Get to the Pointe — ballet

You should get professionally fitted for every pair for your first few years en pointe. (You can find what to do before a pointe shoe fitting in this article) This is the time when you need to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Even after you find your “perfect pair,” you should still get fitted fairly regularly. Even professional ballerinas have to get refitted every 6 months or so because their feet change. So, here are 5 reasons why you should get a professional pointe shoe fitting: You avoid injuries: This is the biggie. Ill-fitting shoes can lead to...

There are always questions about how to prepare for a professional pointe shoe fitting. We came up with a few things that will make both our lives easier and fittings much more efficient. Here is your check list! 5 things to do before for your professional fitting:1. Make an appointment: Sometimes, we are able to take walk-ins but the wait can be long... Really long... So make sure you call or book your appointment online. This is important especially if you have your own fitter and want to request them specifically (Shout out to my dancers! Love you!). Appointments are...

In this world of mass production, owning a pair of hand-made pointe shoes is an absolute privilege. It is a privilege that is earned through years of diligent training. But dancing in the wrong shoes can not only lea d to a lot of pain, it can lead to dangerous injuries. Just a few decades ago, there were only a few brands of pointe shoes to choose from, but now there are dozens of brands and hundreds of models to fit just about any dancer. There are also many different accessories to help prevent injuries and discomfort (but that's for...

For a dancer, visiting a pointe shoe factory is like visiting Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.Gorgeous shiny pointe shoes all lined up in a row… Is this heaven? Yes. Yes it is. Piece by piece, layer by layer, pointe shoes are constructed from slabs of leather, sheets of burlap and satin into these perfect pink beauties. I visited the Capezio factory in New Jersey last week, and you will not believe the amount of work and dedication it takes to make a single shoe. Here is the basic idea:1. Slabs of leather are stamped out to make the sole of the...