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DA N C E T I P S
Pointe Shoes – What Is All the Fuss About? BY ALISON HESH, FOUNDER & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, THE BALLET SPACE & SOUL PURPOSE STUDIO
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Saturday, July 16, 2016 11:30am - 1:30 pm Open House Registration for current and new students
305.801.8197
The Falls Warehouse District www.theballetspace.com
THE BALLET SPACE Register now! Summer 2016 Summer Session: June 27 – August 19 Open classes • Ballet Technique • Pointe • Pre-Pointe first class free
Teaching Classical Ballet THE BALLET SPACE
Top quality instruction by professional ballet dancers only.
Programs for ages 3-18 · Young Dancer Program (3-9) · Pre-professional Program (10-18)
· Also offering Pilates and yoga.
305.801.8197
The Falls Warehouse District • www.theballetspace.com
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THE FLORIDA VILLAGER
07.2016
HOSE LITTLE PINK TORTURE CHAMBERS; OH HOW DANCers love them and dream about floating along on their satiny tips. Aspiring ballerinas all over the world just can’t wait to go up on pointe! Why? For one, they are a rite of passage that indicates that a trained ballet dancer has “made it” to a certain level in ballet. They also represent all that is beautiful in ballet. That beautiful pink satin, those laces, that look of gliding across the floor effortlessly… those are just a few of the reasons why these special shoes are coveted so dearly. It takes a lot to get up on pointe, and it should not be taken on lightly. A dancer should be of a certain age, level of technique and commitment, as well as have the appropriate strength in her feet, ankles and legs. I would also recommend that a new pointe student get fitted in her new pointe shoes by her teacher. While our local dance store, Dance Plus, has excellent fitters that I love, I know my students’ feet better than they do, so I always go with first-timers. There are two major things that make up a pointe shoe: the box and the shank. The box is what a dancer stands on and supports the dancer’s toes. The shank is a hard piece of material that serves as a support for the arch. There are about a million different ways these two things can be manipulated to create different kinds of shoes for different kinds of feet. People come in all shapes and sizes and so do pointe shoes. Some boxes are really hard and come up high on the toes and some are broad and provide a great platform for balancing. Additionally, shanks come in different styles as well. Hard shanks are usually for dancers that have high arches and/or weak feet. Medium to soft shanks are for dancers that may not have archy feet or who want to be able to put their shoes on and perform without much break-in time. With that being said, pointe shoes do have to be “broken in” and that is a ritual that is different for every dancer. Breaking in pointe shoes is basically softening them up to conform to your individual foot. Some common ways are wetting the box a bit to conform to your bunion, stepping on the box to soften it up, cutting the shank of the shoe to fit your own arch, and some dancers even darn the tips of the pointe shoes for better balancing. It really is a procedure that is different for each individual dancer. Recently I tried on about 25 pairs of pointe shoes and each one fit differently than the next. For example, Grishko, which is a brand of pointe shoes, has four different styles of pointe shoes available at Dance Plus. The Ulanova, 2007, Elite and Fouette are all available but there are at least ten other styles of Grishkos in production. Within the four styles that Dance Plus offers, there are a variety of sizes, widths and shank strengths which make it difficult, but also fun, to find the correct shoe for each dancer. Along with Grishko, there are other brands such as Capezio, Bloch and Freed, which also have several different styles to offer. So when a dancer heads to a dance store to get fitted they should be prepared to try on tons of shoes. It is a process, but it is rewarding when you find the perfect shoe. It is also quite common for a dancer’s foot to change shape after spending time on pointe which usually results in having to find another perfect shoe every time the foot changes. Bunions grow, calluses form and sometimes the foot gets a bit smaller; this is all part of the pointe shoe process. Lots of dancers, teachers and students say pointe hurts and causes all sorts of foot problems, but I have to say that is not true. Of course standing on the tips of your toes will feel different, but if the student has been fitted properly and is of the proper age and strength, pointe should not hurt. Sure, certainly students might get blisters once in awhile, but so do pitchers, soccer players, gymnasts and violinists, to name a few. In this ex-dancer’s opinion, the beauty and the technical challenge far outweigh any blister or toe pain; judging by how many ballerinas are out there and how many ballerinas I have put up on pointe, they all feel the same! Opening its doors in 2008, Soul Purpose Studio has become the place to train in advanced ballet thanks in part to Alison’s very well-respected name in the community. The studio offers ballet class from ages 3-18 as well as Pilates and Yoga. Alison primarily teaches the Pre-Professional program which is ages 10-18 as well as all of the Pilates classes and absolutely loves what she does every single day! For more information, please visit soulpurposestudio.net or theballetspace.com.