Who is the most important person in a ballet store?
It is the one who can help you get exactly the right fit in pointe shoes. You already knew that.
If you have just started pointe work, or are hoping to, here is one thing you can do to strengthen your feet.
You use the floor as resistance in every tendu and degage you do.
You PRESS into the floor with the sole of your foot, every time you leave fifth or first position and stretch your foot into a tendu, degage, grande battement, or go through first in your ronde de jambe a terre.
You also PRESS through the metatarsals on to full pointe to the end of your tendu, degage or grande battement.
This will strengthen the sole of the foot, and the muscles under the metatarsals (toes) which will help you in pointe work.
It will also help you in jumps, lowering into a demi-plie with that cat-like quality, and avoid many injuries from landing well, when you are on a less-sprung floor.
So while the person at the ballet store is important, it is also important for you to realize that all your basic ballet work is preparation for your work in pointe shoes. Every small movement from a closed position to an open position is a chance to strengthen the sole of the foot. Pressure into the floor is like the resistance of a heavy weight. The harder you press, the heavier the weight.
Once you have started pointe work and have worn out a pair of pointe shoes, you wear them for soft shoes. Why? The shoe gives you more resistance every time you stretch, and that continues to strengthen the sole of the foot.
Sometimes when you wear the softened pointe shoes instead of soft shoes, you wobble when standing on one leg because of the extra height in the sole of pointe shoes. You can file this down with a wood file. It makes the sole flat on the floor, while not planing it down enough to get rid of that valuable extra resistance it gives.
And who thought you'd need a tool box too?
Relaxing the foot muscles is important. You can roll your foot over a tennis ball, but better yet use a rubber ball that has a little give.
Here's a stretch I learned from Deborah Vogel. With a soft rubber ball, kneel down on the floor and put the ball under one of your legs, under the shin. Let your weight press into the ball, inch by inch, and it will relax the tibial muscles. Go all the way down to the ankle area, kneading and stretching the muscles.
Then, put the ball under the top of the metatarsal area, and pressing into it, you will get a stretch down the top of the foot and over the ankle, increasing the curve of your point.
Remember, muscles are stronger and better toned when they get stretched properly, and relaxed fully, every day.
Pointe shoes make noise, so for that, among other reasons, the more control the better.
The upper body posture and control is part of all of this too - but the feet is where you meet the stage. I hope this helps.
Each ballerina in the English National Ballet gets an allowance of 10 pairs of pointe shoes ... every month. That means a pair of pointe shoes lasts just 3 days!
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