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Question:It would be really great if sombody posted a story about how they got their fist pointe shoes. I am starting pointe soon, and I need to everything abou pointe. POST STORIES, WEBSIGHTS, VIDEOS, AND PICTURES BELOW!!!!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: It would be really great if sombody posted a story about how they got their fist pointe shoes. I am starting pointe soon, and I need to everything abou pointe. POST STORIES, WEBSIGHTS, VIDEOS, AND PICTURES BELOW!!!!

I got my first pointe shoes when I was eleven. I was really excited about it and sometimes I got ahead of myself. I highly reccomend you stay with the pace your teacher or instructor is going. You can seriously injure yourself if you try to take matters into your own hands!!

After getting my pointe shoes, I had to strenghthen my arch and ankles much, much more than I expected. I never could have done it without my teacher. In fact, once, when I missed a class, I was trying to make up at home. As I was trying to do a step (I was 13 at the time) that I wasn't sure I could perform yet, I landed on my pinky toe and broke my ankle. I was off pointe for 6 months. I had soo much work to do to make up for that.

Right off the bat, I never used toe pads. I figured that I couldn't feel the floor in my box. You'll understand when you go up -- you can feel better and therefore balance better in your box without toepads. They can add bulk and mess. Plus they get ruined if you bleed, and everyone knows how expensive they are. Especially the gel ones! Ugh. If you can't handle the pain at first, use either paper towels (thin so you don't have the bulkiness and stops the uncomfortable rubbing) or finger socks. Finger socks come in different sizes, and ballerinas usually put them on their blistered toes. All other toes are not necassary to wrap, but usually the blistered ones you want to tape or something. The finger socks you can find at an cvs or drugstore. Just ask the people at the counter for FINGER SOCKS (or sleeves).

Once I got more experienced, I was a pointe shoe model for one or two photos in Pointe magazine and principleshoes.com. These are my feet:

http://www.principalshoes.com/images/hom...

That picture ^^ caused my lots of pain but I had to hold it for 4 minutes straight... ouch.

http://www.phontographer.com/winger/arch...
http://www.parkenet.org/jp/ttp04.htm
http://www.planetdancedirect.co.uk/compa...

I hope I helped,
Good Luck,
E

I would highly recommend that you purchase a copy of Judy Rice's "Tricks of the Trade: Making Your Pointe Work Painless" DVD.
http://behindbarres.com/pointe-shoe-dvd....
Ms. Rice is a former member of The Joffrey Ballet who went onto become an Associate Professor with the University of Michigan's dance department and is also currently teaching some classes at Broadway Dance Center.
http://www.broadwaydancecenter.com/facul...

Since you want to know everything about pointe, you should get your information from one of the very best ballet teachers in the country. If the $40 DVD price seems high, perhaps you could ask for it as a Christmas present. My daughter learned Ms. Rice's "tricks" as a student at the Joffrey Midwest Workshop and has stuck with those tricks ever since. She is now a senior dance major in college and has had many ballet teachers before and after Ms. Rice, but Ms. Rice's advice is like rare gems. I promise you won't regret buying this DVD.

just go to a dance store...they know what you will need. My first pair of pointe shoes we chacots (veranese) idk how to spell it lol but, i love them and as long as your dance teacher is a good teacher and the store you go to has good sales persons then ur perfectly fine! you don't need to read tons of stuff about it if ur dance teacher is just gonna show u anywayz!

ok well good luck and congratulations!

i know what it feels like to get your first pair! i understand thats it is really exciting and neveracking at the same time. As much as there is to know about pointe shoes, the best way to learn is one from your teachers, and two from personall experience. you need to find the shoes you like and feel comfortable in... to some extent anyway....and dont worry about what happened to other people with their shoes.

by the way, just in case u were wondering, i am a student with the boston ballet and i wear freed studios but i was origionally in classics.

you will gain more knowledge from dancing in the shoe than what you research about them. and dont forget to ask the salesperson about the shoe, mind you some people will put you in anything just to get you to buy, and some dont have any idea what they are doing. just relax and go with your gut. Good Luck!

my dance teacher told me exactley what store to get them at and how to sew them and everything. know the dance teacher i have right now will sew them for me but she charges money. it takes a long time to get fitted for pointe shoes (if you go to a good store) and you will try on a lot of different brands
and also you will have to break your new shoes in once you get them. it takes a while and if your only dancing once a week in them or less try to break them in at home. my dance teacher told me to wear socks over them and walk around with them on at home and practice going up in pointe

Oh.. this makes me almost too jealous! :)

My first pair was a pair of Sansha's Recital.... They didn't last too long with me, because I broke them in too fast, plus, back then I was dancing about 14 hours a week, so they didn't live up to it! :P
Since those, I've only had Bloch... They're beautifully good, and they are so strong and lasting.
In any case; it will take you a while to find a pair that will suit you and your training. Best shot is to go by what your teacher recommends. Good luck!

Ok, well heres my story:

After about 10 years of ballet I started Pre Pointe (I was 13). I did that for 6 months, it was the most boring class I have ever done but I am glad I have done it now as it strengthened my ankles so much.
As a whole class we all moved onto Pointe. I went into the shop tried on about 10 different pair of shoes and settled on a 6D Sonata Bloch. I went back to class, had my pointe teacher and my dance schools principle check them and they said they were too big.
So I went back to the shop and got a 5 1/2 D Sonata Bloch. Went back to dancing and they were much better :) I think the reason why they were wrong the first time was because I was just so excited and I didn't know what I was looking for.

And some links:

Pictures:
http://photobucket.com/images/Pointe/
http://images.google.com.au/images?svnum...

Info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointe_shoe...
http://podiatry.curtin.edu.au/ballet.htm...

Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX-PNqJr9...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35gPlaYOn...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_BqoNLLl...

All the best :)

I was a rhythmic gymnast and did forms of dance beside ballet first, starting at the age of 3, concentrating MUCH more on the gym, like 30 hours a week. When I was 13 I decided to take ballet to suppliment gymnastics and just added 1 class a week at the studio I had always been at. Classes started in September and we had this horrid harpie of a woman who used to dance with ABT, no names mentioned lol, as a teacher. She was also choreographing my solo, so during practice, right before Christmas break, she told me she wanted to me to start pointe and to get teh shoes during the week we had off of class, and that I just HAAAAAD to have Chacott Coppelia's, and a guy named Rick at Bailey Slipper Shoppe should fit me. Ok, so off I go the dance shoppe and Ric tries the Chacotts...they don;t even remotely fit the shape of my foot, so we try about 832 billion other pairs and I leave with Sansha Whispers. My teacher had a fit that I got different shoes, but TS Lady. I was the first person at my studio to go en pointe, and I wasn't allowed to wear pads or tape, what have you. After that teacher left, thank the lord, we had a much more normal techer come in, and we were allowed to use anything but gel pads, so I used a bit fo pre-wrap and the original ouch pouch junior, and Gamba 93 pointes for the next bazillion years.
Now that I'm old lol, Gambas don;t fit me anymore and I struggle to find shoes I like. I currently like the Merlet Empriente and the Capezio Contempora. I don't know who said it, but a good fitting should take awhile and you RARELY leave with the first pair your tried on. Read all you can about how you need shoes to fit and feel, and be very vocal about what feels right and what doesn't and ask any and all questions you may have...I worked for Rick, oddly enough, all through college and eventually had customers who requested ME to do their fittings, so its an art and a science getting a dancer what she needs, and there's nothing we like better than a well-informed dancer!
Good luck!