Marisa Wright » Dance

How to Darn Pointe Shoes

Marisa Wright — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:30:03 +0000

Pointe shoes are easier to darn if they are slightly broken in, because the area under the box (between the platform and the leather sole) will have softened slightly. You’ll also be able to see where you need to darn – basically, you want to darn where the satin has got dirty from contact with the floor!

Use crochet thread or embroidery thread. You’ll need a strong needle with an eye that’s big enough to take the thread, but a point that’s fine enough to get through the satin. Bunheads sell a nice pointe shoe sewing kit that has ….

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Alternatives to Darning Pointe Shoes

Marisa Wright — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:30:03 +0000

If you don’t want to darn your pointe shoes, but want to make the platform last longer, there are alternatives.

A very cute English tradition is crochet toe covers. These are little circles of crochet, slightly larger than the platform, which you simply sew on to your pointe shoes. You have to be very, very careful to sew these on properly – otherwise they’ll stretch, and wrinkle in on themselves when you try to pirouette (with nasty results).

Another option is suede patches (you can even buy Gaynor Mindens with them already fitted). Some people swear by them, but the idea scares me!…
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Capezio Glisse Pointe Shoe Review

Marisa Wright — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:30:03 +0000

The Capezio Glisse is Discount Dance’s best-selling pointe shoe, which must mean something!

CAPEZIO

Originally designed from specifications developed by Gine Chant, a former ballerina with the London City Ballet, …

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Cecilia Kerche Pointe Shoe Review

Marisa Wright — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:30:03 +0000

Recently, the Cecilia Kerche pointe shoe company went out of business, but fortunately So Danca has taken over the brand and is reissuing them under its own name.

These Brazilian shoes are made of natural paste for quietness and flexibility. They’re pre-arched with a “memory shank”, and don’t need a lot of breaking in. Historically they’ve been hard to get, but dancers who’ve tried them seem to rave about them. Perhaps now So Danca have taken over, they’ll become more popular.

Unfortunately with the transition, there have been some changes to the range…

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Should I Darn my Pointe Shoes?

Marisa Wright — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:30:03 +0000

I always used to darn my pointe shoes – but then, in those days, most people did! Of course, professionals rarely darned their shoes, because they just didn’t last long enough – but everyone else went through the ritual every time they bought a new pair of pointe shoes.

If you don’t darn your shoes, the satin on the tip wears away very quickly and the raw edges tend to curl up, so you end up with a rather bald-looking area around the pointe. The platform can become smushy quite quickly, too.

If you darn your pointe shoes properly with crochet thread, the darning will …

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Grishko Pointe Shoe Review

Marisa Wright — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:30:03 +0000

Grishko 2007

The number of positive reviews for this pointe shoe on the Discount Dance website is amazing. There seems to be a lot of very satisfied Grishko customers out there! So what’s so good about the shoe?

One of the reasons they’re such a best-seller is they come in a good range of widths and three different shanks. Warning – the hard shank is very, very hard (someone commented you could probably kill someone with it!), whereas the soft shank is labelled “super soft”.

A major point that gets mentioned again and again -…
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Fitting Pointe Shoes – some real life examples

Marisa Wright — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:30:03 +0000

Dancers are often advised not to buy their first pointe shoes online. If you’re wondering why, here are some real life examples of buying pointe shoes and how they are fitted in a shop:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y52WMpvvvGE

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Six Professionals, six different shoes!

Marisa Wright — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:30:03 +0000

Here is an interesting article from Dance Magazine, which perfectly illustrates why there are so many different brands and styles of pointe shoe! Every foot is different, and every dancer has different needs . . .

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Flamenco Shoes in the New York Times

Marisa Wright — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:30:01 +0000

I just came across this article in the New York Times . I like Eva Yerbabuena’s comment about good shoes making her feet feel as if she’s not wearing any shoes! [...]
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Flamenco Hair Ornaments

Marisa Wright — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:30:01 +0000

Traditionally, female flamenco dancers wear their hair long – and that’s one tradition that doesn’t appear to have changed in nuevo flamenco. It’s rare to see a flamenca with a short hair style! Also traditional is the use of hair ornamentation. The stereotypical image of a flamenco dancer is a women with a red rose [...]
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