Pointe Shoe Fitting

Every young dancer has once looked up at their peers and dreamt of the day that they would be ready for pointe shoes! Each dancer is ready in their own time and the decision  to start pointe work is made by your dance teacher based on a  combination of both hard work and each dancers personal development and strength. Every dancer has unique feet, with variations that include toe length and shape, arch flexibility and mechanical strength. Consequently, most pointe shoe manufacturers produce more than one model of shoe, with each model offering a different fit, as well as custom fitted shoes.  Regardless of the manufacturer or model, however, all pointe shoes share two important structural features that enable dancers to dance on the tips of their toe; 

• A box within the front end of the shoe that encases and supports the dancer's toes.
• A shank, which is a piece of rigid material that serves to stiffen the sole so as to provide support for the arch of the en pointe foot.

The exterior of a pointe shoe is covered with fabric, mostly satin, thus concealing the box and other internal structural elements and lending an aesthetically pleasing look to the shoe. 

Sound confusing? We haven't even started to explain the complexity of a pointe shoe! But luckily for you...

Here at FOOTLIGHTS we have trained fitters who understand how to correctly fit a pointe shoe for each dancer - So you don't have to worry! There are many varying factors to getting the right fit, such as size, toe length, arch strength, width of feet and much more! 

We also understand how exciting it is to get your first pair of pointe shoes, so we at FOOTLIGHTS make the experience as special as can be and will explain all aspects of the fitting to the dancer, as well as how to correctly sew ribbons and darn the shoes. This ensures that you will not only leave with your new shoes, but with an understanding of how to care for them and get the most out of each pair for you as an individual. 

We stock a wide range of shoes to fit all dancers and are very proud to be official stockists for renowned companies such as Capezio and Roch Valley. We firmly believe that there is NO PARTICULAR manufacturer who is better than any others. Here at FOOTLIGHTS, we choose the manufacturer that we believe offers the best RANGE of styles and shapes that will enable US to fit the perfect pointe shoe for each of our dancers. We do not keep a massive stock of pointe shoes as the materials used to make the box will degrade with time - we therefore prefer to give our dancers recently manufactured shoes to ensure we are giving the best quality shoe.

So what are you waiting for? Book your pointe shoe fitting today at Footlights!