Expert: treivilo - 6/30/2010

Question
Hi! I'm starting pointe work soon and I have to buy my first pair of pointe shoes, but I have absolutely no idea how to tell if they fit properly or not. I would really appreciate it if you could give me as much information on fitting pointe shoes as you can! I'm really nervous that I'll get it wrong and end up hurting my feet! Thanks very much!

Answer
Good Morning Liz,

You are right, first pointe shoes fitting is something not to miss, as this may have an impact over you whole ballet career.

Pointe shoes must not be tried as "street" shoes, I mean that they :

- Must not be too loose (it must not keep away from your feet),
- Must not be too tight (room must remain so that you can move your toes),
- Must be tried at the end of the day, when your feet are as big as possible,
- Must be tried as they'll be used at ballet lessons (with tights, with pads, ...)

Keep your toe nail short before going for the fit, but do not cut them on the morning of the fitting, just 1 or 2 days before.

Wash your feet very carefully before going to the shop, do not wear "loose" sneakers (absolutely avoid converse) as they'll make your feet more large than they usually are.

You may give a watch to http://www.dansephoto.com/pointe-shoes-informations/ where you can find a lot of informations.

Feel free to followup with any question,

Olivier