Boys ballet shoes

[Lifeafterballet]

Are all ballet shoes unisex ? Can anyone recommend any for my 13 year old ds please. He keeps eyeing up his sisters Bloch Zeniths, are these suitable for boys ? They come in black I've noticed. Thank you x

[Anna C]

No reason why they shouldn't be unisex, particularly if they come in black. It's worth getting fitted though as zeniths can be quite narrow at the metatarsals (although they do stretch a little bit). :-)

[KathyG]

For years my DS wore Sancia pros but now wears so dancia which just ballet got in for us in black. There quite reasonally priced as well

[CeliB]

As far I have ever been able to tell ballet flats are unisex, the only difference being the colour, fabric and size (doubt any boys would ever wear pink or satin!!). I know some websites advertise shoes as men's or women's but I can't see any difference other than in the range of sizes offered.Perhaps justballet might have a view given the experience in ordering ballet shoes?!

 

My 15 yr old DS favours black canvas split soles and has done since he was 12. Sansha and capezio are both reasonably priced. I think sansha come in width fittings which is useful for the wider foot. He had one pair of grishkos which I thought looked more sturdy (the canvas was thicker and had a slight sheen as if it had been treated) but in fact he wore them into holes in less than a term so they didn't last any better than the sanshas and he didn't think they were any better in any other way (though they were almost twice the price!). Also they came up narrow- not so good for his feet (though they stretched after a few days use).

 

The huge advantage of canvas over leather is they can be chucked into the washing machine (vital if dancing 4 or more hrs a day otherwise they are not pleasant to live with- DS brought an unwashed pair home in his suitcase last holiday and we nearly passed out when he opened it...)

 

There is a split sole/fullsole debate which centres around the strength of the foot/arch. DS's Russian teachers all insist on split sole, DS has unusually high arches for a boy and very strong feet so perhaps he is just lucky that split soles are ok for him- my understanding is that full soles work the foot/arch harder so are good when the dancer is younger/needs to work on this more (but others on this forum are far more ballet knowledgable so perhaps can explain reasoning better).

 

Hope this helps, good luck!

[Aurora]

Traditionally men's shoes were made wider, I used to buy them as I have wide feet. But now a lot of shoes come if different widths so not sure if that's still the case though I guess it probably will be.

[Dancemom]

Ballet shoes are unisex, that is why they sold in 3 different colours.

 

The boys tend to wear black or white.

 

My friends DS wears the So Danca split sole ballet shoes in black and white

 

However certain brands make ballet shoes which are spefically for boys, and are usually slightly wider.

 

Bodies-in-Motion in nottingham, have a wide range of ballet shoes and offer good advice.

 

Incase you want to contact them their number is 0115 9835934 or they have a website www.bodies-in-motion.co.uk

[Lifeafterballet]

Thank you all so much. Very helpful x