Dear Colin
My daughter is 12 ½ and she is about to venture a few ballet solos en pointe. This is a big challenge for her, one that she is looking forward to. Can you tell me what professional dancers do to their shoes so they do not slip on stage? Please don’t say rosin, as theatres don’t allow this product.
Jayne Holmes
Dear Jayne,
If the stages you are about to dance on have rubberized linoleum coverings (either Tarkett, Rosco or similar flooring) then they are non-slip and you will not have any trouble dancing on pointe. However there are a few things you can do to maximize this. Firstly, the satin that covers the platform of the shoe should be removed to reveal the canvas underneath, and the soles of the shoes should be roughened by making small cuts with scissors or a Stanley knife, or even with a shoe rasp. Some of our dancers also darn around the platform of the shoe using cotton yarn that they have checked first to see that it doesn’t fuzz. Incidentally, I am glad you have ruled out rosin as it cakes on the soles of the shoe and eventually makes them more slippery.
Best wishes for successful and slip-free solos at the end of the year!
Colin Peasley
You can email your ballet questions to Colin at hello@behindballet.com
In my student days, dancing in studios with wooden floorboards, we glued suede tips to our pointe shoes. (The covered the tip and underneath, ending flush with the leather sole.) As well as making the shoes less slippery it allowed the pointe shoe to last much much longer than if you cut the satin and were dancing on the canvas. Also, like the leather soles it could be roughened from time to time.
Is that still a recommended option for a young dancer who isn’t going to replace shoes as frequently as a professional?
Yes students still are able to buy suede toe caps from ballet suppliers (I know Bloch stocks them). Their major drawback is that they become clogged with resin and dirt very quickly and the student needs to keep cleaning them with a shoe rasp, otherwise they become a bigger problem that the slippery floor. Professional dancers don’t wear them because the think they look “clunky”, which is why none of our dancers mentioned it to me for the original reply.
Thanks for your interest,
Colin
Colin, thanks so much for investigating this for me.
Can you provide direction for information to how to darn the soles. Is there a website or book to learn to do this? I have heard other dancers like Darcey Bussell, used this method. they must learn from somewhere?
Kind Regards
Jayne
Hi Jayne,
Here’s some info from our Body Conditioning Specialist Paula Baird-Colt (a former dancer herself) that might help:
“Some dancers still darn shoes – the stitch that is used is blanket stitch and/or whip stitch. The needle needs to very sharp to catch the canvas and satin. Darning just the edge of a block can also help with an uneven shaped block. These skills are passed on from dancer to dancer. I would suggest your daughter try darning an old pair of shoes to gauge the effect they have on prevention of slipping and to try out how much of the block requires darning.
“Try darning the rim of the block first, and then the satin under section. Trial and error with stitch size and gauge of cotton are also suggested.”
At my ballet school, even though we have Tarkett floors, we all get out pointe shoes capped with a rubber cap that is glued on. One of the fathers of a previous student does this so if we ever dance on a floor that is slippery, we have the rubber which make thems stick
I think that they help alot too!
Lulu