r/BALLET • u/No-retinas • 14d ago
Constructive Criticism Fitters: how would you refit this dancer?
I'm interested in learning more about how to fit pointe shoes and this dancer showed up on my fyp. I'm curious how the fitters in this group would solve the issues here, which (and I'm guessing) seem to be the width of the shoe mostly? But also the profile of the shoe? Or the overall shape?
It seems to me like it's obvious these do not fit and are hindering proper alignment, but again, not a fitter myself so I'd love to hear your opinions.
Note: not sure if this was a professional fitting or just someone who acquired them themselves, didn't do a ton of digging and I don't want to post their handle.
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u/lyrasorial 14d ago
This seems like a non-dancer or someone not ready for pointe. They're not lifting themselves, they're using the shoes like high heels. Not muscle engagement
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u/smella99 14d ago
Absolutely no pointe for her.
When trained dancers makes those gimmicky videos like “Watch me try these SHEIN pointe shoes” or whatever, even when the fit is horrible, you can see their skill and capacity shine through the horrible fit. This, on the other hand, is just a diletante who has no business with pointe shoes of any kind.
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u/Professional-Food773 14d ago
I would wait 6 years and then try to fit her. She isn’t ready for pointe and she WILL hurt herself if she continues
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u/ngp1623 14d ago
I agree. The shoes definitely are not a good fit, but the poor fit is only highlighting and exacerbating that she isn't ready for pointe. Continuing pointe, even with the proper fitting shoes, would not be a safe and sustainable choice. Some time and training would be helpful.
The proper training time a person slips to rush into pointe is paid back with interest later when the injuries make it anguish to dance at all.
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u/Mammoth-Corner 14d ago
Not a fitter and haven't worn pointe shoes in years — but — it kinda looks wonky even with the feet flat. Like it's too high under the ball of the foot.
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u/Normal-Height-8577 14d ago edited 14d ago
I had a second look, because it wasn't making sense to me. I think they're in way too narrow shoes, and have also gone too long so that they can stuff just their toes into the box. I think that's why they're so wobbly too - they're clearly a model not a dancer, but even if they were, their feet are sort of jammed against the top edge of the box rather than the box supporting them around the toes and ball of the foot. As a result, the foot's at an odd angle.
(I have very wide feet, and my first pointe shoes tended to want to put me at a similar angle if I wasn't careful, even though my fitter had made sure the box was wide enough, just sort of sliding down with the big toe and leaving the little toe behind - I occasionally ended up dancing on a corner to keep the foot itself straight! Needless to say, I switched brands next time round.)
Edit: I would be very surprised if her little toes were even slightly in the box; it looks like the edge is hitting on her fourth toe, and that's got to be excruciating.
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u/No-retinas 14d ago
that's what caught my eye in the first place. definitely a weird shape while on the floor
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u/DaisyyPetals 14d ago
That dancer is not ready to be on pointe, it looks like they’re about to fall over and also they look like pointe shoes from Amazon 😭
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u/madamesoybean 14d ago
Sickle city. The strength is just not there yet. It's not just the shoes. This is making me wince as this looks so unsafe!
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u/TallCombination6 14d ago
There is no pointe shoe strong enough to fix a lack of strength and technique. The person in the video has no business in pointe shoes.
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u/Special_Net5313 14d ago
I think the shoe itself is too short as well; that’s why they can’t roll through. They need either a longer size or less padding.
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u/No-retinas 14d ago
Hmm yeah a ton of padding would make the shape weird as well, which is common for beginners to choose too much padding.
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u/Anon_819 14d ago
The first step is not buying shoes off wish.com.
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u/icelandicprincess00 14d ago
these are gaynor mindens 100%
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u/Sea_Strawberry_6398 14d ago
Why do you say that? My last pair of pointe shoes (circa 20 years ago, RIP my ability to work on pointe) were gaynors and they fit me very well, probably the second best fitting shoes I ever had.
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u/icelandicprincess00 3h ago
wow the downvotes i got were nuts. i said that bc i had the worst fitting ever in gaynors where the box was way too tapered and i felt just like this person does lol. i wasn't trying to imply all gaynors were bad, but that the fitting and look of the shoe appear to be very very ill fitting mindens. they look like the non european ones (made in usa)
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u/elindranyth 14d ago
The biggest thing for me is that she looks to be sitting on top of the box rather than fully supported by the shoe. Initially yes, it looks like a box shape mismatch - she probably needs something less tapered and possibly wider than whatever that shoe is. I feel like it's highly unlikely her big toe is reaching all the way to the platform in that shoe, but since her heel is completely inside the shoes she's probably going to also need a shoe that's shorter than this one. If the box shape allowed her to be further into the shoe, at this length she'd have probably a whole handful at the back of her heel rather than just a small pinch of fabric at the casing. Once you get her into the proper box and length, then you can start addressing the shank - in the right box, this shank might actually support her at the correct place. Another thing that's probably not helping matters is that her shank is probably twisting, which is common when the box isn't fitting properly (usually too narrow) and that can cause the front of the foot to look funky too. Hard to be sure from this angle but I suspect that's happening.
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u/No-retinas 14d ago
This is great detail, thank you! I was wondering the same thing, if the shoe was too long and too narrow.
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u/annabananaberry 14d ago
Why aren’t you listening to people who are saying that the person in the video (who I suspect may be you) should not be getting pointe shoes at all? You are only engaging in conversations about the fit and ignoring the lack of skill and muscle readiness for pointe in the first place.
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u/Normal-Height-8577 14d ago
They are listening; it's just irrelevant to their question.
They've edited the original post to clarify that they found the video online. They are not the person in the video, they don't know the person in the video, and they're not in a position to advise the person in the video.
The only thing they're interested in, is what's wrong with the fit of the shoes. That the person shouldn't be dancing is self-evident and therefore doesn't actually need to be discussed ad nauseam.
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u/annabananaberry 14d ago
In that case, the fact that the dancer should not be in point shoes at all is in fact relevant to the question. The dancer in the video should not be fitted for pointe shoes before they have gotten to the point where they can safely wear them. They’re asking how somebody would refit the dancer and the answer to the question is the dancer should not be in pointe shoes at all.
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u/Normal-Height-8577 14d ago
They're asking why the shoes don't fit. Not why the dancer can't dance.
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u/No-retinas 14d ago
This person is not me, but mostly I was trying not to tear them down in case they are on this sub, so was hoping not to solicit a ton of “she’s not readdyyyyy!!!!!!” posts when some have already said so anyways. I was ONLY curious about the fit of the shoe. Everything else is obvious to me, as an experienced dancer. Thank you.
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u/annabananaberry 14d ago
In that case, I think the answer, unfortunately, is that she isn’t ready and that needs to be rectified before any questions of fit are addressed. I’m sorry if that’s not the answer you wanted, and thank you so much for explaining your reasoning.
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u/AnOnYmUs-112 14d ago
I'm not a fitter, but I'd say a shorter vamp, wider along the ball of the foot, and maybe something with the shank
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u/No-retinas 14d ago
Ah totally the vamp does look super long I see it now, and the shank is maybe too pliable? it's breaking weird I feel?
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u/darkestdreamland 14d ago
Not a fitter but the box looks way too small. It's not hugging the knuckles. The knuckles are "standing" on top of the box.
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u/No-retinas 14d ago
Oooohhhh k you guys, to be clear: I am NOT the dancer, I also do NOT think they should be on pointe, and I’d appreciate it if you’d stop downvoting every follow up question I have about these shoes.
My intention was to ask about the individual issues of these shoes and how to address them should they come up in a fitting, THATS IT.
I also did NOT want to tear this person down as it’s not their fault apparently that they are in shoes like this:
I did some more digging and looks like Veronika K is all over this dancer’s account, and Broach Ballet, and I think we can blame them for this issue, so please focus the ire at them TIA.
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u/TallCombination6 14d ago
I think the point most of us are trying to make is that it's impossible to fix this fit issue because the shoe itself is on a foot that isn't strong enough for pointe. So many "fit" issues are caused by lack of strength and poor technique. This dancer sinks in the shoes, but her knees are bent- I would bet one million dollars that her butt is sticking out and her core is softer than cotton candy - and that makes sinking worse. The fit issue is DIRECTLY tied to the dancer's lack of strength and technique, so if you want advice about how to fix poor fit issues, you need to give us an example of a dancer who actually belongs in pointe shoes.
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u/No-retinas 13d ago
Fair enough! I totally understand how these are inseparable facts, thanks for not throwing anyone under the bus with your comment 🙏 I didn’t know this would end up controversial! But I agree, everyone is correct, she doesn’t belong on pointe yet.
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u/tresordelamer 14d ago
at first glance it looks like the box is too tapered and the vamp a little too high.
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u/Hour-Revolution4150 13d ago
So you’re correct, these shoes don’t fit but that’s not the problem here. The real problem is that this person shouldn’t even be IN pointe shoes. They don’t have the necessary strength to get en pointe, evident by them “hopping” onto the box. They have zero idea what they’re doing.
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u/Historical_Tough8693 14d ago
The shape is too tapered and/or too low of a crown. This is making the dancer too high in the shoe and making it pretty impossible to dance. From a fitter’s perspective, it is quite possible this dancer is ready for pointe but is struggling mightily in a shoe that does not support her. When this high in the shoe, there is no lateral support and it is hard to get over the platform.
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u/ExpressionMediocre59 9d ago
Those shoes look too narrow by the way they’re twisting on her feet. She needs a wider box.
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u/yummylumpylumpia 14d ago
based on this video, I’m not sure they should be in pointe shoes at all. the way they got up is super shakey and not a roll through or at the very least any indication that they have the adequate strength to be en pointe.