Capezio Ballet Makers Inc., an American manufacturer of dance shoes, apparel and accessories.
History In 1887, Salvatore Capezio, an Italian cobbler, emigrated to the United States and opened a shoe repair shop near the old Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. He began his business by repairing theatrical shoes for the Met, and transitioned from cobbler to shoemaker when he created a fine pair of shoes for Polish tenor Jean de Reszke in an emergency. His shop soon became a meeting place for dancers who would stop by to discuss their needs and purchase his shoes.
Over time, his reputation grew and visiting dancers would often come to his shop to purchase shoes. One of those visitors, Anna Pavlova, purchased Capezio pointe shoes for herself and her entire company during her first tour of the United States in 1910, thereby helping Capezio establish wide public visibility.
From 1940, Ben Sommers was president of the company until his death in 1985. He used his position to promote and support dance and performance art, establishing events such as National Dance Week in 1978 and in 1957, the Capezio Dance Award. Under Sommers's tenure, in 1941, Lord & Taylor, Neiman-Marcus, and other stores began to market and distribute Capezio footwear.
Salvatore Capezio's family eventually joined him in the business, and today the company is operated by third- and fourth-generation family members. The company now employs modern, computerized manufacturing systems, though its Special Make-up Department continues to hand craft special order footwear
In 2017, Lynn Shanahan became the first non-family CEO of Capezio.
Notable users Numerous celebrities endorsed the company's products over the years, such as Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Sammy Davis Jr., Alicia Alonso, Bob Fosse, Gregory Hines, Mick Jagger, Liza Minnelli, Ben Vereen, David Lee Roth, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Maddie Ziegler.Brooke, Eliza. "Maddie Ziegler Takes Her Rightful Place as Capezio's Brand Ambassador", Fashionista.com, May 21, 2015
Capezio Dance Award The company established the "Capezio Dance Award" in 1952 to recognize significant achievements in dance. In 1953 it created the Capezio Foundation to administer the awards program and operate a grant program for non-profit organizations.
Award recipients
1952: Zachary Solov 1953: Lincoln Kirstein 1954: Doris Humphrey 1955: Louis Horst 1956: Genevieve Oswald 1957: Ted Shawn 1958: Alexandra Danilova 1959: Sol Hurok 1960: Martha Graham 1961: Ruth St. Denis 1962: Barbara Karinska 1963: Donald McKayle 1964: José Limón 1965: Maria Tallchief 1966: Agnes de Mille 1967: Paul Taylor (choreographer) 1968: Lucia Chase 1969: John Martin (dance critic) 1970: William Kolodney 1971: Arthur Mitchell 1972: La Meri, Reginald Laubin, Gladys Laubin 1973: Isadora Bennett 1974: Robert Joffrey 1975: Robert Augustine Irving 1976: Jerome Robbins 1977: Merce Cunningham 1978: Hanya Holm 1979: Alvin Ailey 1980: Walter Terry 1981: Dorothy Alexander 1982: Alwin Nikolais 1983: Harvey Lichtenstein 1984: Willam Christensen, Lew Christensen, Harold Christiansen 1985: Doris Hering 1986: Antony Tudor 1987: Fred Astaire, Bob Fosse, Rudolf Nureyev, Jac Venza 1988: Charles "Honi" Coles 1989: Edward Villella 1990: Jacques d'Amboise 1991: John Curry, Katherine Dunham, Darci Kistler, Igor Youskevitch 1992: Frederic Franklin 1993: Dance/USA 1994: Urban Bush Women 1995: Bruce Marks 1996: Charles L. Reinhart 1997: Mark Morris 1998: Jacob's Pillow Foundation trustees 1999: Bella Lewitsky 2000: David R. White 2001: Career Transition for Dancers 2002: Michael M. Kaiser 2003: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater 2004: Savion Glover 2005: Suzanne Farrell 2006: Donald Saddler 2007: Carmen de Lavallade 2008: Chuck Davis 2009: Arlene Shuler 2010: Trisha Brown 2011: Desmond Richardson 2012: Tommy Tune 2013: Twyla Tharp 2014: Cynthia Gregory 2015: Juilliard School 2018: Debbie Allen, David Parsons, Michelle Dorrance, Mr. Wiggles, Wendy Whelan
Capezio A.C.E. Awards The Capezio A.C.E. Awards competition ran from 2009–2021 and recognized influential choreographers. Around 150 to 250 choreographers applied each year and 15 finalists were selected to compete for winner, 1st runner-up, and 2nd runner-up. Monetary prizes are awarded to help fund the choreographers next piece, respectively, $15,000, $5,000, and $3,000. All styles of dance are represented, including tap, jazz, ballet, modern, lyrical, and musical theater.
Award Recipients and Winning Pieces:
2009: Travis Wall, "Its Gonna Be A Long Walk" 2010: Peter Chu 2011: Al Blackstone, "Brown Eyed Girl" 2012: Melinda Sullivan, "Something More" 2013: Erica Sobol, "Black Flies/Heavy Skies" 2014: Talia Favia, "The Difference Between Actions and Words" 2015: Kristen Russell, "Islands" 2016: Martha Nichols, "Tilted" 2017: Will Johnstone and Marissa Osato, "Peel" 2018: Mary Grace McNally, "Not For Picking" 2020: Grayson McGuire and Shiori Kamijo, "Boots" 2021: Taylor Tsvyetkov, "You Broke Me First"
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