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Yea! It is time to buy pointe shoes! Always fun, but a bit intimidating. At least it was for me. Great pointe shoes are your ticket to an effortless performance with less blisters (ew), if you can find the right pair. This shoe, more than any other, must "fit like a glove." Accomplishing this can take time and effort, like most things in dance, and it is well worth it.
I've spent a lot of time, and money, trying to find the right shoes for me. It took me 4 years of pointe before I found my perfect shoe: the Chacott. Love them. I knew they were right for me because it was the one that felt the least like a shoe. All the others, Capezios, Freeds, they felt like a block on the end of my foot. Now that is just me. For every type of shoe there is, I have heard of someone who loves them. So... "What shoes are right for me?" Isn't that the big question? Scroll down for great information on how to find the perfect pair for you.
**The suggestions made here are assuming that you have been approved by an instructor to dance on pointe. Pointe work is demanding and if done incorrectly can be dangerous.If you have questions about whether or not you should be on pointe,
read the International Associations for Dance Medicine & Science's resource for when to start pointe.
Until you know what shoe and size works for you, I'd recommend going to an actual store and trying them on. It is much easier than buying online and returning if they aren't right. If you are going to buy online, check out my tips and needed information for
buying dance shoes online.
If you have a store nearby, use it. If you don't have a pointe shoe store in your area, don't worry. Below is a list of things I wish I would have known about before going in my first time. Understanding these things will shorten the time you have to spend trying on shoes and will make you look like a serious dancer who knows what she is talking about. Who doesn't want that? Pointe shoes take time and expertise to create. They end up on your feet and allow you to move in fabulous ways. I don't have room to go into the history here, but if you are intrigued (isn't this stuff fun?), follow this link for a
history
on the pointe shoe.
There is an awesome site that talks about the history of specific brands of pointe shoes, including one created by Baryshnikov! It's cool to see how the different parts of the shoe have developed over time. If you are passionate about pointe shoes,
I recomend checking out this charming site.
The 3 most important parts to be familiar with are: Box/Platform Vamp Shank The platform is the most straight forward. It is the flat part at the tip of the shoe (the part you stand on). The box includes the stiff area around your toes. Basically it is the hard part around your toes that provides support to your foot. While there are some variance in the hardness of a box, the biggest difference in stiffness will be in how you break in the shoe and how strong your foot is. What will vary, and what you need to pay attention to, is the size/width of the box. Ok? I'll talk more about this below. The vamp is the front part of the box, or the part that covers from the tips of your toes to your knuckles. The vamp is mostly referred to in relation to how tall it is. This is important and should be relative to the length of your toes. The shank is one of my favorite parts of pointe shoes. This is the stiff piece that supports your arch. It lies under the insole. Just know that different types of shoes have different recipes for their shanks, which means different stiffness. Click here for extra info about
shanks.
Use your knowledge of the parts of the point shoe help you help your shoe sales associate. When you get to the shoe store, feel free to let the shoe associate know that you think you will need, for example, a longer vamp, and then ask what they think. This will help them have a good starting point for helping you find the shoe you need. Second...
1. Depth and strength of your archThe strength of your arch will determine how thick or strong of a shank you need. Is your arch all show (like mine), deep, but not much umph to it? Or do you have the Amazon woman's arch, with the power to break a shoe just by looking at it? Or are you somewhere in between? If you haven't yet, look at your foot. Where do you fall? Now when you go in to the store to buy your shoes, you can tell the associate that you have arches that can crush a can and she will be able to pull the types of shoes that have stronger arches. Or... You can tell her that your foot happens to be pretty much without an arch and she will pull the shoes with a shank that will best compliment what you do have.
2. The other parts of your foot There is more to your foot than the arch. You also have to consider the width, toes and your foot's average sweatiness (seriously). The width of your foot (across the knuckles) is important, not only for your own comfort, but also because much of your weight should be supported by the shoe at the ball of the foot. Basically, you don't want your foot sinking into your shoe, but you don't want your feet to be cramped either. Not too complicated, right? :) Knowing the length of your toes will help you determine the right vamp. Longer toes need a deeper vamp so that your knuckles don't end up popping out and visa-versa. The shape of your toes comes into play when one of your middle toes is the longest toe. This means all of the pressure of your body is landing primarily on that toe. He won't be a happy camper for long. In this case, you may need to pack extra
lamb’s wool
into your shoes to try to even the toes out.
Which brings us to my third tip...
An important part to making shoes work for you is finding the right
accessories to make near perfect shoes work.
There are a ton of smart people who have gone to work creating toe
changing accessories and they are as varied as the people who use
them. Click
here
for the accessories I could not live without.
Consider asking older students, or the assistant at the shoe store if they have any suggestions. Remember, just because an accessory works
really well for someone else doesn't mean that it will work for you,
but then again it might! And by asking, you might learn about an
accessory you hadn't considered before!
My fourth and final tip is...
Don't be afraid to be wrong. Chances are that even if your first pick of pointe shoes aren't perfect, they will work. Some of the charms of a shoe won't become apparent until you have spent some time in them. You might grow to love a pair once you have more experience in pointe and the shoes are properly broken in.
Finding your perfect pointe shoe can be hard and a little scary. Use your knowledge about the parts of pointe shoes and your foot. Remember to explore accessories and not be afraid to try until you find the pair that works for you. Remember, it took me over 4 years to find my perfect Chacotts, but I had a few short time favorites along the way. I used Capezio Tendue II's for 2 years! My point is (haha), take a deep breath and enjoy the process!!
4 things you need to know when ordering dance shoes online!
Signs that you might need to retire your shoes.
Go from Pointe Shoe back to Have-to-Dance.com
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