I often get asked what is the best way to get an extra bit of grip and stability on the pointe shoes, hence I decided to write a detailed article about it. This article covers my in-depth research on suede tips and how they can be applied in your pointe shoes.
For those who do not know what pointe shoes are! These shoes are generally worn by ballet dancers when they are performing pointe work. The whole purpose of the inception of these shoes begun when the dancers wanted to appear weight-free and graceful looking while. These pair of shoes enabled them to carry out their en pointe for an extended period of time.
BENEFITS OF USING TIPS ON POINTE SHOES
These are perfect for extra support and offer a decent amount of grip when doing pointe work. Not only this but they also provide the user with an extra bit of cushioning without bulking the size of the shoe or making it look ugly. These tips protect your frontal half of the shoe and so does your toes.
Almost all of the licensed ballet instructors have made it mandatory for people who want to take ballet lessons, to have some sort of tips to protect their pointe shoes and obviously the dancer itself. In reality, pointe shoes are a lot different than regular ballet slippers. These shoes are so snug that they provide little to no toe movement. Although they might feel very constricted at first as with any shoe, the break-in period is mandatory. You should not put them on and jump in your pool to speed up the break-in process, however, the period to break-in shouldn’t last more than a day. Once the shoes are comfortable enough, you can then apply the suede tips on your shoes for more grip and stability.
HOW LONG DOES A POINTE SHOE LAST?
There is no steadfast answer to this question. Since this varies greatly from a user to another. A beginner would be able to use their shoes up to a year’s time. But on the other than, a professional ballet dancer shoes would not last more than a single session. The more demanding the role, the faster they wear out on the pointe shoes happen. Generally, a beginner student would wear out their shoes faster than they outgrow.
CLEAR SIGNS THAT YOUR POINTE SHOES ARE NO LONGER IN THEIR SHAPE?
Below is a list of pointers that you can use to identify if your shoes are no longer fit for pointe work
- The stain on the shoes starts drying out
- The shoe tip starts tearing out. When this happens, the toe must be cut off.
- The canvas insole covering the inside shank of the shoe becomes loose and clutters up. When this happens, just pull it out.
- The side seams of the shoes pull out
- The nails in the shank begin to lose and fall out.
HOW TO GLUE TIPS ON POINTE SHOES
What do you need?
- A pair of sharp scissors or a blade
- Decent fabric-glue
- Suede tips
- Most importantly, your pointe shoes!
Below are the steps that would help you get a perfect fit out of your suede tips on your pointe shoes
- Get your suede tips ordered from an authentic source.
- Of course, the shoes should be with you available at the time of fitting them. Duh!
- Start off by measuring the suede tip to the pointe shoe. Different size of pointe shoes needs a different size of suede tips to be applied correctly.
- Hold the suede tip on the front end of the platform of the shoe.
- Fold over the tip, all the way down to the bottom sole.
- Now measure where the sole of the shoe and the suede tip, overlap each other. Draw a tiny line here and then trim along that line. This is essential as this step would eliminate the factor of letting the suede tip from overlapping the shoe. Thus giving no extra bulk under your shoes.
- After cutting along the lines of the tip, get your hands on an ALL-FABRIC glue. Please ensure that this glue is super sticky and of good quality. Apply this glue over the suede tip. Make sure you get the glue all around the edges of the tip since it is important that the edges are stuck down well.
- Place this tip now directly onto the platform. Nice and straight! Great
- Fold over the suede tip in a way that it meets the platform of the shoe
- Make sure it’s stuck down firmly and all around the edges.
Applying suede tips on your shoes helps to protect your platform and also provides an extra bit of support, traction and control. You can’t go wrong with having these tips installed onto your shoes.
Additional Tip:
Always go for fabric bonding glues. Not those ordinary super-glues, or any other water-based glues. As those are bound to leave massive splotches and marks on the tip and destroy both the look and feel of the shoe.
If you liked my article above, please feel free to leave a comment below telling me if this benefit you. I would love to hear more from you.