Understanding pointe shoes

[Ja Sm]

I am sure some of you experienced ballet co-ers can explain this to me. My dd wears capezio shoes, loves them and they were certainly the best fit at the time. I also understand that they are a good first shoe as they are supportive. Now that she is doing more pointe work, she is finding it more painful. We are trying extra padding etc to see if this helps. She wears ouch pouches (spelling?) as well as wool padding, gel toe tips. I understand from her teacher that the capezio shoe has quite a thin end ( not a very technical word, sorry!) . Some brands apparently have more cushioning. I seem to remember reading on this site in the past that this " thinness" is a good thing as it helps the student feel the floor more easily. So how does she now balance feeling the floor sufficiently with feeling comfortable. Any words of wisdom and explanations would be really appreciated.

Edited October 30, 2012 by Ja Sm

[drdance]

Hi Ja Sm - when did your DD last have a fitting? If her workload has changed, like you suggest, it might be worth getting the advice of a good fitter again as they know how best all the different types of shoe suit different ages/shapes of feet/workload. Also bear in mind that your DD's feet may have changed shape as they've got stronger.

[Ja Sm]

Hi drdance, she has had her shoes for about a year. Her feet haven't grown particularly but It sounds like a good idea to have another fitting.

[primrose]

I am not too sure if it is a good thing to wear ouch pouches as well as cotton wool and also gel toe tips. However her teacher will know far more than me.

[Anna C]

If she's still feeling pain despite wearing ouch pouches, wool and gel tips, something is not right. How much pointework is she doing?

 

Feet can change enormously within the first year of doing pointe, so shoes that fitted fine at the beginning may well be completely wrong. For instance, my dd's first pair of pointes were Grishko 2007 Proflex, with quite a tapered box, a softish shank that helped her get up onto pointe, and a mid height vamp. Dancia kept just moving her up into a bigger shoe during that first year (her feet were growing quickly) and by the 3rd or 4th pair, the shoes were incredibly painful and she could barely get over onto her platforms.

 

Tiffany at Bloch was recommended to us, and after an incredibly thorough fitting, dd came home with shoes with a lower vamp, harder shank, and wider/squarer box. She said it was like having new feet!

 

She now only wears Ouch Pouch pro pads (gel on top, fabric underneath) and nothing else. I couldn't believe the difference just by getting a really good fitting and changing the shoes.

 

Do you live within travelling distance to London?

[Ja Sm]

H hi spanner. We do go to London from time to time so it's not impossible. She is studying intermediate so it's not an excessive amount of pointe. She didn't experience difficulties with the foundation syllabus but is struggling more now to get up onto pointe quick enough to keep In time. Sounds like its time for new shoes! I haven't heard of the pro pads, as she just has the standard ones. Are they good?

[Anna C]

Great, dd says you can feel the floor better with them. But you have to have your fitting with the padding you intend to wear, so if you are thinking of trying ouch pouch pro, ask the fitter to fit the shoes with pro pads.

 

If you can get to London, it's well worth ringing Bloch in advance to see if Tiffany is there on the day. Or if you want to give Freed a try as well, I recommend Sophie (or Michelle, if she's in that day - she really knows her stuff but can come across as slightly scary!)

[Ian Macmillan]

I doubt that there will be much that's new here to many of you, but the Telegraph is listing what it reckons to be the best shops for tutus and ballet shoes in London:

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/in-the-know/london-shopping/9686303/ballet-shops-london.html

[celb]

Anyone any experience of Gandolfi mentioned in the Telegraph article - I can't remember anyone commenting on the forum re this business before.

[Pups_mum]

I bought a couple of pairs of gandolfi ballet slippers very cheap off ebay a few years ago when I wanted to experiment with dyeing shoes for a show. I'd never heard of them before - or since, until today!

[KathyG]

In all the years we have been going into London we have never noticed the Gandolfi shop until last weekend when we drove past it on our way to the theatre. Unfortu.ately closed didn't look very inviting though.

[Fiz]

There are no prices on their website, either.

[hfbrew]

Gandolfi is one of the oldest companies around. I had a fascinating chat with Mr Gandolfi at Cecchetti international competition, a real gentleman very proud of his family's heritage.

 

But I'm afraid I don't have any experience of buying from their shop!

[2dancersmum]

When my youngest DD complained her pointe work was more painful it was literally only a day after she had been for new school shoes and been measured as the same size and width in Clarks as 9 months previously so I doubted that her feet had grown. Her teacher checked the shoes and said shank and box were fine and although the pointe shoes still looked ok on DD, we needed to trust DD's opinion and get her checked at the pointe shoe fitters. As previous posters have said, due to the extra pointe work she was doing DD's feet had changed slightly and a new pair of shoes solved the problem.