All things pointe shoes

Once you reach the intermediate levels of ballet you go on pointe. To anyone who is not a dancer yes, this means you dance on your tip toes. Once you get your first pair of pointe shoes there are a lot of things to know for the many that come. 

First, Pointe shoes are expensive! The average pair of pointe shoes cost around $90+. Then you have to buy all the necessary supplies like ribbon, elastics, rosin, toe pads and etc.. 

Photo by Meres Flares

Second, not only are the expensive but if you stick with it you will use A LOT of pairs. Most beginning pointe dancers only go through one or two pairs their first year. This rapidly increases on a personal level after that. The better a dancer you get the more pointe shoes you will go through in any given amount of time but it also depend on how strong your feet are because then you are putting less strain on the shoes. I have gone through 13 pair in my 2 and a half years on pointe. 

Photo by Wikimedia

Next, Sewing!! :)Just kidding sewing pointe shoe is horrible! At the academy you have to sew your own pointe shoes. They are so specific abut how you sew them that they give you a course when you first go on pointe. Here are some quick step to sewing them properly; start by marking where you want the ribbons to go and which foot is which. Then sew the elastics. I use one elastic place pretty far back near the heel.Click here for a stitching pattern to follow.  Then move to the ribbons, repeat the same sewing pattern that was used on the elastics.  Finally you burn the end of the ribbons to prevent fraying.

There are many necessary supplies when it comes to pointe shoes. You need to get elastics and ribbons, how ever usually they come with the pointe shoes. You also need a stitch kit; stitch kits have the proper thread and a needle made for sewing pointe shoes. You can get this at any dance wear store. Probably the most helpful supplies are spacers and toe pads! These will save you from bleeding and prevent bunions. You also need rosin to help them not slip while you are dancing.

WARNING:The pain of pointe shoes is not exaggerated! Pointe doesn't hurt that much at first but after your amount of pointe classes increases so does the pain. After a long saturday rehearsal you can almost not feel your feet anymore, and that comes as a relief. The pain of pointe shoes is really painful especially if your toe nails are too long or too short. The worst is without toe pads though. Once I forgot my toe pads in the wash and I had to go without any thing except a cheap paper towel. It was probably one of the most painful two and a half hours in my life! For the last 30 minuets I was dying and definitely looked horrible. After class I took my pointe shoes off to find blood and blister and purple toes. After that experience I always triple check to make sure I have my toe pads. It took me three weeks to fully recover and do pointe without wanting to cry. It really is true what they say about ballet causing blood sweat and tears!

So all though Pointe causes pain and costs a fortune thats what defines a dancer. Getting your pointe your first pair of pointe shoes is so exciting and it gives you a great sense of accomplishment! Pointe shoes are worth the suffrage they cause and there defiantly is a lot of suffering going on.