How To Shop for Ballet Shoes

Best deals on ballet shoes are found online, but sizing and fit are crucial, so you may want to purchase your first pair from a store where you may be fitted. Each designer uses their own calculation for shoe size, and you will need to sample a few styles and sizes before you buy. Although there are conversion charts to American shoe sizes, they are not always accurate and do not meet the special needs of your foot. Vamp and shank are predictable, but extra care must go into metatarsal support to get the greatest performance from your pointe shoes.

When trying on a new brand of pointe shoe, be sure you take with you any padding that you will dance with. Soft gels and lamb's wool may alter your fit by a half size, rendering the ill-fitting shoe useless with pads. Also, when trying on a shoe, be sure to climb to pointe instead of using a "releve," as a loose fitting back on the pointe shoe may buckle the shoe underneath your weight.

Grishko makes an excellent shoe with their Elite model perfectly designed for rehearsal or performance. The wide box provides sturdy support to the instep and the medium sized vamp provides a flawless roll or jump to pointe. The Elite comes with soft, medium or hard shank and also SS (super soft) and SH (super hard) models are available. Other Grishko models that are best sellers include Maya, Fouette, Vagonova, 2007 Pro and the Novice pointe, which is excellent for beginners at the barre. The Grishko line are all hand made for the Bolshoi and Kirov Ballet, offering the finest in craftsmanship for fit, comfort and durability. For best bargains, try ordering directly from Russia on Dancechoice.com for year round discounts and free shipping.

The Australian company, Bloch, also makes an excellent shoe with long vamps and hard shanks for stronger feet. Bloch offers a selection of square box models to include the Serene, Bloch B Morph, and Balance, all of which come with full shank. They also have tapered shoes to include Axiom, Axis, Heritage and Alpha which supply a long vamp with medium to soft shank strengths. For best bargains, Bloch pointe shoes may be purchased with discount from Dance-Unique.com.

For more great deals on ballet shoes, try DiscountDance.com which carries top brands such as Bloch, Grishko, Freed, Sansha and more for about 20 percent off retail. Once you have your perfect fit, you're ready to start saving on the shoe budget, however, if you change the model, even keeping with the same designer, be sure to try them on before you buy.