New Pointes and Fitting Tips!

Hello Everyone! Yesterday after school I had a pointe shoe fitting. My dance studio owner scheduled two pointe shoe fitters to come to the studio and get pointe shoes for the girls in my level who had pre-pointe shoes and some of the older girls who needed new shoes as well. I was a bit late from the snow we got, but when I got there I was instructed to put on my toe pads and get in line. I waited about 20 minutes, and then one of the ladies came to help me. She asked my street shoe size, and then looked at my feet for a few seconds and grabbed a pair of Capezios. Way too big. Next, another pair of Capezios. Again, too big. Then a pair of Blochs, too loose. Then another pair of Capezios. I went over to the barre for these ones, and when I stepped onto pointe (when getting fitted they always say, "Step don't roll!") and they winged out and were super loose and baggy. One more pair and I was done. The winners were a beautiful pair of Capezio Arias. When I went over to the barre and stepped onto pointe, they accentuated my pretty high arch quite nicely, and my dance studio owner said they looked amazing (it's hard to get a complement from him!). They are quite a bit softer than my old Bloch Serenades, but I think that will make them a bit easier to dance in. Not to mention, they also have a bigger box. I do get a lot more pressure on my big toe, so I'll need to get some gel spots or something to ease that.

So, when you're getting ready for your first pointe shoe fitting, here are some tips. Make sure you are wearing convertible tights, and if you have toe pads, bring them. If not, get them before you try on shoes, because the shoes will fit differently depending on the padding you have. It's ok to wear jeans, but make sure you can roll them up to your knees. So no skinny jeans! You could be trying on pointes anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour to find the best for you. You'll probably want to try on at least 3 pairs to make sure you get a good variety. Buying your first pointes is more difficult than your second or more pair, because you don't really know how they're supposed to fit. I found out after a few months en pointe that my box was too tapered for me, and the shank was pretty hard for a beginner. Of course, I never would have known this in June, because I didn't really even know what all that meant. You may try on a hundred shoes in 10 different brands, but don't try to rush the process. Pointe shoes need to be the best fit possible to make it as easy and painless as possible for you. When you get the pointe shoes, make sure to get ribbons and elastic as well. You don't want to get ribbon from a craft store, you should get dance ribbon that matches your shoes. Some dance stores even throw it in for free.

When you're getting your pointe shoes, make sure you go to an experienced fitter if your teacher doesn't set up an appointment. If you have to drive 45 minutes to get there, do it. At my last "pointe shoe fitting", I tried on one pair and she said they were good. Ugh. Don't let that happen to you!

So there you have it! My pointe shoe fitting and tips, hope I helped!

Pointe FAQ

Frequently asked questions about pointe. If you have any questions, ask in the comments!

1. When can I start pointe?
I don't know. I don't know you, and even if I did I couldn't tell you. What I can tell you is that you generally need about 3 years of 3 classes a week to start pointe, and you should be 12 or older. There is no set rule though, I began pointe after 2 years of classes at the descretion of my ballet teacher and artistic director. I know girls who have been dancing for years but are still not ready, whether they are still growing or too weak.

2. What shoes should I get?
You need to be fitted for pointe shoes by a professional fitter. There are tons of styles for high arches vs. low arches, long toes vs. short toes, tapered toes vs. squared toes, ect. No brand is really better than the other. I have Bloch Serenades and love them, they're nice and hard, durable, and pretty. They support my feet well, but they may not work for you. It might take a few different models and brands before you find your "perfect shoe".

3. What kind of padding?
It depends. I'm writing a padding post tomorrow so you can compare and contrast. I use gellows by pillows for pointe, and like them a lot.

4. Does it hurt?
Well, sort of. It's uncomfortable, but only if you have injuries. For example, I get really bad ingrown toenails (gross I know, sorry!) and it causes a lot of pain en pointe for me when they are bad. However, when they aren't ingrown, it is not painful. At first it will feel foreign, because lets face it, people weren't built for dancing on their toes. With the proper toe pad and pointe shoe combination, it shouldn't hurt.

5. Will my feet get blisters/bruised toenails/ect?
Probably, they will. Embrace it! Gross feet are the mark of a dancer. Ingrown toenails, bruised toenails, cracked toenails, blisters, and bruises may occur. If your feet aren't too bad, you may just get some callouses.

6. What can I do when I first start pointe?
Well, unless you're getting pre-professional training, you'll start with a lot of eleves, releves, and eschappes. Then you'll move on to passe and coupe balances, and things like bourrees and pas de bourrees. Then maybe chaine and pique turns. Rome wasn't built in a day!

7. Is it worth it?
To me it is, or I wouldn't be doing it! If you love ballet and a little discomfort doesn't bother you, go for it!

Bloch Serenades!

So, hope that helps! To the other pointe dancers out there, is it just me or do new pointes smell amazing?

How Nutcracker Went!

Hey guys! I know it's been over a month since Nutcracker, but here are the highlights!

On opening night I showed up about an hour before it began, and most of the girls were already in the dressing room costume for party scene (I was a soldier, so I didn't need to get into costume just quite yet). There were a bunch of different dressing rooms, I was in the Jr. Corps room. There were counters along the walls that had chairs at them, with a mirror surrounded by lights at each seat, just to give you a visual. There was also a row of sinks, and a little back cove with showers. 15 minutes to curtain, and one of the girls bursts in and declares, "They can't find the ladder!" In our Nutcracker, there's an important part where Clara climbs a ladder, puts the angel on the top of the tree, and everyone freezes for a second and the lights focus on the angel. Without the ladder, there is no angel on the tree, and about 15 seconds of awkward stillness for no reason. They eventually found it, about 5 minutes to curtain, in one of the storage closets. Apparently, one of the guys that worked at the theater thought it was just an old ladder and put it away. Crises averted.

There's a girl with down syndrome at my studio, and she was a soldier too. She's very sweet, 13 years old, but another soldier and  I were sort of in charge of making sure she didn't wander off and was in the right place. She kept getting nervous and declaring that she couldn't dance as we were waiting backstage to go on, and the other soldier and I had to convince her to dance because everyone wants to see her and she'll be amazing. When that didn't work, we got one of the boys she has a crush on (he was the Nutcracker, and in a few other dances, he's around 17) to give her a high five, which made her happy enough to dance. It was so cute, and Nutcracker was such a good sport about it.

There was also a mishap in which a flute for Mirlitons was lost, but again found right before the dance.

Oh man, but this is the really exciting story of the night. Ready for this? So there's this one girl in the Jr. Corps, very good little dancer, but her mom is one of those crazy dance moms. She makes these snide comments to the other girls, and isolates her own daughter by being mean to the other girls. For example, during the dress rehearsal she said to the girls, "My, Megan sure has a lot of frizzies." (as in, loose hairs sticking out), while Megan was right there! Later, the girls went to all go up to watch another scene being rehearsed, and the dance mom's daughter had just gotten there and her mom was doing her hair. As everyone was leaving, she said, "Oh, wow, looks like no one will be nice and wait for you." Anyway, this crazy dance mom was in our dressing room, and the girls are goofing off and practicing their Italian Fouettes (link if you don't know what they are) and one of the girls almost kicks this mom in the face accidently. She shouldn't even be in there, but she starts yelling at this poor girl for almost kicking her and screaming that this girl was always so mean to her daughter (she wasn't). So this girl is crying, and her best friend is crying, and another girl walks in and the mom starts yelling at her for no reason, so she's crying. Then, our artistic directer, the most flamboyant yet intimidating man I know tells all the girls to leave the dressing room, goes in, and is like, "Leave. Just go. Now." All the while, she's yelling about how she's going to sue the studio and all the girls ect.

We haven't seen that girl since.

Anyway, the show was generally very good. That I know of, only one person fell (and recovered very gracefully), and the show got great reviews.

Things People Don't Tell You About Ballet

Hey everyone, sorry for the long break! With finals coming up I was super stressed, but I read all your comments and was so thankful you guys want to read more! Thank you all so much, seriously.

So, when you're about to start ballet, and you're talking to late starters or people who used to dance, they leave out some things. Here they are:

1. You don't wear underwear with a leotard, generally. It looks absolutely ridiculous when the sides of your tighty whities are sticking out of the sides of your leotard. If you want to wear underwear, go with a thong, or something seamless. Victoria's Secret has seamless yoga panties, they work like a charm. With bras, if you don't need one don't wear one, but they do make dance bras or if you don't care about it showing, sports bras.

2. You'll be sore. Oh my, will you be sore. When I came back from a 2 week winter break, I was literally shaking by the end of class due to overstretching my muscles  Fast forward to next morning, everything hurts. Even things I didn't know could be sore were sore.

3. Some days will just be off. Sometimes, you won't be able to turn, or you'll mess up that combination every single time. And then, if you're like me, you'll start tearing up about messing up. Don't worry about it though! It happens to all of us!

4. Pointe = ouch. I love pointe, it's so fun, graceful and difficult. But boy, do my feet hurt after pointe class. In the toes, the arches, and the ankles.

5. You will not be good right away. It took me months to nail a single pirouette when I first started. And en pointe, things don't just carry over from flat. I've been en pointe since June and still am doing basic barre work in class.

6. 80% of the time, you'll start writing pointe instead of point.

7. Your feet will be gross. Bunions, blisters, ingrown toenails, bruised toenails, no toenails, callouses, ect. Right now, I have ingrown toenails on both of my big toes, making pointe really painful, but also, my feet are horrendous. 

I promise, they won't be this bad!

8. Some dance moms are crazy. I don't know why, but a lot (not all!) of dance moms are super protective of their dancing daughters, and they'll do anything. They'll yell at little girls (see my next post), they'll yell at artistic directors and teachers, they'll make back handed comments, and they'll tell their little girl they are the absolute best. Just a warning to everyone.

So, there's just a few things to the other dancers, did I miss any? Don't let these discourage you from dancing though! Dance is my favorite thing to do, and no matter how gross my feet are or how sore I am, I still can't wait to get back. Happy Dancing!