Fit Tip Friday is DRN‘s monthly column where pointe shoe fitters share their go-to advice. For this installment, Kristin Ruggieri, owner of Attitude Dance & Activewear in Norwalk, CT, explains why taking a few minutes to teach dancers about the anatomy of a pointe shoe before they try one on leads to better fittings. —Emily May, editor, Dance Retailer News
At Attitude, we start our first-time pointe shoe fittings by going over the anatomy of the shoe and explaining the function of each part. This helps dancers and parents have a better understanding of what the shoe will feel like when they’re wearing it. When they know what each part is responsible for, they won’t panic and think the box is too tight or that the wings [the reinforced side sections of the toe box] are crushing their feet.
We also have a pain indicator that we use to offset first-time anxiety about the snug fit of the shoe. I always tell dancers, “Expect pressure, but if you feel anything sharp or shooting, that’s a red flag.” Differentiating between pressure and pain works pretty well. Certain levels of pressure may not be tolerable to some dancers, though, so that’s an important thing for them to communicate.
When I was a kid, my teacher went through everything we needed to know about pointe shoes with us in class. It doesn’t seem like they’re doing that anymore. Whether they are from recreational to advanced schools, I’m finding that the information we share is pretty new to all of the dancers we see.
As a result, my store has developed a policy for how we approach first fittings: I give my fitters a little bit of freedom with the language, but we focus on the box and the function of the wings. To me, that’s the most important part of the fit, because that’s where you get most of the support from. Understanding this also gives the students a better understanding of when they need to replace the shoes. Students almost always wait for the shank to die, but most of the time it’s the wings that go beyond their lifespan first.
Former dancer Kristin Ruggieri founded Attitude Dance & Activewear in Norwalk, CT, in 2004. Find out more about her journey from stage to store in this article.