I feel like pointe shoes are one thing everybody seems to struggle with. Few are lucky and find their perfect pair early on but for most of us it's a long way of disappointment and frustration. Well, at least for me... So, today I'm going to recap on all the pointe shoes I've had, what I liked about them and what I didn't like.
My first pair of pointe shoes was Bloch European Balance. They looked good and at first the box was pretty comfortable. They are not overly hard and a good shoe for beginners. The main problem I seemed to have with them was that they just wouldn't bend in the right place and the box went soft very fast. I was also between sizes and went for the smaller pair, which caused them to dig into my heel until they were broken in.
My second pair were Bloch Triumph. They are said to be a beginners shoe (because they have sued tips), which I really can't agree with because they were pretty hard, at least for Bloch shoes. I struggled with breaking them in and getting over the box, even though I have good arches. When they were broken in, they started bending in all the weird places again, that's a problem I had with all Bloch shoes I tried. They bend too far towards the box, so they don't support the line of the foot properly for me.
After that I went back to the European Balances, this time half a size up and one width down. It seemed to be a good fit at first but when they were broken in, the heal started to look a little baggy and I was sinking slightly in my box. They also died very quickly.
Then came Mirella Whisper for me. I think those were actually one of my favorite pairs of pointe shoes, even though they were a little small for me. I got fitted into them online and got them for free to write a blogpost about the service. I really liked them though and they had a 3/4 shank, which made my feet look really pretty. I wore them on all photoshoots in London.
Along with the Mirellas, I also got a pair of Bloch Dramatica, which are from the Eurostretch line by Bloch. I loved them and they looked great but they died EXTREMELY fast. But the stretch satin doesn't make the heel look baggy and you don't even have to break them in. The only problem I had was that t felt like the shoe was sliding off my heel all the time, which was because of the stretch material. It never did though, so it's all good.
After that I tried Grishko for the first time. I had a great fitter in Berlin and was fitted into Grishko Fouette, because my teacher wanted us to try some more tapered shoes. I liked the Fouettes and they looked good but I was really scared of turning on them because the platform was narrower than I was used to and I couldn't warm up to that at the time. It was also really annoying that they didn't have a drawstring.
Next I tried Grishko Triumph. I liked them but mine were actually too narrow so my feet looked sickled a lot. But dancing on them was great. I would have probably stuck with them if I hadn't wanted to try Gaynors.
So for the next 1,5 years, I wore Gaynors and thought I had found my perfect shoe! And what happens next? Yep, my feet grow. But of course, they don't grow half a size, they grow ever so slightly that my current Gaynors are very uncomfortable and will give me bruised toenails if I dance on them but they didn't grow enough to fit the half size up.
I was lucky I always had a pair of regular pointe shoes, just for the feeling. I had a pair of Bloch European Balance Strong in Miami, which were okay and lasted me for the 4 weeks I was there but I didn't love them enough to get them again. I also tried Grishko Dream Pointe and fell in love with them. it took some getting used to because they are tapered too, but this time I feel a lot more comfortable with the shape of the shoe and they are 3/4 shanked, so I really love that too. I'm going to stuck with those ones for now and ordered a new pair of them.
The Dream Pointe is not a traditional paste shoe per se, they have a plastic sole and are said to last longer. The only problem I had with the pair I had is that the shank just broke in the middle, so there really isn't a way of dancing in them once they are broken because the plastic is really digging into my foot. I still love them and they lasted me about 2 months.
Now I have to wait for my Grishko order to even do pointe because I didn't expect my Grishkos to break that suddenly. I will try to glue them though and will keep you updated on how that went.
My Grishko order includes a pair of Dream Pointe, Dream Pointe 2007 (they were recommended to me by a fitter) and Grishko Super Triumph. The reason I got 3 pairs of shoes is simply because shipping taked FOREVER and I got 15% off, which made each pair about 45€, try finding pointe shoes (except for Sansha) for that price, I dare you.
I will keep you updated on the shoe situation.
Yours,
Laulie
Some of my dance shoes, this was taken back in February, so there'd be about 3 more pairs of pointe shoes now. Also let me know if you want some reviews on ballet flats!
PS: I have teamed up with www.proteinprojekt.de to give you a free healthy bar with each purchase from their site! Shop via the link: http://pp.team/laulie-hejbite
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