Pointe Shoes – Page 7

Pointe Shoe Products: PrimaSoft Stretch Ribbon

January 10, 2012 by 4dancers

Since the focus for this month is on pointe shoes, we’ll be featuring a few posts about popular pointe shoe products. We asked for three top sellers and Motion Unlimited Dancewear–one of our Chicago dance pals–gave them to us…here’s the first one…written up by Cassady from the store:

PrimaSoft Stretch Ribbon

PrimaSoft’s Stretch Ribbon is one of our most popular ribbons for beginners to professional dancers! This ribbon has the look and size of any standard pointe shoe ribbon, but is made from a soft stretchy, elastic material. It looks a little different up close, but will match most pointe shoe colors and look the same on stage or in class.

The gentle stretch in the ribbon can help reduce tendon trauma and will increase the range of foot motion. If you have ever struggled with baggy ribbons, this is a perfect solution! You can safely pull your ribbons tighter for clean smooth lines that will not bother your ankle.

After receiving multiple requests for this item, we now make sure we have a full stock!

Want to give it a try? You can order it here.

The Freed Pointe Shoe

January 6, 2012 by 4dancers

freed pointe shoes 2 — Freed Pointe Shoes - Photo courtesy of Freed

Today I’m pleased to announce that we will be doing a series of posts about Freed pointe shoes in the coming weeks on 4dancers. Brenda Neville is a professional fitter and works in retail management at Freed’s boutique store in New York, and she was kind enough to walk us through some of the history, as well as talk a bit about fitting pointe shoes properly and other pointe-related topics.

I admit to having a certain “soft spot” for Freeds. Although I started with Capezio Pavlova’s back in the day, I always was fascinated by the unusual color of Freed pointe shoes. As soon as I was able, I switched over—and never looked back. Freeds were the shoes I wore for the rest of my time as a ballet dancer. And I loved them.

I can still recall going to have them fitted with my Mom in some old building downtown. We would get into the caged metal elevator and ride up to the level that the store was located on. It always seemed that there were no other people in the building when we were there. Instead of that being a spooky experience, it was almost magical. I always enjoyed going to get new shoes… [Read more…]

The Break-In Saga In Three Chapters – Emily Kate Long

January 5, 2012 by 4dancers

Throughout the month we’ll be hearing a variety of things about pointe shoes–from what they do to the feet, to how they are made. Today we have Emily Kate Long with us to talk about how she breaks in her pointe shoes…

I wear Freed Classic Pro, “Anchor” maker. Since I’m unable to get special order shoes, I do a lot to mine to make them just right.

First things first: ribbons and crisscross elastic go on. I sew the heel ends of the elastics slightly towards the outside of the heel seam so the shoe won’t twist in and sickle. Then the back nail comes out, I bend the shanks and step on each shoe, and they are ready to break in with some releves.

Once the box is a little more pliable, I take a cotton drawstring (stockpiled from when I wore Chacott or borrowed from other dancers; Classic Pro have elastic drawstrings) and twist it into a little rope to sew around the platform of each shoe. I use the wear pattern on the satin to inform the placement of the darning–usually I make it so the stitching pushes me a little farther over the shoe and a little to the inside.

Darning also helps correct any lumps or imperfections on the pleats or platform and quiets the shoes down. I also sew the sides of the shoes down so my foot doesn’t look like it has a turtleneck sweater on. I think pointe shoes should look like a beautiful evening gown, complete with plunging neckline!

Step three: noise control! Loud shoes are my worst nightmare, so I mush up the box more and do lots of changements before I glue them. Then a light coating of glue on the inside, mainly on the pleats and along the shank. Once the glue cures they are ready to go. I usually keep three or four pairs ready: harder for class and classical rehearsals, softer for contemporary work, and one really dead comfy pair for rehearsals that involve a lot of standing around.

About the dancer:

Emily Kate Long began her dance education in South Bend, Indiana, with Kimmary Williams and Jacob Rice and graduated in 2007 from Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School’s Schenley Program. Ms Long attended Milwaukee Ballet School’s Summer Intensive on scholarship before being invited to join Milwaukee Ballet II in 2007. She also has spent summers studying at Saratoga Summer Dance Intensive, Miami City Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, Pittsburgh Youth Ballet, and Ballet Chicago.

Ms Long has been a member of Ballet Quad Cities since 2009. She has danced featured roles in Deanna Carter’s Ash to Glass and Dracula, participated in the company’s 2010 tour to New York City, and most recently performed the title role in Courtney Lyon’s Cinderella and the role of Clara in The Nutcracker. Prior to joining Ballet Quad Cities Ms Long performed with Milwaukee Ballet and MBII in Michael Pink’s The Nutcracker and Candide Overture, Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty and La Bayadére, Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Bournonville’s Flower Festival in Genzano and Napoli, and original contemporary and neoclassical works by Tom Teague, Denis Malinkine, Rolando Yanes, and Petr Zaharadnicek. She also collaborated extensively with the Milwaukee Ballet Education Department on the children’s ballet Maria and the Magic Doll Shoppe, which toured to over 20 venues throughout southeastern Wisconsin.

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About Pointe Shoe Wool…

January 3, 2012 by 4dancers

Today we’re running a post on something I was particularly excited about sharing with the dance community…wool for pointe shoes. When I was researching different topics for possible inclusion this month, I came across Pine Acres Woolstock, which is located in northwestern Wisconsin.

Pine Acres has a small flock of Romney/Rambouillet sheep, and the owner, Teresa Smit, processes some of their wool for use in pointe shoes. I reached out to her to learn more, and she was kind enough to tell us a bit about how wool is processed and prepared for use in pointe shoes…

Can you tell readers a little bit about how you got involved with producing pointe shoe wool?

I am really combining two loves from childhood. I grew up on a farm and am a country girl at heart. During my childhood I enjoyed 11 years of dance, including pointe, and understand the value of wool for padding the toes. Raising a flock of sheep now keeps me happily connected to both worlds.

What is the process like of processing the wool for ballet dancers?

Softness and cleanliness are my two criteria for pointe wool. Softness in wool is determined by the breed of sheep. The Rambouillet breed produces soft, fine wool and is the basis for my pointe wool. The sheep are shorn once a year, usually in April. After shearing, a cover is placed on each sheep which is worn throughout the year. It is replaced with a larger one periodically as the wool grows. These coats protect the wool from the elements of weather and keep the fleeces nice and clean. After shearing, the wool is washed and sent to the woolen mill to be processed.

What are some of the benefits of wool? [Read more…]

January 2012: Pointe Shoes & More

January 1, 2012 by 4dancers

Hello and welcome to 2012!

For this first month of the year 4dancers will be taking a closer look at the pointe shoe and all that surrounds it. Tune in for more about things such as:

The process of raising sheep to provide lambs wool for ballet dancers

A closer look at Freed pointe shoes, including the history, how they are constructed and how to fit them properly

Exercises you can do to improve your arch

And much more!

We’ll also be featuring great content from our columnists, including new contributor, Jan Dunn, who will be talking about dancer wellness. Toss in a teaching tip or two and our new “Dance Blog Spotlight” feature and we’re off and running to meet 2012 with more quality content for readers than ever before!

Happy New Year!

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