| A young dancer's feet will become stonger with | | | | shoe: |
| time but is a gradual process and no two dancer's | | | | The Length refers to your general shoe size. With |
| feet are the same. When picking ballet pointe | | | | some brands of pointe shoes it is normal to take |
| shoes you need to learn why foot structure is so | | | | a size or two smaller, or even larger than your |
| important, and the way that a proper shoe fit | | | | usual street shoe size. Your shoe vendor should |
| supports the foot and also how to choose them. | | | | know, brand by brand, what length to try for a |
| No matter how much you love dance, you cannot | | | | fit. Depending on whether your foot is wide, |
| graduate to pointe before your foot is sufficiently | | | | medium or narrow, you will also need to choose a |
| grown. You might be 11 or 13 or 16 before your | | | | Width. |
| foot is ready. Consider visiting an orthopaedic | | | | The Box is the name of the hard toe-the part |
| doctor before you begin ballet pointe to be certain | | | | you actually stand on. Over the years they have |
| your bony structure and growth plates are ready | | | | been made from many layers of fabric or leather, |
| for this progression. | | | | and today they are most often made of wooden |
| Your doctor will be concerned about your femurs, | | | | blocks. It should support your toes by closing |
| tibias, and fibulas, because they are the long | | | | around. |
| bones in your legs with cartilage plates | | | | The Shank runs the length of the shoe. Typically |
| ("epiphyseal plates") that develop as you grow. | | | | it's made from hardened leather, plastic, or layers |
| The cartilage cells keep growing as you grow, but | | | | of heavy material. Since it supports the arch, the |
| the process slows down as you reach your full | | | | shank might be more flexible for a more lyrical |
| height. Gradually, the cartilage is replaced by | | | | dance or very unyielding for a dance with many |
| ossified (bony) cells. | | | | transitions to the toes without roll throughs. |
| It is common among dancers to have a foot | | | | The Vamp is the fabric or material that encases |
| disorder. No matter how good your ballet pointe | | | | the foot itself, including the vamp elastic traveling |
| shoes are, if the bones in your feet are not | | | | from the opening of the shoe nearest the toes |
| sufficiently developed, they will not be strong | | | | (the throat) and around the foot. |
| enough to sustain the heavy work required of | | | | The Heel includes the quarter panels that come |
| pointe. | | | | around the rear sides of your foot and meet at |
| Metatarsalgia refers generally to any pain in the | | | | the heel, and you can choose a lower or higher |
| ball of the foot. Often this results from pinched | | | | heel depending on your teacher's recommendation. |
| nerves or abnormal fitting of the bones in the | | | | Your ballet pointe shoes have a variety of other |
| foot. If the joint surfaces become misaligned, the | | | | choices such as the fabrics that line the box and |
| cartilage between the joints will be destroyed, | | | | the inside of the shoe. It's wise to make regular |
| which can mean a lifetime of foot pain. | | | | visits to a website that can provide advice on all |
| Once you've gotten the green light, it's time to | | | | aspects of shoe selection, and talk to your |
| choose ballet pointe shoes that will fit you | | | | teacher about what your dance level will require. |
| properly. There are six important parts of the | | | | |