Speaking of Communists, they are especially gifted at causing suffering, which makes for good art. In keeping with that, my wife posted about the jewel of her collection of ballet shoes, which was signed by Maya Plisetskaya:

She signed in Russian and English. The shoes are heavily broken in. I had strong feet when I danced, but these shoes are too broken for me to ever have worn! there is literally no blocking left in them. They’re darned around the tip; extra stitches are added at the vamp to add support for the dancer ( Soviet shoes were notorious for breaking down mid-performance) and stitching along the side to take up slack and highlight the foot. They’re absolutely broken and absolutely gorgeous. One of the things I find fascinating with shoes is that, having been a ballet dancer myself, I can read the shoes: date them, look at the ways they’ve been broken in or prepared for use and tell something of the dancer. Here, her shoes tell me she was a powerhouse with incredibly strong feet.

You should read the rest of the post, as she discusses her lineage of dancers and how she honors them.