Watching dancers glide across the floor in pointe shoes is one of my favorite things to

see. They mysteriously float on thin air and don’t make a sound. Their gorgeous dresses

flowing behind them. In reality the toe shoes help the dancers look as though they are

gliding across the dance floor, and their shoes do make a lot of noise. They are made of

hand crafted wood and are fit to connect with the dancers feet. So their shoes look like a

part of their body, while they capture you with their breath stopping performances.


The first professional ballet I saw was performed by the Madison Ballet Company. The

Nutcracker, such a classic. It’s every dancers dream to be a part of a ballet company. I

never thought I would go that far, then I became very serious. I worked everyday for

hours on moves, straight legs, open arms, spotting and so much more. I worked on

flexibility and conditioning. Soon I was auditioning for the Madison Ballet Company. A

bigger company would be most dancers dream, yet this is something if I worked hard

enough for I could have, then go to college after.


My first toe shoe fitting, I met a very famous dancer. His name is Ethan Stiefel. He was a

star dancer and actor in the movie “Center Stage”. He also was a great influence on my

dancing career. He fit me for my shoes in a Madison dance shop. He showed me different

shoe models, sizes, and shapes. Being a beginner he fit me with a wider box and more

narrow shoe. I have narrow feet so they fit snugly to my foot. He set me with a wide box

to help me stay on my pointe easier. They wrong toe shoes can cause a lot of unwanted

pain. If your shoes are to long or to wide for your feet there will be to much room for

your feet to move around in the shoe. This will cause unwanted blisters and broken toes.




Rules for shoe fitting: *No wrinkles on the box
*Shoes should fit like a glove
*The heel of the toe shoe should fit like skin
*Always try both shoes on (feet are often different sizes, shoe may need to be stretched)
*You should not be able to move your foot around in shoe
*Make sure to go up on point to make sure foot doesn’t slide or heel is not to tight.

After my fitting Ethan let me dance on the dance floor in the shop to see how they fit.

You should always at least stand on your box or dance in your new shoes to see how they

feel on your feet when your moving.


My first fitting was amazing, which lead to a great dance career. I eventually joined the

Madison Ballet Company and learned a lot from the other dancers and fantastic coaches.

Even as a professional you have to get your shoes looked at. When you are dancing

everyday or even every other day you need to change your shoes out more frequently.

You will need two new pairs of toe shoes a year. If you dance less frequently you will

only need one pair yearly or less. Shoe prices range depending on the style and brand.

You will want to think about spending at least $120-$200 per pair.