What To Expect for Your First Pointe Shoe Fitting
I’m continuing my talks about my career with one of my favorite things I get to do; First time pointe shoe fittings!!!
If you have ended up at my blog, looking for advice on getting your first pair of pointe shoes you’ve come to a great place! First off, CONGRATULATIONS!!! I know that not every dancer gets to go up en pointe for a variety of reasons, and it takes an incredible amount of work to get there! I am so happy for you to experience this huge accomplishment in your dancing journey!
So, you finally get the news. An email or letter from your teacher that they deem you ready to be put up en pointe - What now?
The first thing you want to do before going in to be fit is to find a reputable fitter who is an Authorized Retailer near you. Pointe shoes cannot be bought online by just guessing your street shoe size. Every shoe fits differently, and not every shoe will be the right one for your foot. You want an experienced fitter, someone who will guide you during your pointe shoe fitting. An Authorized Retailer means that the dance store who is selling you shoes is actually authorized to sell you the shoes by the big companies themselves. There are dance stores out there who purchase pointe shoes off Discount Dance and re-sell them to you at an insanely high margin, and the quality of the shoes cannot be guaranteed to have not been worn previously, or to be too old to be resold.
A couple things to note in preparation for your fitting: Trim your toenails! Long toenails can be extremely uncomfortable for your first fitting! Make sure they are trim without any sharp corners or edges. If your teacher has any suggestions or preferences as to what they would like you to try on, make sure to bring that information to your fitting! The more information your fitter has the better.
Here’s a list of things you might need/want for your first pointe shoe fitting:
A Camera or Phone (Hurray for smartphones with built-in cameras!)
List of teacher recommendations/suggestions
A fitter’s suggestion: Don’t dig too much into pointe shoe styles. In my 8 years of fitting, I have had many young and new pointe dancers research every shoe on the market, trying to prepare themselves to find their “dream pointe shoe.” 99.99% of the time, you will not find your dream shoe right off the bat. And you don’t know yet how the shoe will look, feel and fit on your foot. It took me 10 years of dancing and switching shoes before I finally found my perfect pointe shoe.
I’ve booked my appointment and am at a store to be fit - What happens now?
Whether it’s a large group fitting, or small and intimate with your parents, the first thing that a good fitter will start with is what goes on your feet before you start trying on shoes. Spacers are used in between your big toe and second toe to help prevent bunions. Not every dancer needs them, but it’s a smart idea to start out with them right off the bat. Bunions are no joke. They can be extremely painful, kinda scary looking, and eventually have to be surgically shaved off when you get older. Toe pads can also be used for your first pair of pointe shoes. I work with a few studios who do not allow their students to use toe pads in their first year en pointe, so be sure to ask your teacher what their preference is. There are so many different kinds of toe pads on the market now, and they are meant to protect your feet rather than be used for comfort. If you’re looking for comfort, you might be in the wrong profession.
I’ve got the things on my toes, now what?
Now is when your fitter will take a closer examination of your feet. They may ask you to tendue both of your feet to get an idea of your foot shape, flexibility and strength. They’ll ask for your street shoe size and it’s time to try on some pointe shoes!
I always give the same PSA for first pointe dancers, and that is the fact that these shoes are going to be uncomfortable. The human body was not made to go up on our toes and stay there for extended periods of time. You’re going to feel discomfort in different places on your feet than you have felt in any other street shoe. Maybe on the tops of your toes, on the joints of your toes - it’s a completely foreign feeling to you. Pointe shoes are also not meant to be fit with growing room; more like a tight compression sock, or a nice tight hug. A shoe fit too big will caused blisters and bruised toenails, and is how you end up with scary ballerina feet like you have seen all over the internet. An experienced fitter will be able to tell you whether or not the shoe is too small or too big.
At this point in your fitting, you will try on several different styles of pointe shoes, based on the shape of your feet. If you’ve got bendy banana feet, you most likely will end up in a more supportive and stiffer shoe. If you can’t quite get all the way up on the box, you may end up in a shoe with a pre-arch to help you work towards it. There are so many different kinds of pointe shoes out there, so make sure you get to try on at least 3 different kinds of shoes.
The way I work through my fittings is to mentor the dancer while I am working with them. I explain to them why one shoe will be better than another for your first pair, and the differences in each style they try on. I’ve always felt that it’s important that the dancer is informed and educated about what is going on her feet. It also helps to have a store with a large inventory of shoes. Like I said before, not every style of shoe will fit every dancer’s foot, and only having 2 - 3 shoes in the entire store to try on really limits the chances of getting a properly fit shoe.
After your have at least 3 options of properly fitting shoes, it’s time to narrow it down to the right one! The most important thing to focus on when deciding which shoe to pick is how supported you feel. You want to feel safe and stable up en pointe, and if you don’t feel that in your first pair it is not the right one. Comfort is the last thing you should be thinking about. Once you’ve narrowed it down to the last one, you have finally chosen your first pair of pointe shoes!!!
I’ve picked out my favorite pair!…Now what?
This is the part of the fitting where I go over the wear, tear and care of your pointe shoes. If you haven’t researched how most pointe shoes are made, I would suggest you stop and watch this video by Freed of London. It follows the entire process of their shoes being made from start to finish, and it’s fascinating to watch! If you’ve already seen this video, you know fully that pointe shoes are water soluble, which means they break down with moisture. Pointe shoes are meant to break down, and it’s really how you build up muscle in your feet is by working through the shoe. I always tell young dancers to not hand-break your pointe shoes. Just like I said, your feet doing the work is how you will keep yourself strong and safe while dancing en pointe.
Another tidbit is that you, the dancer, will be sewing your ribbons and elastics onto your shoes. Don’t worry - its not rocket science! I’m hoping to have another post going in depth with pictures on some of the different ways you can sew your pointe shoes. Its extremely personalized per dancer, and not everyone sews them the same!
I hope this helps you prepare to get your first pointe shoes! Every dance store has their own process and fits differently, so don’t be too concerned if it doesn’t play out exactly how I’ve explained it here!
Take care my lovelies!
~ Izzy