En Pointe - Preparing The Shoes

Preparing The Shoes

The stiffened shank and box help spread the weight of the dancer's body across the foot instead of being concentrated in the toes. For this to be successful, the shoe must be fitted perfectly to suit the dancer's foot. Each pointe shoe manufacturer makes a range of shoes to fit different foot shapes, e.g., high or low arch, high or low profile, Egyptian, Greek or Giselle toes, etc. Tips may also be slightly convex (for easier rotation) or slightly concave (for easier balance) and the choice will depend on the part, sometimes with different tips on each foot.

Pointe or toe shoe fitters require extensive training and experience to identify the different foot conformations and the makes and models of shoes that suit them. For this reason, it is recommended that students do not attempt to buy their first pointe shoes online or by mail but visit a specialist ballet store for expert advice.

Pointe shoes must be "broken in" before dancing in them. This consists of bending the hard shank sufficiently to create a platform for the heel and sometimes softening the box slightly to allow the shoe to easily bend in demi-pointe.

The box and shank of pointe shoes become less supportive with use. Their life can be extended with the use of cyanoacrylate or jet glue, which stiffens those areas and makes them last longer. There are also new tmt/b-morph technology that may add a bit more life into the shoe because it can be warmed up with a blow dryer to form/reform the shoe and set in the fridge to re-harden.