Freeds versus Grishko

[Derin's Mom]

19 hours ago, RuthE said:

 

This is all very well if you are UK-based, but the OP is based in Istanbul...

Now in Istanbul but she will be in Paris next season.

[Derin's Mom]

17 hours ago, valentina said:

She may not be going to vocational school in Turkey.

She is in the state conservatoire in Istanbul, but she will be moving to Paris for 9th grade.

[Derin's Mom]

14 hours ago, Moomin said:

I was going to say the same I think you’ll struggle with freed with a narrow and shallow foot. The lasts they use are not that shape! I know they will tailor make for rbs but if this isn’t available to you, she may struggle to find one. As far as models go I haven’t found one great for narrow feet, particularly if they are also shallow. Wineglass maker is more tapered and narrow than some others and may be worth trying. Will she be able to visit a freed specialist who is able to custom order? Or could she get away with another soft shoe such as merlet?

Thank you for the help. We currently live in Istanbul and have access to certain models of Freed.

But she will be in Paris in summer for POB SI and we will do our best to make a proper fitting there.

I do not know what "wineglass maker" is though?

[balletbean]

11 hours ago, LinMM said:

That's really interesting Moomin I haven't got much idea about pointe shoe construction details... .....though I feel as if I should have by now!!

I learnt so much purely by watching videos posted on YouTube. There’s one by Freed themselves . Fascinating and very interesting. Our local store can’t stock Freed because of the natural substances used in the construction and the old shop is prone to damp. Probably a bit like you don’t store flour in damp conditions. Happy viewing. 

[taxi4ballet]

15 hours ago, Jeteitallaway said:

Please Coukd someone explain to me what a shallow foot is , my dd will be starting WL soon and I have no idea what type of feet are has . 

It's the thickness of the foot between the top of the foot and the sole.

 

A pointe shoe fitter will take everything into account when the time comes, so you don't need to know anything really, they do it all!

[Anna C]

5 hours ago, Derin's Mom said:

Thank you for the help. We currently live in Istanbul and have access to certain models of Freed.

But she will be in Paris in summer for POB SI and we will do our best to make a proper fitting there.

I do not know what "wineglass maker" is though?

 

Wineglass Maker is one of the staff members in the Freed factory who makes (by hand) the Freed Classic range of shoes.  This includes Classic, Classic Opera, Classic Pro, Classic Pro 90 and so on (All Freed “Studio” shoes are machine made).

 

Freed has a team of “Makers”, all of whom hand make their shoes slightly differently. The box might be wider or more tapered, the platform can be angled to push you over more or pull you back, some makers use a lower profile last.  This, combined with the many customisable options at Freed (elastic drawstrings instead of string, deeper or shallower vamps and sides, “heel pin” which extends the shoe length slightly etc) means that there is *usually* a Freed shoe to suit almost every foot.  

 

The downside of this is that if your “Maker” retires or leaves Freed, you have to go through the process of trying other Makers’ shoes until you find one that suits you, which can be time consuming! 

 

So in theory, if a school insists on Freed and a Senior Fitter from Freed comes to the school (I know this happens in several schools) then I’d be surprised if they couldn’t customise a shoe that suits.

 

If students are left to fit their own shoes and are told they MUST only have Freed then that is not sensible IMO.  If you are told that you have to wear one brand of shoe then the school really must pay for a Senior Fitter to come over.

[Derin's Mom]

On ‎03‎/‎05‎/‎2019 at 17:18, Anna C said:

 

Wineglass Maker is one of the staff members in the Freed factory who makes (by hand) the Freed Classic range of shoes.  This includes Classic, Classic Opera, Classic Pro, Classic Pro 90 and so on (All Freed “Studio” shoes are machine made).

 

Freed has a team of “Makers”, all of whom hand make their shoes slightly differently. The box might be wider or more tapered, the platform can be angled to push you over more or pull you back, some makers use a lower profile last.  This, combined with the many customisable options at Freed (elastic drawstrings instead of string, deeper or shallower vamps and sides, “heel pin” which extends the shoe length slightly etc) means that there is *usually* a Freed shoe to suit almost every foot.  

 

The downside of this is that if your “Maker” retires or leaves Freed, you have to go through the process of trying other Makers’ shoes until you find one that suits you, which can be time consuming! 

 

So in theory, if a school insists on Freed and a Senior Fitter from Freed comes to the school (I know this happens in several schools) then I’d be surprised if they couldn’t customise a shoe that suits.

 

If students are left to fit their own shoes and are told they MUST only have Freed then that is not sensible IMO.  If you are told that you have to wear one brand of shoe then the school really must pay for a Senior Fitter to come over.

really helpful, thank you.

[Pas de Quatre]

If you are in Paris, Repetto would be worth looking at. They were always my favourite brand. Maybe they would be acceptable to the school DM.

[Viv]

While I was in London in January, I took the opportunity to get fitted in the Freed store. The fitter took one look at my incredibly narrow, low profile feet and said straight away she wasn't sure if there would be anything suitable for me. We tried anyway but even in the narrowest width available, the second I went en pointe I slid straight down in the shoe and got terrible big toe pain. After only 20 minutes we basically had to give up because freed, without major alterations, would never fit my type of foot without pain. I then managed to try repetto while in Belgium and, though they are more limited in styles than other brands, they're a bit more tapered than freeds and work quite nicely on my feet. I haven't had too much time to work in them due to an ankle injury but if your DD has narrow or very tapered feet, repetto might be an option instead of the quite square, blocky freeds (if the school will allow of course) 

[Derin's Mom]

17 hours ago, Viv said:

While I was in London in January, I took the opportunity to get fitted in the Freed store. The fitter took one look at my incredibly narrow, low profile feet and said straight away she wasn't sure if there would be anything suitable for me. We tried anyway but even in the narrowest width available, the second I went en pointe I slid straight down in the shoe and got terrible big toe pain. After only 20 minutes we basically had to give up because freed, without major alterations, would never fit my type of foot without pain. I then managed to try repetto while in Belgium and, though they are more limited in styles than other brands, they're a bit more tapered than freeds and work quite nicely on my feet. I haven't had too much time to work in them due to an ankle injury but if your DD has narrow or very tapered feet, repetto might be an option instead of the quite square, blocky freeds (if the school will allow of course) 

very much appreciated, thank you. She has tried repetto when she was 11 and was not happy but since she has grown much then she may give it a try, if freed is not possible.

[Sally-Anne]

On 02/05/2019 at 22:55, Jeteitallaway said:

Please Coukd someone explain to me what a shallow foot is , my dd will be starting WL soon and I have no idea what type of feet are has . 

 

On 02/05/2019 at 22:55, Jeteitallaway said:

Please Coukd someone explain to me what a shallow foot is , my dd will be starting WL soon and I have no idea what type of feet are has . 

I have the same question! What’s a shallow foot?

[Pas de Quatre]

On 03/05/2019 at 06:45, Pas de Quatre said:

If you think of the pointe box like a matchbox, you have length, width and a height.  The latter is also called the profile.  So a shallow foot is low vertically.  If the profile of the pointe shoe is too high you can sometimes slip a finger along the top of the foot under the drawstring knot. A well fitting pointe shoe is snug in all thre dimensions. Dancing with the wrong profile is just as damaging as the wrong width or length. If the profile is too high the foot will not be supported and slip down in the box.

A shallow foot is the same as a low profile foot.  Here's my post from earlier in this thread.