Dance 101

Finding the Right Fit: Pointe Shoes

By Jackielou Perez | January 31, 2011

The pointe shoe. It completes the definition of a weightless, elegant, graceful ballerina. As beautiful as the shoe is, dancing on the toes is not as easy as it looks. Under its beautiful satin exteriors, pointe shoes have a hard shell made from layers of burlap and glue. Before one can get fitted for her a pair of these satin slippers, a dancer needs to be assessed by her instructor to see if there is enough strength in her feet. (see Getting to the Pointe).

When it comes to purchasing a dancer’s first pair of pointe shoes, Talar Margarosyan, a pointe shoe instructor at Canada’s National Ballet School, suggests having both the teacher and shoe specialist present for a dancer’s first pointe shoe.

“It’s a partnership between the shoe specialist and the teacher,” says Margarosyan who accompanies each of her students for a shoe fitting. “The specialist sees the aesthetic look and feel while the teacher can see how comfortable the dancer is in the shoe.”

But if the instructor isn’t available to go with the dancer, there are always the shoe specialists on hand at the local dance store. It’s important to have the help of a specialist because shoes that are too small or too large can cause serious problems from technique issues to chronic injuries.

And with so many pointe shoes, styles and makes to choose from, the specialist can easily narrow down what shoe will best suit a dancer’s foot structure. It shouldn’t take any longer than 20 minutes. All pointe shoes are made up of six parts: the length, the box, the shank, the vamp, and the heel. See how a shoe is made.

What needs to be determined according to Nadia Randall,  footwear specialist for the Shoe Room in Toronto, is if the dancer has an Egyptian, Greek or Gisele foot structure.

Once that’s figured out, the specialist will put the shoes on the dancer first because it is important to put them on absolutely straight. The dancer will then plie in first position where the specialist will check the length of the shoe because the foot is longest in a plie. The shoes should feel snug, but not tight and the block should cup the toes.


As the dancer goes en pointe one foot at a time, the specialist is checking a number of things such as the width being appropriate, the block contains all the toe joints, and where the insole's heel is to the heel.

Three important aspects to a good point shoe fitting is the feel, the fit and the look. It has to feel good and be comfortable, it has to be the correct shape and strength of shoe to properly function on the floor, and it has to be aesthetically pleasing.

Above all, Randall stresses the importance of finding a fitter that listens to the dancer and their needs and the dancer needs to communicate effectively on how the shoe is fitting them. Also keep in mind, dancers need to get the shoes approved by their teacher before sewing on the ribbons, because once they're are sewn in, the shoes can’t be returned.

TIPS FOR BEGINNERS

•Tights should be worn during the fitting.
•Toe nails should be short otherwise it won’t feel good standing on pointe.
•Invest in toe padding
• Shoes aren’t meant to last forever, the life of a pointe shoe is 15-20 hours
•A new pair usually has no indication of which one is the left or right so label each shoe to allow it to mold to the foot.
•After a class, lay out flat for air to circulate –all material is naturally soft so it needs time to air out and dry.

You might also like:
Getting to the Pointe