Pointe shoes for high arches

[Kerfuffle]

Hi I’m wondering if anyone can recommend some pointe shoes that will cope with very strong highly arched feet with high insteps that are quite broad across the metatarsals? My DD wears Bloch European Strong which have a nice curve to fit her high arch but they get worn through very quickly. I am really interested to know if there are any Grishko shoes or similar that offer that kind of support but also don’t die quickly. She has recently turned  15 and has been learning  repertoire including pas de deux. 

[Jan McNulty]

I've added some tags that will point you to earlier pointe shoe threads which may contain useful information.

[Ruby Foo]

I'm not sure where you're based, but a fitting with Leanne from Straight to the Pointe helped my daughter enormously. My daughter was getting through a pair of pointe shoes a day in yr 11 and after a 2.5 hour fitting with Leanne and an eight week wait for special order Grishkos, this problem was solved.

She has very high arches and insteps plus doing many full ballet classes en pointe. Her Freeds ( which she loves) were dead every day.

Leanne is based near Southend but travels about. Anyone who knows Leanne will tell you that she is an expert, extremely knowledgeable and takes great care. Sadly though, the factory she was ordering from was closing and there was no special orders being taken. I'm hoping that may have changed but it didn't look promising.

[Farawaydancer]

1 hour ago, Kerfuffle said:

Hi I’m wondering if anyone can recommend some pointe shoes that will cope with very strong highly arched feet with high insteps that are quite broad across the metatarsals? My DD wears Bloch European Strong which have a nice curve to fit her high arch but they get worn through very quickly. I am really interested to know if there are any Grishko shoes or similar that offer that kind of support but also don’t die quickly. She has recently turned  15 and has been learning  repertoire including pas de deux. 

Dd has similar feet and wears Grishko 3007s. 

[Kerfuffle]

@valentinaWe’re the other side of the country but do have family in the London area. Which kind of Grishko did she get and did it have a curved shank at all ? The Blochs are curved so they follow the shape of her arch they just don’t last long enough. The Grishkos she has tried were too much like a straight stiff plank, I’m just wondering if they are always like that? She also had Bloch synergy for a while but found they took ages to get to the stage where she really felt she could dance in them. @Farawaydancer I have never seen Grishko 3007 but have tried 2007 I think!!

[Ruby Foo]

I'm sorry, I can't give you all those details at present! My daughter will know and I can pm you later.

Basically Leanne seems to be able   adjust them to exactly how you need them to be! I believe it was a strong but slightly flexible shank to stop them  dying. The first set were bending too low but that was adjusted. The second set were perfect.

[Kerfuffle]

Thanks Valentina! Sounds promising if they have a bit of bendiness. Did Leanne get them adjusted for you? 

[Farawaydancer]

1 hour ago, Kerfuffle said:

 @Farawaydancer I have never seen Grishko 3007 but have tried 2007 I think!!

Yes, she had 2007s originally but now prefers the 3007. She bends the shank to fit her arches and wearing them in class does the rest apparently. 

[Ruby Foo]

Yes. She made all sorts of adjustments. I would advise you to leave a long time for the fitting ( much longer than Leanne says) because she is a complete perfectionist and has many, many different shoes to try for starters, even before she starts making adjustments. Her fittings get booked up months ahead, but there's always cancellations. Then there's the issue of Grishko supply....

[Legseleven]

DD’s feet are highly arched and strong. She loved Grishko Vaganovas (she said the shanks were like cement but felt safe - NB they were very tapered so not absolutely ideal shape wise, but an emergency purchase just before her RAD Intermediate, having had her Freeds die on her after two lessons). She also loved Bloch Serenade Strong and Gaynor Minden’s strong shanks. (One pair of the Blochs were great comedy value by squeaking when the shanks started to die 😉) 

[taxi4ballet]

My dd wore Russian Pointe shoes, which suited her high arch and instep, but I don't suppose they will be all that easy to get hold of at the moment. She switched to those from Bloch Serenade Strong, and I think she once tried some Grishkos 2007 pro but couldn't get on with them because the vamp was too long, maybe.

[leotardmum]

my child has big feet with very wide MTJ region and high arches - nitemare to find right shoe still and we have to order in advance  for size pretty much all the time now , she  trashes serenade strong  in a few weeks, grishko nova hard  last a bit longer , energetiks Russian pointe in europe-uk )  lumina/lucile last longest but no more than 2-4 weeks  and i think look the nicest .

However due to world shortages now of grishko and energetiks/RP we are struggling now and costing a fortune in blochs !.  I have been adv to perhaps try sancha ? when we come to london ........  gaynor mindons are not strong enough or long enough in vamp  sadly and she felt unsupported in them ...... we are getting close to custom shoes i suspect 😂

Edited March 22, 2022 by leotardmum

[Kerfuffle]

Hi everyone thanks for your replies! 

I think the supply issue with Grishko is going to carry on and get worse so those other suggestions are great. We won’t be so desperate now that my DD’s show is out of the way but it’s good to hear that there are shoes out there that can cope with killer feet! 
 

@FarawaydancerI’ll ask about the 3007 - great that the shank bends a bit 

 

@valentinaShe sounds wonderful! Finding “that shoe” is the holy grail, could you DM me please? 
 

@leotardmumare energetiks Russian? We haven’t tried Gaynor Mindens yet - they have very mixed reviews, some of which are a bit worrying !

 

@taxi4ballet I think we tried Grishko 2007 - they were too soft (lasted a week!) and then tried on fouettés but they didn’t support her arch. Russian pointes didn’t work at all for her for some reason ! 
 

@Legselevensqueaky pointes - how funny! Unfortunately anything too tapered is painful 😣. She is quite broad across the toes but with narrow heels. 

 

[Birdy]

Has she tried shoes with a 3/4 shank? My daughter has strong feet, high arches, wider across the metatarsal but narrow heels. She used to cut her shanks, but now she wears Freed Classic Pro 90. She brushes shellac inside the box and uses Jet Glue to strengthen them so they don’t die as quickly.

[Kerfuffle]

1 hour ago, Birdy said:

Has she tried shoes with a 3/4 shank? My daughter has strong feet, high arches, wider across the metatarsal but narrow heels. She used to cut her shanks, but now she wears Freed Classic Pro 90. She brushes shellac inside the box and uses Jet Glue to strengthen them so they don’t die as quickly.

No she hasn’t - does it  help with the stiffer shank if it’s shorter? She uses jet glue on the shanks as they soften, fortunately the box is usually fine.

[Birdy]

For my daughter the 3/4 shank is better because full shanks tended to bend in the wrong place. For a while she wore custom Freeds with the shank cut, but the Classic Pro 90 works well off the shelf because the shank is stiff until it gets to the heel area. It has kind of a graduated hardness, if that makes sense. It not only makes her foot look good because the shank conforms to her foot, but also takes pressure off the shank.

[Kanangra]

On 22/03/2022 at 13:26, leotardmum said:

my child has big feet with very wide MTJ region and high arches - nitemare to find right shoe still and we have to order in advance  for size pretty much all the time now , she  trashes serenade strong  in a few weeks, grishko nova hard  last a bit longer , energetiks Russian pointe in europe-uk )  lumina/lucile last longest but no more than 2-4 weeks  and i think look the nicest .

However due to world shortages now of grishko and energetiks/RP we are struggling now and costing a fortune in blochs !.  I have been adv to perhaps try sancha ? when we come to london ........  gaynor mindons are not strong enough or long enough in vamp  sadly and she felt unsupported in them ...... we are getting close to custom shoes i suspect 😂

Did she try the Gaynor MInden extra strong shank? (comes in a green bag) They have so many different component combinations with different box shapes etc I am surprised she couldn't find anything.

[Pas de Quatre]

Has your DD considered extra strengthening exercises for her feet so she relies more on her intrinsic foot muscles and takes pressure off the shoes. Lisa Howell has a lot of exercises on line and programmes you can buy. She is probably the best physio specialising in ballet wolrdwide!

[Kerfuffle]

@Pas de Quatre I think it’s more the fact that the very straight hard shanks  take so long to break in to fit her arch and then die just at the point they are feeling good. I have just noticed that some Grishkos come pre-arched so will look into those. I’ll also take a look at the physio you mentioned as it’s great to have extra exercises, thank you 😊 

[Angela Essex]

On 21/03/2022 at 19:44, valentina said:

I'm not sure where you're based, but a fitting with Leanne from Straight to the Pointe helped my daughter enormously. My daughter was getting through a pair of pointe shoes a day in yr 11 and after a 2.5 hour fitting with Leanne and an eight week wait for special order Grishkos, this problem was solved.

She has very high arches and insteps plus doing many full ballet classes en pointe. Her Freeds ( which she loves) were dead every day.

Leanne is based near Southend but travels about. Anyone who knows Leanne will tell you that she is an expert, extremely knowledgeable and takes great care. Sadly though, the factory she was ordering from was closing and there was no special orders being taken. I'm hoping that may have changed but it didn't look promising.

Second this. Leanne is fantastic. My feet are broad across metatarsals and have high arches and Leanne found a lovely pair of shoes for me. She is very thorough and my shoes are comfortable. 

[Kerfuffle]

Has anyone got pre arched shanks in Russian shoes? 

[leotardmum]

On 24/03/2022 at 20:29, Kanangra said:

Did she try the Gaynor MInden extra strong shank? (comes in a green bag) They have so many different component combinations with different box shapes etc I am surprised she couldn't find anything.

yes green bag- the vamp wasnt long enough so spilled out over and overarched shank pretty much straight away . Its a shame tho that the fittings are done by drawings/measurements and until shoe comes u dont know if they will work - i would prefer to try  them first but most shops dont have her size and combo here. i need to live next to a pointe shoe factory x

[Legseleven]

Hi leotardmum. DD found that vamp elastic (2 criss-crossed pieces) on the green bag with the longest vamp possible GMs worked for her. The vamp elastic was a total game-changer for her even with the hardest-shanked and longest-vamped GMs. It may perhaps also work for your DD?

[leotardmum]

11 hours ago, Legseleven said:

Hi leotardmum. DD found that vamp elastic (2 criss-crossed pieces) on the green bag with the longest vamp possible GMs worked for her. The vamp elastic was a total game-changer for her even with the hardest-shanked and longest-vamped GMs. It may perhaps also work for your DD?

ohhh might suggest that too her -thanks xx

 

[Kanangra]

On 28/03/2022 at 16:36, leotardmum said:

yes green bag- the vamp wasnt long enough so spilled out over and overarched shank pretty much straight away . Its a shame tho that the fittings are done by drawings/measurements and until shoe comes u dont know if they will work - i would prefer to try  them first but most shops dont have her size and combo here. i need to live next to a pointe shoe factory x

They have more than one vamp length I think? Legseleven has a good idea too.

[Kerfuffle]

Can anyone tell me if you can get bespoke shoes made up from a fitting at Freed in London?  I mean ones that are made exactly to order rather than off a peg? 

[Anon2]

13 minutes ago, Kerfuffle said:

Can anyone tell me if you can get bespoke shoes made up from a fitting at Freed in London?  I mean ones that are made exactly to order rather than off a peg? 

Yes

[Kerfuffle]

@jane so would you recommend going to an actual fitting there? My DD’s feet don’t usually find the off the peg Freeds work for her (they are quite narrow) but perhaps the individually fitted ones would be better 🤔? Her teacher wants her to have a much stronger shoe so a rigid shank. 

[Anon2]

Your Dd feet sound similar to my ex dancing daughter. Mine did have a bespoke fitting but I don’t think it helped, she still got through them pretty I seem to remember. She also went through a stage of bespoke Grishko with a higher vamp. 
When Merlet launched they were the shoe that suited her best although initially she would snap the shank although the company worked with her to sort that issue. 
Is your dd rotating between two or three pairs of shoes so they can dry fully between uses? 
 

Edited to add that any bespoke shoe will take a number of weeks/months and until wearing them you don’t know if they suit so false economy to order more than one pair initially. 

Edited March 29, 2022 by Jane
Add paragraph

[Kerfuffle]

Hi Jane my daughter has done that in the past but recently has got through a pair of shoes over a few performances so a couple of days! These  were Bloch European strong. I’m hoping to find a stronger shank that can “lift” her foot more but that still curves a bit to support her arches - her teacher thinks that her feet have grown out of the Blochs, that they aren’t supporting her enough. She has tried Grishko with a very hard shank in shops but they have always been too straight so her heel has no support at all. Is Merlet similar to Gaynor Minden? Is it better or worse? 

[Anon2]

I think the Merlet have a poly carbon shank. I’m not sure about the ‘support the arches’ bit - if they can do that? Dd has high arches and instep but her feet were strong when she danced full time and Merlet worked well for her although she would have 3 or 4 pairs on the go at a time. 
Have you visited Dancia in London?  They stock numerous brands plus benefit of Bloch and Freed within walking distance. 

[Kerfuffle]

What I mean is when the shank is pre arched to allow it to follow the underside of the foot. I have heard such mixed reviews of Gaynor Mindens I can’t work out if they are a good option or not. She isn’t professional so no where near as experienced as your daughter was at the point she was wearing Merlets. Her feet are strong for 15 😉. I’m hoping to find some shoes that are adjusted to suit her exactly  if necessary as we don’t live in London. 

[Anon2]

Apart from Gaynor Minden I don’t think I remember an pre arched shoe - I might be wrong. I thought the shaping to foot came from wearing them in.

We don’t live in London but used to make a day trip to get pointe shoes even when we found a shoe that seemed to work because their feet and strength change so much and adaptations to fit are needed.