Wednesday, December 2, 2015

And we figure skaters think getting a good fit in boots is important...

Principal Dancer Megan Fairchild discusses the importance of good fit for pointe shoes.


6 comments:

  1. I never danced at a very high level, but I always found pointe shoes to be SO much easier to deal with than figure skates. It was easier for me to find the right fit, and it was easier for me to break them in. Figure skates were much more painful.

    I never had the money to buy custom skates or custom pointe shoes but I was able to better customize my own pointe shoes than my skates (heat molding never seemed to do much, and punching out or stretching didn't seem to work with my issues), and since my right foot is just enough larger than my left that what fits one is either too big or small for the other it was possible for me to buy 2 different size pointe shoes and swap them (because there isn't a left and a right) and have the other two as a backup pair. There was no way I could get a 3 in one skate and a 3.5 in the other.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jessim: I have absolutely no experience with pointe shoes but the the emphasis on the importance of getting a good fit struck a very familiar chord. I can't imagine being on my toes eight hours a day, day after day. I too have had mixed success with heat molding and punching out but my current boots now seem to fit well. My only remaining complain is that the laces need to be retied after the initial 20 or 30 minutes of skating. I've yet to crack that nut.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laces stretch. I use a skate key to lace up, and I can get them tighter than if I use just my fingers.

      Delete
    2. Yes, I have one as well. A nice idea in theory. I can initially tighten my boots so much that my feet fall asleep. Laces stretch anyway.

      Delete
  3. Great video--thanks for sharing! I really like the slow motion shots of the dancer's feet. That is amazing balance and skill. Then when you watch in real time, you realize the feet are going a mile a minute. Glad I don't have to replace my skates on a near-daily basis!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Glad you enjoyed it. Your last sentence got me thinking about how often elite skaters need to replace their boots. I seem to recall reading somewhere that it's not uncommon for elites to go through a couple of pairs of boots per season. If there are equipment "issues" one imagines they might go through more than that. Punching out and heat molding are our versions of "shoe modification". Glad I don't have to break out the needles and thread every time I go to the rink!

    ReplyDelete