I have been on pointe for about 6 years now. Pointe work takes years of training and even more discipline then dancing in flat soft shoes. You are putting your entire weight onto the tip of a hard satin shoe that you turn on, rise, lower and roll though using your feet, ankles, legs, back, and abdominals to control. Ballerinas are famous for dancing on the tips of their toes so it is important as a dancer to have well-fitting pointe shoes. Ideally they should fit like a glove, offer support, and allow you to manipulate the feet against the floor and into the air. Finding the perfect balance of shoe takes years of work. Your feet change; they grow stronger and form calluses in places where your feet rub up against the shoes. Blisters, bunions, corns, ingrown toenails (that cut into the skin and cause bleeding), cracked and bruised toenails, are all normal for any ballerina. How your feet are shaped, how long your toes are, how high your arch is, all affects how your feet look and fit in the shoes.
There are about 10 different brands of pointe shoes available in the U.S. They are made in France, Russia, London, and New York City. They take hours to complete and must be made by well-trained cobblers. Here is a short video of pointe shoe production.
It takes constant experimentation for a dancer to prepare her shoes for use.
Yesterday's experiment: three-quartering the shank; a popular way to accentuate the arch and make the shoes last longer.
First I ripped away the shank from the canvas.
I then marked the shoe and took a small handheld saw to the shank. Below is the first cut I made which was too high for my foot.
After an afternoon of cutting bit by bit away I finally managed the perfect amount!
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