r/BALLET • u/No-retinas • 16d 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/elindranyth 16d 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 16d ago

This is great detail, thank you! I was wondering the same thing, if the shoe was too long and too narrow.

31

u/annabananaberry 15d 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/No-retinas 15d 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.

8

u/annabananaberry 15d 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.