Pink Satin Slippers And Darcey Bussell

Pink satin shoes always call my name. Whether on pointe shoes or on a lovely pair of ballet slippers like these Darcey Bussell slippers, they just reinforce my belief that ballet shoes are the prettiest shoes in the world.

These pretty  satin slippers go so far as to have a cute liner of pink patterned fabric on the interior of the shoe. When I found these slippers today, I  became curious about the name behind the shoes. Who is Darcey Bussell?

Darcey Bussell

Darcey Bussell was a principal dancer for The Royal Ballet. If you enter her name online, you can find many websites and articles written about her long and successful dancing career.

One of the things that Darcey Bussell did with her ballet experience was to open a dancewear shop online. Of course, I made a beeline to her shop to see if she makes a pointe shoe model under her name. Unfortunately, she doesn’t sell a pointe shoe  model.

You can check out some of the dancewear products that this former ballerina has to offer by visiting her shop:

Darcey Bussell Direct.com.

Dance Of The Snowflakes

Recital Costumes For The Young Dancer

This young dancer has a smile on her face because she knows how beautiful she looks in her costume.

Her costume was custom made just for her by the incredibly gifted costume designer, Monica Newell.

Monica has extensive experience in designing, fitting, and embellishing her classical tutus to achieve the most beautiful and professional appearance on stage.

Monica knows exactly how to make a young dancer look and feel like a prima ballerina.

To contact Monica Newell please visit Costume Creations

The Challenge Of Low Arches

Many beginning ballet students may suddenly find themselves obsessed with obtaining a high,  well developed arch. For some, doing arch enhancing exercises can make a difference. For others, no amount of arch enhancing exercises will  change the basic structure of the foot.

Unlike the higher arched dancer, those with low arches  have  feet that are less flexible. On the plus side, lower arched feet are stronger.

For a beginner with undeveloped feet, having low arches will make it more difficult to rise fully on pointe in the proper position. The weaker foot will also have difficulty breaking in new pointe shoes and will have to work harder at softening the shanks of her shoes.

After gaining strength, the biggest challenge  for a dancer with low arches is finding a pointe shoe that will maximize whatever arch she does have. Pointe shoes that are pre-arched are ideal for the lower arched dancer. Experienced dancers can also find a flattering fit with split-sole pointe shoes.

The ideal pointe shoe will hug the bottom of the foot closely and have maximum flexibility of sole and shank. Some of the following pointe shoe brands are suitable for the lower arched dancer:

Capezio Glisse

Bloch Balance European

Grishko 2007

Russian Pointe Entrada

The Challenge Of High Arches

For many of us, watching a dancer on pointe is a thing of beauty. We become enraptured with a ballerinas grace and agility on stage. We cant help but focus on her feet as she performs. We admire the curvature and flexibility of her feet and consider the dancer with a higher arch as the ideal standard.

As beautiful as they are to look at, dancers with high arches have as many pointe shoe challenges as those with lower arches.

Finding a pointe shoe with the correct vamp length is often very frustrating. The vamp must be long enough to prevent the highly arched foot from “spilling over” the top of the vamp. On the other hand, if the vamp is too long  demi-pointe work is almost impossible.

Vamp elastic was created as an insert to be sewn across the vamp to hold the arch in and let the dancer have a short enough vamp for comfortable demi-pointe.

Shanks are another challenge. A strong, highly arched foot needs a very strong pointe shoe. The higher arch puts greater pressure on the shanks causing the shoes to wear out much faster.

Unlike the dancer with a lower arch who tends to wear out the box of the pointe shoe first, the higher arched dancer usually wears out the shanks of her shoes first.

Some of the following pointe shoe models were created to support the higher arched foot:

Capezio Glisse ES

Gaynor Minden

Grishko Vaganova

Prima-Soft Royale

Russian Pointe Sapfir

Bloch Signature Performance

Ballet Slippers- A Tribute

After a long, hard day on your feet nothing feels quite as comfortable as slipping into a pair of super soft ballet slippers. We tend to focus on the importance of the pointe shoe and pay very little homage to the lowly ballet slipper.

A well worn pair of slippers is as comforting as an old, familiar friend. As I write this I am wearing my ballet slippers with thick, white socks. My feet are in heaven.

Pointe shoes are beautiful, functional, and necessary that’s true, but somehow a pointe shoe can never really be considered “cozy”. I love everything about my slippers, and my feet do too…..

Margot's Freed Pointe Shoes

A touching tribute to the late Prima Ballerina Margot Fonteyn can be seen by visiting The Ballerina Gallery

The Boshoi Ballet in Swan Lake