Dance Moms with daughters in pointe shoe question?

[katdancer93]

I have been en point for 7 years and dancing for 18 years now. Spacers!(between pinky and the big toes) help so much at least in the beginning and I prefer the gel toes over lambs wool. I have trouble with the heels slipping but i spritz with hair spray or water on the heel and that problem is gone - It also makes a difference when the ribbon and elastic isn't sewn on yet. The tightness will eventually go away. I saw another post about toe curling and she's right. If your DD is curling her toes in her shoes get them looked at. And that particular shoe may not be for her, I've tried Chacotts, Grishkos, Russians, Blochs and the particular russian shoe i usually get has been discontinued and they were my favorites for class. and my performance shoes are Chacotts just because they are different.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Pointe shoes do feel uncomfortable at first, especially standing on flat feet. Eventually the boxes and the shank soften.

Have the teacher look at them before you do anything.

And be aware that the first shoe you try might not be the right ones for your DD.

Finally, there is a thing as too much padding. If you can't feel the floor at all, you lose stability and it's easier to get hurt.

 

[Skippy918]

This thread brings back memories. I think I was at my first pointe shoe fitting for nearly 2 hours. I started pointe at 14 and had once a week pointe for 30 mins. As I got older, the class got longer. I was still doing ballet 2x per week for 75 mins each class. Our teacher only wanted us to use lambs wool. Our teacher also had us put moleskin on the box so she could evaluate how far up we were getting on our toes. I too remember the calamine lotion trick. I was in pointe for 4 years and probably went through half a dozen or so pairs of shoes. I was just in recreational ballet, not competitive and we just had yearly recitals. Good luck to your daughter!