Pointe shoe recommendation for narrow feet/lack of natural arch!

[sleep123]

My eldest DD has very narrow feet and much to her dismay no natural arch to her feet- in her defence she does work hard to alter this! She has struggled over the years to find a pointe shoe that she likes....any fellow flat footers found any makes that work for them? She does a lot of pointe but due to her lack of arch takes a while to work them in and has found many makes too hard in the shank. She wasn't overly taken with the pro-flex when she tried them but that was a while ago. Would be interested if any one could come up with any combinations she hasn't tried yet. Thanks for any help you have to offer.

 

[Anna C]

Can you get to Freed in London, Sleep123? If so, try to get a fitting with Beth or Sophie. Freeds come with a huge range of shanks and box strengths and I'm sure your dd will find a pair that suit - or can be altered to suit. I'm wondering about Operas or Classic Light.

 

My dd had a couple of pairs of Grishko 2007 Pro Flex and found them too hard. Bloch Jetstreams were lovely in the shank but may be too wide in the box if your dd has narrow feet. She's been wearing Freeds for a couple of years now and loves them.

[Circe]

Teacher at my daughters dance school recommended Gaynor Mindens to a girl with same issue...  Maybe worth a look, though pricey!

[Sheila Beelam]

I agree Gaynors may be an option, I've seen a dramatic difference in foot placement in fittings.

 

No recent experience of Freeds so would suggest investigate Spanner's ideas too

[Dancer Sugar Plum]

I don't have high arches but I find Grishkos work for me. There is a girl I know with narrow feet and - I believe - not huge arches either but she found the Vaganovas by Grishko worked well for her. You mentioned your DD did not like the pro-flex. If your DD has not tried the Vaganovas and wouldn't mind looking at the pro-flex again, maybe it's worth trying Vaganovas in 'normal' shank and pro-flex?

 

I tried to get fitted with Freeds quite recently (not in London). The shop assistant was very attentive and even especially ordered shoes in my size and width. During the fitting she was also honest with me and told me she did not think I had 'Freed feet'. However, she was happy to let me show them to my teacher, who agreed with the shop assistant. My teacher said she could tell I would struggle to get right over the platform if I was to use those shoes.

 

I've also tried Gaynors, which looked lovely up en pointe and I liked that they were quiet and light. But I have broad feet, and I had problems with my big toe joint during the time I was using Gaynors. But if they had been right for me, I would have liked them very much.

[drdance]

I don't have a high arch and I've recently discovered capezio shoes which really help me get over. Try them.

[Klaris]

Hi Sleep123,

 

My dds feet are very similar - and she has had no end of problems over the years trying to find pointe shoes to fit properly. Grishkos 2007 were good for a time because they fitted up narrow and the wings made the shoe fit snugly in the right place, however very hard to break in properly for her. She then went onto Suffolks as they have lots of different size options, but unfortunately caused problems with bad blisters.

 

She's now got Gaynors, and finds them fantastic - she's dancing on pointe every day as in full time training so they are doing the job, they also make her feet look nice which is a bonus! There are various width options but not all stockists will carry the narrower widths.

 

We got her fitted at Dancia in London. They were very very good. The manager fitted her and really knew her stuff having danced professionally herself for a number of years. 

 

I don't know where you live, but if having to make a trip to London then it might be a good idea to phone the various shops beforehand to explain your dd's situation, and to check what they've got in stock in her size. I've done this before and found it useful.

[Legseleven]

DD weares Grishko Vaganovas and they are indeed suited to narrow feet. They have a high vamp though, which DD likes as it feels safer with her banana feet but may not suit sleep123's daughter, especially as DD has found that the shanks are hard (again, she likes this but it may not be right for sleep123's daughter if she finds many makes too hard in the shank) in comparison to other shoes. Plus the Vaganova is designed for the Russian method of springing onto pointe rather than rolling up onto pointe and although DD has been able to roll up and down correctly (as an RAD student ;-)) from first wearing the shoes, her teachers have said that this is the exception rather than the norm.

 

I would second Klaris's suggestion of visiting the various London shoe shops, including Dancia as they stock many makes and models of shoes and trying on as many options as possible, including Gaynor Mindens, Grishko Vaganovas and the ProFlex Grishko shoes, plus Capezio as suggested by drdance and the Freed options suggested by spannerandpony - and any other Freeds which may be possibilities. Bloch Axis or other 'heatable' shoes might be worth a try as the shanks can be customized?

[MissSugarplumSmall]

I have quite narrow feet without pressure and quite a good arch too but my feet spread quite alot when i am on flat foot or demi pointe. Does anyone have any recommendations as far as pointe shoes go?

[FullContretemps]

I have quite narrow feet (used to be really narrow when I was younger) and they don't have much natural arch - only just enough to be able to do pointe really, though that's also partly because my ankles don't bend that way (have the world's deepest demi plie though!). I wear Gambas and absolutely love them. I started out in 93s which were good, then had a pair of Blochs which didn't really suit my feet and now have Gamba 97s which have a 3/4 shank. This helps with being able to use what foot flexibility I do have and they fit really nicely and are really comfortable.