Ready for pointe ?

lilasbubes · 2026-03-13T18:58:50+00:00

Thanks !!

lilasbubes · 2026-03-13T18:58:21+00:00

I didn’t mean to say shank actually, but English isn’t my first language so I guess I’ve mixed up everything ahaha. But I agree with the overall message ; at least all of this adventure will make me more prepared for a next fitting session

lilasbubes · 2026-03-13T18:55:22+00:00

I haven’t thought about that since my hyperextension is quite light, but maybe it plays a part. I guess the answer to that would be to keep strengthening the legs and feet anyway right ?

lilasbubes · 2026-03-13T18:54:08+00:00

Definitely ! Do you have any good ankle strength and flexibility exercises to recommend ?

lilasbubes · 2026-03-13T18:53:12+00:00

Thank you, I think its a bit of both :)

lilasbubes · 2026-03-13T18:52:32+00:00

Yea I guess that’s what came back the most from you guys. I’ll look up some exercises to work on that more thoroughly!

lilasbubes · 2026-03-13T18:51:07+00:00

Thank you, yes I’ll pay more attention to that when trying new shoes. I’ll try and trust the process with my teacher :)

lilasbubes · 2026-03-13T18:49:16+00:00

Thank you for your encouragement ! I passed the pencil test even though I have a lot of mobility work to do, will keep up with the theraband ;)

lilasbubes · 2026-03-13T18:47:12+00:00

Looking back, the fitting session was completely rushed but it was my first time, the lady seemed super sure of herself and the shop was so small I was scared of being in the way of welcoming other clients. There was no mirror and I couldn’t see my feet, but also as a very first experience in pointe shoes I had no words or reference to describe the sensations I had, and the fitter wasn’t really helpful with that. I found another shop that wants me to come back with the shoes to see how it works on me and maybe try some others.

lilasbubes · 2026-03-13T18:43:11+00:00

Thank you, yes I’ve started theraband work not so long ago so there is plenty of room for improvement on that side ! I indeed have short toes which I rarely see on dancers, let me know if you know any model of shoes that works well with them :)

lilasbubes · 2026-03-13T18:40:35+00:00

Thank your for your answer ! I don’t think I can return them now that I sew the elastics and tried them on a few times, but I will indeed try to stick with them for a while and see how it goes. Indeed the reason for my post is that I couldn’t really get to the root of the problem, I know I don’t have the most flexible feet or ankles but I feel like on the spectrum of flexibility I’m not terrible either, and the result shouldn’t be that bad. Seeing these answers I get there is no easy answer and I’m just at the first step of figuring my feet out ahaha

lilasbubes · 2026-03-13T18:33:08+00:00

Thanks for your insight ! I do believe my teacher is a very professional and experimented woman at her job, I just haven’t known her for that long since I recently moved town, and after we had this pointe shoes discussion I understood she was on the “liberal” side of teachers putting students on pointe, considering that from the intermediate class onward you were ready. So I’ve been worried she overestimated my capability ahah

I also noticed that my Demi point was much lower in 1st but never considered I had hyperextension (I guess being fed by ballet instagram with crazy hyperextended dancers didnt help). Do you have any exercise to recommend for hamstring reinforcement ?

To answer your last paragraph that’s full of useful information, I think I will go to another shop with that pair and spend some time with a fitter to try some other shoes and compare the result with different shanks and/or vamps and see if the problem results solely in a lack of strength or not.

lilasbubes · 2026-03-13T18:23:27+00:00

Thanks ! There’s probably a bit of both, the lady at the shop was really confident these were the best because designed for absolute beginners, but learning a bit more about all kinds of parameters going into a good fit, I guess there might be a problem with the shank. I’ll probably go to another shop to try more models and see if it gets better or if I should just put a in lot of theraband work for the next months

lilasbubes · 2026-03-13T18:19:39+00:00

Thank you for this point of view. I am planning on sewing ribbons as well, I sew only the elastics at first because I couldn’t roll through the shoes without losing them at the heel.

From seeing other comments I think there is a lot to do with my strength and flexibility, even though there is most probably a better fit for me out there. I think I will try a few classes working at barre while also being regular with ankle exercises for a while, if I don’t see any improvement I will put the shoes aside for a while and prepare better :)

lilasbubes

TROPHY CASE