Many dancing parents are just as excited as their ballet studio daughters when they hear the news that it’s time to shop for pointe shoes. However, from the many that I hear, concerns and doubts soon arise. When will my daughter be truly ready to dance in pointe shoes? What if she’s too young to do ballet in pointe shoes? Then you, the father of dancing, find out how expensive pointe shoes are.
And in some cases, your child can dance and HE wants ballet pointe shoes. A good option to strengthen the foot muscles.
I hope to help allay your fears and also to reassure you that there is plenty of help on how to buy these professional ballet shoes. And also to determine that your child’s ballet teacher has done the right assessment and that your dancer is ready to dance in pointe shoes.
Your local ballet or dance clothing store will have a certain stock: a few or many brands of ballet shoes. Freeds, Gambas, Capezio, Grishko, Gaynor Mindens: the list is long.
Often a ballet teacher will go with a class of girls who are just beginning to dance on pointe, and that really helps a lot. While time consuming, the teacher can help the pointe fitter (if the store has one) guide dance students toward pointe shoe brands, styles, and sizing options that seem overwhelming.
Your child’s ballet teacher at least knows ahead of time which students have hypermobile ankles and feet, or more confident mobility in the range of motion of the joints. This will determine the choice of brand, the strength of the upper (the supporting sole in the shoe), the height of the instep and more. Additionally, for students with less flexible ankles and foot joints, lighter leg and instep heights are available or can be ordered.
The type of foot and toe shape can also be adapted to the brands and styles of pointe shoes.
If your ballerina daughter is serious about ballet training, expert information is also available for dancing parents to help you make the most of your daughter’s dance talents and dreams.