Pointe shoe help

[ponklemum]

My daughter is getting new pointe shoes next. She usually wears Russian pointe but the shop is hours away. I’ve found a closer shop but they don’t stock them although they stock a wide variety and have been recommended to me.  Are there other pointe shoes similar to Russian pointe or am I wasting my time and should book her in the shop that stocks them and make the difficult journey. 

[sarahw]

You probably don't have anything to lose by trying the closer shop first. Unless she has a very unusual foot there is likely to be more than one shoe that works for her...

[ponklemum]

Thank you. That’s been my thought, but being such a novice when it comes to anything dance related, I wanted to make sure.  

[Mummy twinkle toes]

Grishko would probably be the closest or you may find they stock R class shoes which are very similar to Russian Pointe (built in same factory, I believe).

Shops we know that sell Russian Pointe are Dancique in Birmingham, Stardust in Lichfield and Just Ballet in Wisbech (just in case any of these are closer to you).

[Dancing unicorn]

That’s Entertainment in Liverpool also stock Russian Pointe! 

[taxi4ballet]

I took dd's Russian Pointe shoes into the Freed shop once, because her vocational school said that they'd prefer her to be in Freeds, and the assistant took a look at the shoes and said they don't make anything remotely similar!

 

 

[glowlight]

As long as your local shop has a pointe shoe fitter I would say give it a go.  You may need to make an appointment - and a fitting can take some time - allow at least an hour if you are trying new styles and makes.  You may even find that what the local shop offers suites your DD better.  Feet change over time (especially young feet) so it is worth being open to different styles

 

 

 

[Pups_mum]

I would give the nearer shop a try. As others have said, there is unlikely to be only one type of shoe which will suit your DD. In fact i think it is good to get the views of a different fitter from time to time even for dancers who have been wearing a particular shoe for a while. Feet change, and as a dancer gets more experienced their needs can change. Or there may be simply something better for them out there that they havent tried yet! 

And whilst I wouldn't of course advocate buying something unsuitable from the nearest shop just because its convenient, you do need to bear in mind the fact that as a dancer spends more time on pointe shoes need changing more and more often. If you can find something suitable closer to home I would recommend you seriously consider it. A day trip to buy shoes is ok, quite enjoyable even, when its the first pair or only happening every 6 months or so. But when its every six weeks...

[ponklemum]

Thank you for your replies, I find it interesting how different they can be.  I'm going to give the closer one a try and see how she gets on there.  Worst case scerario is there'll be nothing else there suitable for her but on the plus side, at least she'll know that RP's are the make for her.