Getting the Cinderella fit on your Pointe shoes

“My feet are difficult to fit, without custom made shoes”

I am a UK size 4, but have one gigantic big toe, meaning if it wasn’t for my one toe I would be fitting into UK size 3 shoes. I also have extremely narrow feet. My current Pointe shoe is Grishko 2007 4XM, which still does not fit how it should. The sole of the shoe cuts off before it hits my heel, meaning the sides fold over instead of having a neat fit. The more I have worn my shoes the more they have broken and looser they have become around the back, meaning I have needed to add additional elastic until I can afford my next pair. I had my first Pointe shoe fitting 3 years ago, but quickly needed to change the shoes as they were too big once broken in. For me finding the correct shoe has been a challenge, which was not helped by not training constantly in this time. I brought my 2nd Pointe shoe 1 ½ years after getting my first as I did not use them enough.

From this I am going to give information and my personal experience on getting my shoes to ensure the Pointe shoe is as correct as can be before you leave the shop. I have fallen prisoner to not understanding a proper fit and relying fully on the “professionals” who sometimes do not always get it right.

My first Pointe fitting:

When you first try on your shoes, they will feel a lot tighter than you expect, which can lead you to think they are the correct size as they will loosen once worn. In hindsight, I rushed my first fitting and used my lack of knowledge to not question anything from fear of looking “silly”. When asked how they felt, I did not know or research how a shoe was meant to felt, so could only reply with feels snug or tight. IT IS ESSENTIAL TO STILL KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VERY TIGHT AND SCRUNCHED TOES. You need to make sure there is as little room between your feet and the shoe as possible, like it is covering your entire foot, without it comprising how your foot should naturally lay. My first pair was a choice between too snug (where my toe felt crunched under the block) and loose (which i thought was snug, which meant the shoe was too small length ways but correct width.) For a Pointe shoe fitter, the more information you give the easier it is to find the right shoe. I focused more on how it felt on my foot, being asked “does it feel tight or loose?”, rather than questioning an obvious discrepancy of where the sole was to fit on my foot. Do not panic, it is normal to have to try a few times to get the right shoe and to understand your feet and the shoes available.

When going to a fitting make sure to:

1. Try to bring someone who is an experienced dancer or teacher with you to assist in the fitting. They will offer support and knowledge that you may have. In my instance I brought my mum who had as little idea as I did.

2. Go to a seller who stocks more than one brand of Pointe shoe. By this I mean do not go to someone who only has Bloch or Grishko as each style and each brand is designed to fit slightly different feet. You may need a brand you have never thought of or known.

3. You cannot try on too many shoes. If you are not completely satisfied you can go to another store. You do not need to find the shoe on that day, finding the right one takes time and is very important for your foot safety. An ill fitting shoe, no matter how talented you are, can cause pain when dancing, limiting technique and stability, black toenails, blisters and stress fractures in the toes

4. You should be trying the shoe on from sitting first, then going up onto Pointe (WITH A BARRE) to ensure the fit.

The Sitting Fitting

Once sat down put your feet into a parallel position and rise your feet en Pointe. Make sure you are fully on the box, as it will check how the fabric lays against your arch and get you used to the feel. Make sure your feet don’t slide down once en Pointe, but that they are fully laid out and not scrunching at all, as this can cause broken toes and stress fractures.

Try and walk through your feet- meaning go from en point (sat down) through demi-pointe to a flat foot and back again, one foot at a time. This will check how much the fabric moves near your “foot knuckle” and if it is tight enough. If you can feel the fabric move around this area, the shoe will probably become too loose once broken in.

BARRE with me

The second stage of the fitting should include you going en-Pointe with a barre with shoes that seem to be a good fit. This will further check the way the shoe lines up with your foot. Try doing some bourree’s (quick walks en Pointe from a tight 5th position), to see how the feet fall or remain in the shoe.

From here you may be asked to go onto relevee (on the block of your shoe/tip of your toes) and plie (bend) once in this position. This will check the show around your arch and if it folds and/or bends around your foot out of line. Your Pointe Shoe Fitter should explain to you what to do and how to come in and out of the moves. If you are a beginner say this and if you do not understand ask for a clearer explanation or demonstration. ALL BEGGINERS HAVE TO THERE IS NO SHAME.

You should not be en Pointe for too long, just enough for the fitter to feel the shoes, and see your plies. If you are new to Pointe you can go down whenever you feel your feet need a rest, it is not a ballet lesson and they are not judging your technique.

Ok so you have found the right shoe, excited to take them home and go to classes.

Make sure you break your shoes in correctly and warm your shoes to your body. There are varying ways to break in your shoes; however I recommend the following so you are strengthening your feet whilst in this process.

1. Wear nice big fluffy socks over your shoes and walk around the house in them for about an hour. Make sure to walk through all of your foot, and also walk on demi-pointe. At first it will hurt but get softer once worn in.

2. Rise en Pointe then slowly through demi to a flat foot. Do this several times to get the movement in the shoe memory.

3. Once the shoe is warm, push on the sole in your arch to encourage the bend, and then repeat this once the shoe is off to let it settle.

Now go and enjoy your classes and I hope the shoes work well for you. If at first you don’t succeed try try again.