You, the reader are probably wondering if I have finally succumbed to writing about the most boring of dance subjects- "The Ballet Shoe", but hear me out..
The ballet shoe in recent times has been downgraded to a fancy dress item which bothers me greatly. Various shops (especially at this time of year) start stocking up on colourful leotards and dance supplies and lots of interesting looking ballet shoes.
Now I like a fancy dress outfit as much as the next person but these not very attractive material ballet shoes are just impersonating the real thing and have no place in a ballet class.
You cannot walk into a Primark or Marks & Spencers and pick up a pair of Irish dancing shoes, so why have ballet shoes become so attractive to copy.
The new cohort of little ballerinas starting their ballet classes are a clever way of "selling" these shoes to an unsuspecting customer but please save these for dressing up at home. Equally some of the shoes from Amazon that look more like a better contender for a ballet shoe are also not up to par. They are cheaply made and break very easily.
So what is the cost of these shoes on our smallest dancers feet?
Firstly the shoe doesn't move with the action of the foot but rather against it. The child's foot isn't yet strong enough to pointe efficiently and the shoe will not aid all the child's best efforts at pointing their toes.
Secondly the shoe does not support the foot. Ballet is the most physically demanding of all the dance styles. The challenges that are placed on the body are completely absorbed by the feet and how they deal with the pressure of the entire body, this has a massive impact on the dancer starting with their feet.
Lastly, the delicate pointing the dancers have to show during all their steps cannot be worked on effectively without the correct footwear. Just as a sportsman cannot deliver a good performance without the correct footwear, nor can a dancer.
Please keep this in mind when ordering your budding ballet dancer new shoes this September!!
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