Special shoes are the shoes which are worned for special purpose. Point shoes, also referred to as toe shoes, are a special type of shoe used by ballet dancers for pointework. They developed from the desire to appear weightless and sylph-like onstage and have evolved to allow extended periods of movement on the tips of the toes. Pointe shoes are normally worn only by female dancers. Snowshoes, are special type of shoes sometimes colloquially referred to as webs, are footwear for walking over snow. Snowshoes work by distributing the weight of the person over a larger area so that the person's foot doesn't sink completely into the snow.