Parts of a Pointe Shoe

When choosing what pointe shoes are best for you, there are some factors you need to become familiar with and consider.

There are two main Parts of a Pointe Shoe: box and shank.

Four other parts to consider when trying on ballet toe shoes are the vamp, platform, sole and the heel.

Still other components are the wings, which are the sides of the shoe at the level of the box, the quarter, which are the sides but run behind the wings, the throat (see right image) and the binding, where the draw-string runs. You can tighten the draw-string to adjust the fit of the shoe.

You’ll also need to buy ribbons and elastics which you will sew on. See video here to learn where to sew them.

And finally, accessories. Accessories include toe pads and for some dancers toe spacers. See slideshow below for the most important parts of a pointe shoe.

Parts of a Pointe Shoe

Every dancer has unique feet, with variations that include toe length and shape, arch flexibility, and mechanical strength. Consequently, most pointe shoe manufacturers produce more than one model of shoe, with each model offering a different fit, as well as custom fitted shoes.

Regardless of the manufacturer or model, however, all pointe shoes share two important structural features that enable dancers to dance on the tips of their toes:

• A box within the front end of the shoe that encases and supports the dancer’s toes.
• A shank, which is a piece of rigid material that serves to stiffen the sole so as to provide support for the arch of the en pointe foot.

You can read entire article at wikipedia.org.

Now that you have a comprehensive understanding of the parts of a pointe shoe you’ll be able to get a better fit from your first or next pointe shoes.

I’ll be posting what to look for in a toe shoe for a better fit according to the shape of your toes, their length, your arch, heel size and more. For instance there are three types of toe shapes. What toe shape are your feet? And what kind of box is best for your particular shape?

Did you find this article useful? Could other aspiring ballerinas benefit from this information? If so, please “Share” and “Like” us so other dancers can learn more about the different parts of pointe shoes. Merci.

All images courtesy of wikipedia.org.