rubyrubyruby337 Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 I have strong flexible feet and last June I bought bloch serenade strong shoes. After trying Grishkos at the end of last year and not liking them I have returned to the serenades however with a medium shank as I personally felt as though the harder shank was unesesary. Now I have a problem as although I love the serenades I realise that the strong shank really did help and the medium strength is not supportive enough. I've worn them for around 1.5 hours so the shoes are broken in, and my feet bend over too much for my liking. Although they look lovely, it makes me feel unstable when balancing on one leg especially since I pulled a ligament in my left foot last year so my confidence is low. Does anyone have any tips for what I can do to my pointe shoes to help my feet stay in correct alignment? I've heard darning the tip can help is this true? I've also used wood hardener before but only on the box, would it work for the shank too? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjuli_Bai Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 You can try the wood lacquer. I have heard of dancers putting in a second shank but have never done this myself. Darning will not help - that helps with traction and fraying. You can also add strength to the vamp. Some dancers also sew threads across the top of the foot's arch from side to side which gives some more stability - but not much. This can also be done with elastics and/or wide ribbon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 We've tried hardening the shank on Serenades and had no luck I'm afraid.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubyrubyruby337 Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 Thank you Anjuli, very helpful. I've seen the sowing across but never knew what it was for so I might try that! Ahh not promising to hear taxi4ballet but thanks for the heads up!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circe Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Why not try getting a hard shank on next shoes? My dd got sonata double shank for last pair of shoes which I thought sounded a bit OTT but for once the shoes have felt supportive and lasted a bit longer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pastel Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 We use jet glue and shellac (not necessarily on the same shoe). Found jet glue good. My dd usually wears the shoes for about half an hour, then hardens the shank and sometimes the box. You have nothing to lose if the shoes are now too soft for you! Just be careful not to lean over and breathe in the fumes if you use jet glue. Also, take care not to get it on your fingers - it is nasty stuff! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legseleven Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 We tried putting a second shank into a pair of DD's dead pointes - it made them very painful to put on with the extra depth and DD said she wouldn't feel safe dancing in them anyway as the 2 shanks weren't stable. DD does find that vamp elastic helps by providing extra support and stability, but I suspect you may find that it doesn't help enough if the shanks are already broken and that the extra hard shanks are the way to go. No harm in trying vamp elastic though - and maybe put it on your extra hard Serenades when you get them, to prolong their life a little? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubyrubyruby337 Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 Chaperone- yes I plan to, unfortunately my next pair will be my last as stopping regular lessons when I go to university after my intermediate foundation exam May find a society when I get there but we will see how that goes Thank you pastel, I will give it a go! Yes that's a good point legseleven I don't have anything to lose, think I'll try glue/ hardener and vamp elastic, thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circe Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Hope you find a dance society at university...if there isn't one perhaps you can get it started! Good luck for inter f exam. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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