Help pointe shoe fittings probably London

[dancingmuppet]

Hi,

I'm hoping someone can advise on the best places to go for pointe shoe fittings. My 16 year old dd  is starting full time training in September and has extremely wide rather large feet, so we've always struggled with pointe shoes. She currently wears Wear moi size 7.5 XXXX, but these aren't really supporting her anymore.

Any advice on makes, fittings etc would be great.

 

Thanks 😊

[Neverdancedjustamum]

Just to say this is from our personal experience.  Bloch and Capezio have both been amazing for us and Bloch has so many styles she’s bound to suit something. I can’t really speak about Freed as my DD never suited their shoes. Dancia stocks different brands but we have always been underwhelmed by the service we got there. 

Edited July 6, 2023 by Neverdancedjustamum

[balletbean]

Again from personal experience I would totally recommend Leanne Bisson who goes under the title “Straighttothepointeballet” on Instagram. Her links are on that forum.
A Grishko Master fitter.

Due to circumstances my DD was unable to have an in person fitting. supplied photos, drawings & measurements. Leanne also takes into account the level and hours spent en pointe to gain a greater understanding of the dancer. Best Pointe shoe fit ever. Never looked back. 
 

Works freelance as far as I know who travels all over the country fitting pointes including visits to several of the well known vocational schools  🩰☺️

[Anna C]

Freed used to be brilliant and would customise shoes to suit, but that’s going back to when Beth Chivers was still the Manager. I don’t know if they still do that for “normal” customers.   Since Beth left, several RB dancers who were Freed wearers have changed to Bloch, who have a huge variety of pointe shoes.  I thought Bob Martin had retired, but I may be wrong.

 

Dancia probably has the widest range of manufacturers - I wouldn’t recommend them for for first pointe shoes or even the first year or two en pointe, unless you are a teacher/ex dancer and can supervise the fitting.  However, assuming your 16 yr old has been en pointe for some years and knows how well-fitting pointe shoes should feel, then you’ll be fine.  When dd moved from Freed to Gaynor Minden, after the first few pairs she’d just go into Dancia and fit herself. 
 

I never had confidence in Capezio for pointe shoe fittings; staff seemed to know nothing about pointework, but it has been a long time since we were last in there.

[Swanwings]

I reccommend Bloch, their fitting service is great and they have loads of different styles. My dd also has wide feet and has found several styles which suit her over the years including the European Balance. She likes the Synthesis just now.  Dancia has lots of brands but as mentioned already I'm not convinced their fitting service is always good, my dd didnt find anything there to suit her and has never found the Russian brands work for her feet. I have no recent experience of Capezio or Freed but what works for one may or may not work for another.

[dancingmuppet]

Thanks everyone. We'll definitely try Bloch and freed. She use to wear Bloch European balance but they were only lasting her about 4 wears even with the hard shank as she has high arches but probably worth trying again.

[WhereToNow]

My DD was flying through Bloch pointe shoes, due to her high arch.  They didn’t ‘suck’ into her arch well enough and she didn’t have confidence in them. I will add she wasn’t even on pointe that often at the time.

 

I will say be strong in Bloch they can sometimes push you towards the latest shoe, even if is not the most suitable. My DD was once told (by a fitter in Bloch) that she could take the larger size and ribbons elastics would ‘hold’ her in.  She was alot younger at the time, and now we know more I am a bit horrifed at the suggestion.  I guess it really is down to who you get on the day.  Some people have great success in Bloch.

 

My DD moved to Grishko Dreampointes & Miracles (one for class, one for performances) that had some customisations and has also recently tried Capezio. I would say the majority of staff at Calezio are more Jazz/Modern than ballet, but if you get the right person (I can’t remember her name) she was extremely helpful and understood what my DD was after from her shoes.

Happy shopping!

[balletbean]

50 minutes ago, Anna C said:

Freed used to be brilliant and would customise shoes to suit, but that’s going back to when Beth Chivers was still the Manager. I don’t know if they still do that for “normal” customers.   Since Beth left, several RB dancers who were Freed wearers have changed to Bloch, who have a huge variety of pointe shoes.  I thought Bob Martin had retired, but I may be wrong.

 

Dancia probably has the widest range of manufacturers - I wouldn’t recommend them for for first pointe shoes or even the first year or two en pointe, unless you are a teacher/ex dancer and can supervise the fitting.  However, assuming your 16 yr old has been en pointe for some years and knows how well-fitting pointe shoes should feel, then you’ll be fine.  When dd moved from Freed to Gaynor Minden, after the first few pairs she’d just go into Dancia and fit herself. 
 

I never had confidence in Capezio for pointe shoe fittings; staff seemed to know nothing about pointework, but it has been a long time since we were last in there.

I’m sure Beth is now at La Duca as there can’t be too many ladies with the same name within the London dance shoe business. Beth offers the most amazing customer care & service. ☺️

[Pixiewoo]

I can't help with shops or fitters, but DD wears Bloch European in a XXX and she has very wide feet! She has tried several others, but always ends up back with these.

[taxi4ballet]

My dd had several years' break from pointe after a career-ending injury, and recently bought some again. She said the fitter in Bloch was marvellous.

[Angela Essex]

On 06/07/2023 at 09:59, balletbean said:

Again from personal experience I would totally recommend Leanne Bisson who goes under the title “Straighttothepointeballet” on Instagram. Her links are on that forum.
A Grishko Master fitter.

Due to circumstances my DD was unable to have an in person fitting. supplied photos, drawings & measurements. Leanne also takes into account the level and hours spent en pointe to gain a greater understanding of the dancer. Best Pointe shoe fit ever. Never looked back. 
 

Works freelance as far as I know who travels all over the country fitting pointes including visits to several of the well known vocational schools  🩰☺️

Another vote for Leanne here. She’s extremely knowledgeable and thorough and really takes pride in finding the best fit. She has so much choice of shoes that she found multiple different pairs that were a good fit for me and then narrowed it down from there. I ended up with Streampointe 7 XXX with reinforced shank which have been perfect.  She can do custom orders to get the shoes especially made for your foot too so she can literally fit any foot.  She gets booked up far in advance though so get booked in early if you’d like to see her.

Edited July 8, 2023 by Angela Essex