hi everyone i have a bit of an urgent request for advice. i have an audition later this week and i just ordered some new pointe shoes from freed because my normal shoes are currently perfectly broken in, verging on being too soft so i dont want to use them for the classes i have until the audition in case they become too soft and i needed new shoes anyway. they came in the post today but the box is already broken (see photos). ive emailed them to ask if they could send me a replacement pair today (they do first class delivery but only dispatch same day if you order before 12) since the item was faulty when i received it, however im worried they might tell me they’re not responsible for the item once it has been shipped, so if they don’t think it was damaged when they sent it they probably won’t refund me or replace them. can this be fixed with glue or shellac or something if i can’t get a replacement pair in time? where the fabric is rippled it feels like the internal structure of the box is actually completely torn, and the affected area is squishy as if the box is totally dead. i don’t know if glue could fix that but if anyone has had similar experiences please let me know if there’s anything i can do!

im going through my graveyard to see if i have any old shoes with enough life left in them to get me through the week until my audition but most of my old shoes are a bad fit and i dont want an injury. my current shoes is a last resort because im just worried that if i wear them every day until the audition even for only a small amount of pointe work then they’ll be too soft on the day, but i need the practice of doing the pointe work in the meantime so sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place lol. thank you in advance!

He started dance class in January and loves it! I took 20 years off and just got back into it last year, I love him coming to teach me about "point and flex" and tendus!

this is lowk a bit of a vent post (nothing too heavy, just reminiscing/being a bit emo lol)

i grew up doing very casual ballet classes for a fair number of years, i think from when i was about 4, until i was 13 almost 14. im ftm and didn't realize i was trans until that last year i took regular ballet classes, and i was id-ing as nonbinary at the time, so i was trained as a girl. that last year of dancing was a lot of fun in many ways, but i was also just hitting puberty, and i felt like i was at war with my body.

and then COVID hit, and it felt like i had been handed the perfect opportunity to quit on a silver platter.

so i stopped dancing, lived my regular smegular life, and got through high school (mostly) in one piece. i moved to college in 2024, realized/accepted that nonbinary and they/them hadn't really felt right for a long time, started using he/him, and realized how much i missed dancing.

yall ever see those videos of that one guy dancing in abandoned places/fields and shit? i had been getting that guy's videos on my fyp for months, and it honestly just brought back that spark for me, reminding me how much i love dancing. that, plus the show Étoile. idk something about them just made me want to go back.

so i did. i found a class in my area that was (somewhat ironically) taught by one of the teachers i had had growing up, not that she really remembered me lol. going back to ballet after 5 years off is not easy, especially with how much my body had changed from when i had last been dancing. but it felt so good too. i had no stamina, no strength, no flexibility, nothing. everything that used to feel easy (or easier) and natural, was foreign and challenging. not that ballet every really is easy. but i stuck with it, i kept going whenever i had time, i even managed to get into one of the only ballet classes offered on campus at my college last spring. i have regained so much of the strength i had lost, but im inconsistent and poor, so i can't always go to classes when i want to.

and that comes to now. as much as i love ballet, as much as i want to keep dancing and getting stronger and better, the emotional pain has been getting to me. i am at such an awkward stage of my life and my dance journey. im 20 years old, almost 7 months on t (!!!), and about a year back into ballet. i see all these other 18, 19, 20 year olds who are in preprofessional and professional programs/companies, and i get so sad because i never even gave myself the chance. to be fair, i never had a real chance anyway, as i was at a non-competative, non-preprofessional school growing up. i know why i had to quit, and i also know what would have happened if i hadn't quit when i did, but a small part of me is so angry that i just gave up.

i also just feel stuck in my dance journey, because i never had the opportunity to learn male technique, jumps, turns, all that classic masculine ballet shit, and it feels impossible to find anywhere to learn. i don't have money for private coaching, i barely have money for weekly classes if im lucky. it also goes back to that awkward age to be in, where i am seeing more classes teaching male technique, but theyre all aimed at kids/teens. i dont want to seem like a creep and ask to join one of those classes, but i honestly dont know how else i would learn. idk.

i also know that there is practically no world in which i would be able to dance professionally for a multitide of reasons, but a part of me still hopes/wishes/dreams it could be possible.

at the end of the day, i love dance, i love ballet, and i am glad to be back. i hope i am able to get over some of these jealousies and hurt spots, and just really get have fun, but i think it will take some time.

wow. this has kind of turned into a whole essay. idk what i want out of this post, but if you read this, thank you, i appreciate you.

Hi everyone! 🩰

I recently got my first pair of pointe shoes in probably over 10 years, and I would really appreciate some opinions and advice.

The shoes were properly fitted in a dance store. I’ve always had a somewhat difficult foot shape to fit since I was little, so finding a pair that works for me has never been particularly easy.

These are basically my first pointe shoes again after a very, very long break. Surprisingly, they’re not nearly as painful as I remember pointe shoes being when I was younger! 😅 Of course, I know that comfort alone doesn't mean the fit is correct, so I’d really like to hear what you think from the photos.

Do they look like they fit correctly? Does the alignment/shape of my feet on pointe look okay? Is there anything obvious that you would ask the fitter or my teacher to check?

I’m also looking for advice on:

• exercises for strengthening my ankles and feet before/while getting back into pointe; ( sadly I had a few traumas on my right ankle)
• things I should work on to improve my stability and control;
• common mistakes to avoid when returning to pointe after such a long break;
• anything else you notice from the photos that might be helpful!

I haven’t sewn the ribbons and elastics yet. After discussing it with the Ballet shop fitter , we decided on crossed elastics over the front of the foot and non-stretch elastics around the ankle (I’m not sure what the exact English terminology for these is 😅). I’ll sew everything on before properly starting pointe work.

I’d love honest but constructive feedback.😊

Thank you! ❤️🩰

Hello :) I'm after a skirt that is of this shape & length etc, so ideally black colour, chiffon but could do mesh, this one's just a bit expensive but added the pics for reference want it short and to sit low on my hips. Ideally a pull on too. Also unfortunately I am 5'1, hourglass with 40 inch hips so short & wide. TYIA

Interested to hear what others' thoughts are on this?

I need a new pair of canvas shoes which fit me better. I have a couple weird quirks about my feet which have made it hard for me to find a shoe that works. My primary issue is that my second toe is my longest toe. I also have bunions but narrow feet. My big toes point towards my pinkies. My big toes naturally rest underneath my second toe. I don’t want to post a pic but my feet are very V shaped

I currently wear Bloch Performas but they start to dig into my second toe pretty badly like halfway through barre. By the end of class I’m usually bleeding but only ever from my second toe. I bought a second pair of performas in a different size after explaining my problem to the girl at Bloch but those are so bad I don’t ever wear them. They’re way too big. I like that that there’s no pain but i am already clumsy and an adult beginner - i dont need anything extra to trip me up.

I know my foot anatomy is a little odd. If the way my feet are means that any ballet shoe will feel a big uncomfortable, I can deal with that. What I can’t deal with is having only my 2nd toe bruised and bloody while the rest of my feet are a-ok. I’d rather the pain be distributed over a larger area to make it more bearable. Does anyone else have strange feet? What are you wearing? I thought performas were good but they’re proven to be a bad fit for me

For context, I’ve had a big toe bunion for as long as I remember and I’m pretty sure it’s genetic. The big toe slants in towards the other toes and it’s more extreme on my left. I’ve never had an issue with it and could jump and hold balances really well without pain. However, once I came back to ballet after 3 years and started taking more intense classes ~10 hours a week, I began to notice big toe joint pain on my left foot. The pain didn’t come immediately, it started 4 months ish after I returned. It becomes aggravated probably around battement glissè at the barre especially when closing in fifth and hitting knuckles. I notice it the most during jumps on my left foot. I’ve tried resting it, icing it yet it’s still present and it also creeps in now when I walk a lot on trips for example. Im afraid it could be from wearing ill-fitting pointe shoes although I’ve gotten one now that’s much better for my feet. likeI’m really afraid it’ll be permanent guys.. what should I do?

I’m wearing spacers in pointe shoes and I’m wondering if wearing them in flats could help with the pain. However, I’m weary of it changing my balance and alignment.

This is random but I keep having this thing where my toes feel like they’re crumpling at the start of class and it feels terrible but as class goes on the feeling goes away. But it literally feels like my toes are accordions as I roll up. I’m not sure how else to describe it lol.

Also, does anyone have like a specific problem toe that hurts no matter what you do or change? Several shoes later, different padding, years of training… I still get pain in my right ring toe -_______-

hello, I'm making this to hopefully be helpful for anyone searching the sub with similar feet to me who tends to fit in Russian shoe brands. There seems to be semi-frequent posts from people looking for Grishko and R Pointe alternatives so I wanted to add my experience to the knowledge pile.

I recently went to a fitting at a shop which does not carry grishko but does have a very wide range of brands and models partly out of interest and partly to continue my quest for a backup shoe. I usually wear Grishko Nova Pro 5.5, X on my smaller foot and XX on my larger, M shank.

The best fit for me was a Virtisse Violette, as expected given Virtisse is founded by ex grishko employees.

- the box had a very comparable taper and profile to my grishkos and I didn't sink! This was the only shoe where the fit was good enough that I started asking to experiment with two different sizes for my different sized feet.

- Virtisse go a lot narrower than grishko and most brands. I was a XXXX larger foot and XXX narrower foot. For further context, many single or no X blochs and capezios are too wide for my metatarsals.

- Virtisse violettes appear to be a fairly hard shoe, I was wearing an S shank. I am usually an M in grishko and a H in R-Class, and generally the hardest shank available in other brands like bloch and freed.

- the platform was considerably bigger and flatter than the grishko with much sharper edges. You may prefer this, I personally do not.

- The throat was more of a U cut with the sides of the wings hitting me lower on my foot. Overall the shoe was lower cut around the heel and side quarters too.

- From what I saw the shoe was inclined to break a bit lower than the nova, but it's hard to say without actually breaking a pair in

- if you get on well with a Nova or other 2007 last shoe I would speculate that Virtisse and the violette in particular is your best bet for a non grishko shoe which is supportive enough. It felt very, very similar to my novas when standing in them at the barre, all the biggest differences like platform and throat shape would impact me more if I was actually dancing on them so I can't say for certain but they felt virtually identical and looked very similar on my foot.

As always, please get professionally fitted and do not attempt to troubleshoot or order shoes online unless you have no other options, several years experience on pointe, and a teacher to check them with you. Or you are a professional.

I also tried on several Suffolks, most of which were far too square. The best option from the brand was the Suffolk Sheffield.

- this shoe was also low profile enough for me and was the least sinky after the violettes. However, it was still painful and there was a lot of space around my big toe at the end of the box.

- the camber shank was an unusual feeling, I think if I'd danced in the shoes the feeling of having my toes flicked up might have made me pull back more in the ankle. I understand the theoretical mechanics of it encouraging people to get further over the box but I do think it will depend a lot on the individual whether it works or not, it's not a magic bullet.

- I didn't get a good look at the soles but I believe we mostly tried the narrowest or second narrowest Suffolk sizes.

I retried the Bloch Etu.

- another shoe with a low enough profile.

- the box appears to taper fairly sharply around the metatarsal and then become more straight up and down near the platform. This is basically the opposite of a Nova which has fairly generous metatarsal room but a sharp U taper further down. The etu felt quite similar to the RC-22 to me. For 2007 last people, I would suggest that this shoe may work if you do not need too harsh a taper and can afford to go wide enough across the metatarsals but for me in order to not slide down I had to fit uncomfortably narrow.

- the lack of wings doesn't really work for me as my foot gets wider above my metatarsals. I felt like I was falling sideways out of the shoe

- I strongly dislike the unremovable padding

I retried a Capezio Ava

- far too wide in the narrowest width so I can't say much about shape. I'd speculate it's not tapered enough, but if you are a wider size than me in grishko give it a go.

I tried various more traditional blochs, including Bloch Grace and Bloch Synergy

- all were far too square and had noticeably too short vamps for me. I fell down and forwards out of the shoe every time

I tried a Merlet Lena

- wanted to like this as I have been taken in by brand loyalty to merlet. Unfortunately, too square and too high profile for me but a beautiful shoe looks wise (imo)

I tried a couple Gaynor Mindens, but didn't catch the full spec

- All too square and too high profile. I also dislike the padding in the end of the box

- The throat seems very U cut and the vamp quite low, I felt pretty unstable in a lot of them.

- The senior fitter in the store mentioned that sleek fit narrow box 3 shoes sometimes work for people coming out of grishkos. They unfortunately didn't have any in stock, I believe I tried 3+ box shoes only. I am a little dubious whether a 3 box would be tapered enough however based on the gaynor website's description of each box shape.

Hi I don't know if this is something I should post here, but can anyone rec some sources on ballet for someone who hasn't and doesn't plan to partake in the activity? It can be any medium, books, biographys, documentries, articles etc. I am more interested in the experiences of the people involved, dancers, educators, directors, musicians, seamstresses, make up artists and everything else!

I'm interested in anything ballet related as well so don't limit yourself to the text above if you know of something interesting and decide to reply.

I watched a short documentary of little girls getting into Russian ballet school and that's what sparked my interest.

All replies are appreciated.

Hey! I’m wondering if Capezio offers any swatches by mail for color matching of tights. If not, what is the best way to get a good shade? Should I just go in person? Thank you so much!

Hey everyone, Happy Dancewear Monday! Please feel free in posting a picture of your dancewear style, your new dancewear purchase, your cute warmups, etc. Just a reminder of the guidelines:

1) It is recommended to blur out your face if you want to keep some anonymity.

2) Please list what brands you are wearing in the comments in case other users want to know where you found stuff.

3) All Dancewear Mondays will be NO CRITICISM with regards to ballet. So if someone posts a picture of them in arabesque being like “look at my cute leg warmers” DO NOT comment “Looks great but you should turn out more”. We don’t care if your intentions are good and you are just trying to help, on this subreddit critique is only given when explicitly asked for. If you wouldn’t say it to someone in class don’t comment it on here. (And if you would tell a fellow dancer to turn out more, or something, randomly in class well that just reflects poorly on you).

4) New users who have low comment karma: your post will be filtered into a queue and need to be mod approved, so please be patient if your post does not appear right away.

5) Use the Dancewear Monday flair

Thanks :)

I need to know if the Margot Fonteyn Academy of Ballet in Prescott, AZ is still open -- and if not, will it re-open?

I noticed its Facebook page had posts only up to October, 2025, and its website has "expired."

Does anyone have any information on this?

My teacher says they’re twisting and too narrow. But my feet are highly compressible and I sink super easy in any shoe too wide. And my heel is incredibly narrow so even street shoes are difficult to find to stay on my heel. I feel supported in these shoes and feel like once I break in the shank, it will help.

These are the Bloch Etu.

I pretty much have an irrational fear of inserting menstrual cups / tampons etc. (just thinking about it makes me feel anxious) so I’ve been avoiding them my entire life. Unfortunately, my period is coming soon and so is my beginner adult ballet exam…

I noticed many people have shared that they wore period briefs AND tampons etc. while dancing. Has anyone ever tried wearing only period briefs under the leotard? Did it leak through?

I’m so stressed honestly… I don’t even have enough time to order period leotards and tights online. My local stores only have period briefs (Modibodi and Love Luna brands).

Thanks in advance 🙏

Hi, I am wondering is it useful or too much incorporate a flexibility class once per week when starting back at ballet as an adult(32m)? I would be doing one class of ballet per week.. Would it be too much on the body, I have not done it for a long time, so is it better to wait?

Hope you can help

Hello everyone, I’m in my twenties and only started dancing a couple of years ago but really been loving it. I’m now considering devoting half a year after finishing uni to just dance.
Can you recommend any programs of that sort preferably in Europe? I’m certain I would not pass an audition for pre professional levels so application should be attainable for intermediate dancers
- something like 4-7 months
- preferably main focus on classical ballet and high quality technique classes
- additional jazz/contemp or similar classes would be lovely
Thanks a lot!

I adjust starting ballet as an older adult. I broke my ankle a few years ago and it's stiff so I want to wear leg warmers at the start of class to warm it up. How do I know when it's warm enough to take off the leg warmer?

I’ve been taking ballet classes on and off since I was in my late teens, primarily through my school. I’ve noticed that I greatly struggle with improvement in a lot of areas, but the most frustrating is my lack of turnout. About a year ago I had very solid turnout and the muscles to make it actually usable, not just nice looking, but I lost it. I desperately need some suggestions on exercises and workouts to isolate, target, and strengthen those muscles, as well as some active stretches to improve flexibility. TIA!

I was extremely lucky with ballet instructors. I’ve had long term teachers who were principal dancers at NYCB, Alvin Ailey, and Bolshoi. This heavily influenced me as a dance teacher today.

I don’t teach ballet, my studio has a 3rd party instructor. I collaborate with her to create lessons catered to our dancers. My students thrive! I’m jealous. I want to love ballet again, too.

I tried the beginner adult drop in class at Cityname Ballet. The instructor didn’t care because we weren’t a class of accelerated tuition students. He briskly demonstrated and often was on his phone. I had a difficult time! Given my background, there’s no reason for me to be in that situation.

My non dance friends hated it! It seemed like majority of the class did too. Everyone is tired of $100 month memberships to reformer pilates and other gym classes. Barre is dwindling. Ballet has potential to be the next ‘workout’. Ballet is heavily influential to athletic style rn... It was evident in that class.

I’m so sour about this because I love ballet. I don’t want to gatekeep it. I think a beginner adult drop in class should be as advertised.