For ballet dancers, the day they got their first pointe shoes is probably the single most anticipated moment in their ballet life. Or at least, it was for Aina. The big moment came last Friday when her teacher told her that she would need a pair of pointe shoes for her private class.
It turned out that finding pointe shoes that fit one’s feet was not easy at all. For the past few days, we had been going in and out of ballet shops… You see, in order to get the perfect fit for your feet, you need a professional Pointe-Shoe-Fitter to help you find your perfect pointe shoes. Each ballet shop has their own Pointe-Shoe-Fitter, and we need to make an appointment for fitting, because the fitting session might take 1 hour… or sometimes, more! Unfortunately, all of the ballet shops that we visited had their appointment slots taken, and the only available time was in two weeks! Aina needed her pointe shoes this coming Friday… Uh oh.
So, last Sunday night, we tried a few pairs that was skinny enough with soft shank at Chacott Singapore without a help of Pointe-Shoe-Fitter. But we ended up not getting any, because none of us were sure about the correct fitting. They look nice on Aina’s feet, though… hehe.
Fortunately, Aina’s ballet school sells some pointe shoes, although the selection was quite limited. With help of Aina’s ballet teacher, Mrs. Cheng, we finally found a pair that fit her quite well. At least enough for her current en pointe practice.
We got her a Grishko Alice, an entry-level pointe shoes with very soft shank, size 2.5 X… for her super long and super skinny feet! We were lucky that her ballet school stocked up the X width (X is for very narrow feet, where XXX is the normal/medium width), because it’s been hard to find a soft shoes — or actually, even regular shoes and sandals — that accommodate Aina’s super skinny feet. Actually, the pointe shoes that we ended up getting was the only one left on their stock!
Aina’s teacher taught us the measuring and sewing the ribbons and elastics on to the shoes. We also had a quite lengthy explanation on breaking the box (that hard and stiff part that protects the dancer’s toes) to get more comfortable fit, and how to take care of the shoes in general… And more on all the preparation before wearing pointe shoes: she had to tape some of her toes to avoid blisters, wearing her toe pads, etc.
Once we got home, I was then busy sewing the ribbons and elastics…
That night, Aina could barely sleep, she was too excited… She kept wearing the shoes and playing with it all night, that she slept late. I guess, if we gave her permission, she would’ve slept wearing the shoes. It’s her very first pointe shoes after all… Congratulation, girl… You’re getting step closer in reaching your lifelong dream… ♡
2 comments
Kirain begitu masuk les ballet langsung pake sepatu itu lho, ternyata beda ya. Dan ribetnyaaaaaaaaaaaa. Ahahahahhaaa… Setelah beli pun, there’re so much to do with the shoes ya…
Anw, congratulations, aina!
Hahaha, iyaaaa! Emang rempong banget itu pointe shoes. Udah susah nyari sizenya (ini kayaknya mesti mesen langsung dari Rusia, karena kaki Aina terlalu kuyus), ribet masang aksesorisnya, dan umurnya pendek pulak, cuma bbrp bulan saja… Pfft.