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"Wooden " ballet shoes


Billyelliott

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My DS was given a a pair of what he called "wooden "ballet flats, by his ballet master , to wear to improve his feet - along with another boy in his class ! On closer questioning they were canvas flats with a very stiff full sole - almost like the sole of a pointe shoe , he thought they were made by Freed .

He has lost them and wanted me to buy him some for christmas , but I can't find them on the internet anywhere ! They were an old pair- one of two that just happened to fit the lucky recipients ......he does not want to admit to loosing them, and doesn't think that his teacher knows where they can be purchased and does not wish to let him know they are missing .......

They were just for barre work , not for allegro obviously !

Anyone seen or heard of these !?

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If by chance they were out of the wardrobe at school then they probably were Freed. The pointe shoes that come from the same source are not finished internally to the same standard as those to purchase and look especially tatty and uncomfortable. They do however have the name of who they were made for on the sole, did these shoes as it would help to identify what they are? Is it worth a phone call to the Freed shop to enquire about them?

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When DS went to London Junior & Senior Ballet, they had the younger students using full sole canvas ballet flats because it made their feet work harder. Split soles were not allowed.

 

We used to buy them from Dancing Boutique in Tunbridge Wells and these are the ones on their web site at the moment which looks as if it says Freed on the sole: 

 

http://dancingboutique.com/product/canvas-full-sole-ballet-shoe/

 

Perhaps someone on this forum who has a DC at LJ&SB could say if they still use them and where they are bought from for their shop.

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I'm not sure they would still make them anymore. You mean the old fashioned ballet shoes don't you? Mine were leather upper though.

 

They are a full leather sole and really make your feet work. Need to find an old dance school with an attic full of them.

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What size, I still have ds old ones?

 

He hated them and many students "lost" them!

I intregued by what these shoes are? Do they have a name Hfbrew? I'm assuming they have a much stiffer sole than a normal soled ballet slipper.

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I'm not sure they would still make them anymore. You mean the old fashioned ballet shoes don't you? Mine were leather upper though.

They are a full leather sole and really make your feet work. Need to find an old dance school with an attic full of them.

Ahhh.....my DD's old teacher did indeed give her a pair of shoes that meet this description a number of years ago when she was clearing out the studio. We thought they must have gone hard because of being so old and I binned them - all makes sense now! I have a feeling they were made by Gandolfi - not sure if they are still in business but might be worth checking.
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Oh that's a shame. The ones we had definitely had really thick hard soles.They were almost like soft blocks without the box. They were definitely quite old though. DD's old teacher found them in a box when she was spring cleaning the studio and couldn't remember where they had come from or how long they had been there! It may be that there is no call for them these days, though it might be worth emailing or phoning Gandolfi to ask?

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