Pointe Shoes

Is it time your pointe shoes had a makeover? Gordon Waddington thinks so. A professor of physiotherapy at Australia’s University of Canberra, Waddington is developing an insole that will give dancers extra "grip" in their pointe shoes. It's made from textured PVC material that has a lined pattern so that it locks onto the skin. The hope is that giving dancers more control in their pointe shoes will help prevent ankle and leg injuries. Students at the Australian Ballet School are currently testing it out during their barrework over the course of an 11-week trial.

As a teenager, I'd spend hours at a time trying on pointe shoes at San Francisco Dancewear. The search for the perfect fit felt as elusive as Ponce de León's Fountain of Youth. I really had no concrete idea what I was looking for, other than something that made my feet look good and didn't hurt—too much.

The School at Steps in New York City is hosting a pointe shoe workshop at their studios next Saturday. This year's event is geared toward dancers who are just starting out on pointe, but all levels are invited to attend. Hear from podiatrists, expert pointe shoe fitters, master teachers and professional dancers. After the discussion, representatives from Capezio, Freed, Grishko, Gaynor Minden and Sansha will be on hand to speak with dancers about their shoes and let them try on a variety of styles.

Date: October 15

Time: 5 to 7:30 pm

There's not a single ballet dancer I know who doesn't have a love/hate affair with her pointe shoes. Her artistry depends on her shoes never letting her down. But while they can give her the strength and support to find freedom onstage, if she doesn't have the right fit or doesn't understand how to use them, her shoes will simply be an endless source of blisters, bruised toenails, Achilles tendonitis and more.