How to stop pointe shoes slipping off heels

[Swanwings]

Does anyone have any ideas on how to stop pointe shoes slipping off heels? Dd puts elastics on hers already, usually she wears her tights above the shoe line to prevent slipping, but cant do this for auditions etc. I was looking at heel grips eg Gaynor Minden or Suffolk dance; GM's seem to be out of stock everywhere and Sufolks are gel ones and she doesnt want anything bulky. Hoping not to look for alternative shoes as she loves the ones she has! 

[Pas de Quatre]

Old fashioned remedy, wet the heel of the tights using a small spray bottle. If this is not enough put the damp heel in the rosin box. Then put on the shoes.  This should make the satin stick. Some people prefer to put the shoes on first and then wet the shoe heel from the outside. 

[Ondine]

21 minutes ago, Pas de Quatre said:

Old fashioned remedy, wet the heel of the tights using a small spray bottle. If this is not enough put the damp heel in the rosin box. Then put on the shoes.  This should make the satin stick.

 

Old fashioned and it works. I've seen a pic of Nunez rubbing the inside of her shoes in the rosin box.

 

Wetting the canvas internally is better than soaking the satin, IMO, which then picks up dirt.

 

Saw a pic recently of a low level tap and sink installed at a ballet company (was it Paris Opera?) so dancers could wet their shoes.

 

This elastic fetish is relatively new.  In ye olden days, ribbons correctly placed and sewn were normally deemed to suffice. 

 

Edited to add to the above, if shoes are constantly slipping, maybe a different shoe / fit needed. There needs to be enough shoe fabric to cover the heel properly and pull in the strings to ensure a snug fit.

Edited November 24, 2023 by Ondine

[Horsellian]

You say you use elastics already, but where are your elastics placed? My daughter's heels 'disappear' when she goes up en pointe in every shoe she's ever tried. No way we could just use ribbons, so we sew invisible elastic right at the back of the shoe in a loose loop.

 

Finally managed to get a photo small enough to upload. It's not great, sorry.

[Ondine]

The DancewithmaryNYC YouTube channel has a number of short videos with hints and tips about shoes and how to make them fit and the rest. It is a dark art, all feet are different and use, discard the advice as required. I have known glue (PVA, or rubber type) to be spread thinly inside heels and allowed to dry for extra grip. Look at close ups of Osipova and her shoes, she clearly takes them in with in tucks to get a tight fitting.

 

dancewithmarynyc.nyc

 

https://www.youtube.com/@DancewithmaryNYC

 

Look at all tabs  > Home Video Shorts<

 

Learning to sew is a great advantage. Learning to sew neatly even better. I see many who have not learned this. A thimble is a help.

 

Learning how to place your feet while tying ribbons helps too. Baggy ribbons don't look good.

 

Here's a sample.

 

 

[Mum of unicorn dancer]

We had a similar problem - in particular when shoe shank get softer - we are doing criss - cross invisible elastics and I am putting ribbons bit deeper in angle (using stretchy one - not elastorib). This so far works unless shoe is almost dead or dead. 

[Ondine]

 This is slightly off the topic but many useful hints about ribbons, elastics and the rest here.  I like the candle for the pointe shoe gods!

 

 

 

Another traditional way of placing ribbons is the folding down the back of the shoe method, and angling the ribbons forward to sew in place. 

 

I've never melted ribbon, simply turned in the raw edge at the shoe to hide and then cut the ribbon at an angle for the other edge. I admit my sewing was a work of art, but I belong to the olden days when we were taught at school and woe betide us if our needlework wasn't up to scratch!

 

I've never actually regretted the time spent on perfecting small, neat stitching. 🌞So much more satisfying than algebra (don't ask).

[Swanwings]

thank you for all your responses, I shall tell her about trying a spray of water and layer of glue inside shoe.  Personally I never had a problem with slipping heels on my shoes, so never had to solve this issue, and I wondered if any of the heel inserts whch are available might work. Her elastics are strong and sewn crossed and close to her heel. I often do them myself if she is short of time and I take pity on her, so I know they and ribbons are done correctly (I've sewn more pointe shoes than I care to count in my time!). As a vocational student she goes through around a pair every 1-2 months and knows how she wants them to feel. She loves her current style having found them after trying many others before so a new style is a last resort. Thanks again

[Ondine]

1 hour ago, Swanwings said:

Personally I never had a problem with slipping heels on my shoes

 

Me neither really, though I routinely used to wet the inside of the shoe at the heel and dab on some finely powdered rosin, and that worked for me, I always think less is more TBH. While inserts etc may well be the answer for some it's an added worry in case they move around isn't it?  Begin with the cheap and simple things?

 

And in case anyone finds this thread and needs more of the basics, this is what I was trying to describe earlier re folding in the back, angling ribbon, and no don't sew through the drawstring! (We've all done it, once.)

 

Not pointe shoes and urgh shiny ribbons, but it's the same method.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Angela Essex]

I’m only on my second ever pair of pointe shoes - the heels of the first pair (grishko streampointe reinforced) popped off every single time I rolled through. Second pair are same style but half a size bigger and one size narrower and no popping off at all. Could a different size / width in the same style help at all? 

[Peanut68]

A generous spray of super firm holdhairspray to back of heels/

 & inside back of shoe is a good trick to  help hold heel

of shoe in place useful for other parts  of costume era). A full on spray on ribbons/shoes before performance might really make a difference & directors may make adjustajebrd based on weather/light 

[Peanut68]

Oh dear - I have no idea how my post above somehow merged two lots of typing - clearly ignore the last sentence as does not relate to the heel slippage at all! Tried to edit but clearly spotted too late 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Swanwings]

Thanks again, unfortunately they are not allowed rosin or hairspray at school. I suppose gel spray might work instead, she could try that. 

[taxi4ballet]

Rosin can be a bit gritty so i'd steer clear of that anyway.

[Peanut68]

I’d meant to suggest the gel super strong spray they tend to use at school to get the super slicked ‘not going anywhere’ hair look!!

[Ondine]

1 hour ago, taxi4ballet said:

Rosin can be a bit gritty so i'd steer clear of that anyway.

 

If ground to a fine powder it's OK. It goes nicely sticky with heat from feet. I know many places don't like it nowadays as it's not kind to rubber etc  floors. The water can and rosin tray perhaps relics of old wooden floors & stages.

 

Times change. Sad to think that lovely pine forest smell and the satisfying crunch of the rosin tray (especially the lumps to grind your shoe into) are joys denied to the modern generation.

 

[Viv]

I also have disappearing heels and I use the gaynor minden heel grips. They work a treat! I wear them with Energetiks/R Class/Russian Pointes, not GMs. I used to have constant issues in every pair of shoes and these have eliminated them. They can be a bit fiddly because I don't actually stick them in the shoe, I move them from shoe to shoe (no way I'm spending money on a new set of grips for each pair of shoes, I have two pairs and rotate them). Once I got the trick of holding them in place while putting the shoe on, it was fine though. I'm sorry you can't seem to track them down but if you ever do, they are a long term affordable solution they has saved me a world of headaches.

[Swanwings]

1 hour ago, Viv said:

I also have disappearing heels and I use the gaynor minden heel grips. They work a treat! I wear them with Energetiks/R Class/Russian Pointes, not GMs. I used to have constant issues in every pair of shoes and these have eliminated them. They can be a bit fiddly because I don't actually stick them in the shoe, I move them from shoe to shoe (no way I'm spending money on a new set of grips for each pair of shoes, I have two pairs and rotate them). Once I got the trick of holding them in place while putting the shoe on, it was fine though. I'm sorry you can't seem to track them down but if you ever do, they are a long term affordable solution they has saved me a world of headaches.

Thanks so much @Viv

[Peanut68]

I’m intrigued - need to Google these! 

[Ondine]

It's quite the co-incidence that the DanceWithMaryNYC channel has just put a 'how to' up on this very subject.

 

However, these all seem very brutal on those poor tights and way over the top to me.  I'm sure others will have their own opinions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sunflower]

DD has the Gaynor Minden heel grips and they are marvellous. Really worth keeping an eye out for when they are next in stock, or maybe try eBay?

 

They have made a real difference to her pointe shoes.