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How do I make my pointe shoes last longer?What are the best ways to extend the life of pointe shoes? I dance 6 days a week for 3-7 or 8 hours a day, and I tend to go through a pair a week [or one pair for 2 or 3 performances when performing]. I’ve tried jet glue and alternating shoes, but those have not helped much. Any suggestions? December 27, 2006 | In Questions |10 Comments »RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI Leave a comment |
Motoring Law |
I assume you mean by “alternating” your shoes, that you change the right foot for the left foot? If so, that’s ok, but you should have more than one pair going at once, to let one pair dry out for a day before wearing it the next. Preferably 3 pairs at once, if you are dancing that much, to give the shoes 2 days to dry out between wearings. If you wear shoes that are still slightly damp, the glue never gets a chance to dry out and the shoe disintegrates much quick. If you mean by “alternating” that you are changing pairs of shoes already, then obviously you are doing what I suggest anyway.
It is very important to never stuff anything into your pointe shoes after you take them off (lambs wool, pads, etc.) and never wind the ribbons around the heels in an effort to be tidy, that doesn’t let them dry out either. After you take them off, you should at least keep them in an outside pocket of your bag, or better, tie them to the outside of your bag and let them air dry. Never bury them in your bag, they will stay wet and lose their shape and die faster.
Other than that, there is not really a great deal you can do about it, as you are dancing a lot. (I have never found jet glue to work for me either, some people swear by it.) Ifi you don’t mind hard shanks you might try a shoe with harder shanks than what you currently wear, but personally I would rather go through more shoes than deal with breaking in new shoes more than I absolutely have to!
Comment by Zoe — December 30, 2006 #
Try getting two or three pairs of pointes and rotating them day by day. Giving the shanks time to adjust and get a break will make them last a little bit longer.
By the way; I’m jealous that you get to dance that much. You’re soooooo lucky.
Comment by Meredith — January 2, 2007 #
hmm,my shoes used to last about that long also(I also dance about the same amount you do). Alternating and using Jet glue is about the only fixes really. When you were alternating shoes,did you take the toe pads out and lie them or hang them somewhere where there was good air flow?(like tieing the ribbons together and hanging them on a hook in your room with the fan on. Also,did you let them dry for three days? That’s supossed to be the time for airing them out. Now,for how I fixed mine,I used Jet glue and that stuff is truly a miracle.Maybe it didn’t work for you bacause you didn’t put at least two coats on it? I normally put about four and they last another week,then I put four more coats on after they get soft again. They will still get soft with Jet glue,but you just have to keep using it. They also say your supossed to put it on the inside of your box but I find it find to just put it on the outside as long as your studio (and stage)has some type of “marley” floor,because the glue can make the platform a bit slipperey. If you tried it on the inside,you could try it on the outside or vise-versa. I don’t see why it dosen’t work for you. Do you use rosin? That may have something to do with it,but I don’t know because I don’t use rosin on my pointes. Good luck and best wishes,
Avie’
Comment by Avie' — January 3, 2007 #
I use ‘Clear’ (Thats the name of the make) floor polish (Sounds odd I know but it’s cheaper than real point hardener) I think it may be similar to ‘Jet glue’ because you paint it on the inside of the shoe to make it hard again here are some tips when doing that:
Make sure the shoe has completely dried out before glueing
Always do at least two coats (maybe more as one of the above posters said)
Pour a little of the glue into the toe of the shoe, then using a paint brush, paint the glue up inside the shoe.
After painting ensure the shoe is completely dry before wearing.
Don’t sniff it (It’s a solvent)
Try that and hopefully you shoes will last longer, someone I know said she baked hers in the oven, but that sounds a bit crazy to me.
If your shoes are still not lasting very long, then try buying them off ebay, you may be able to save enough money to stop it mattering that they arn’t lasting.
Abbie
Comment by Abbie — January 12, 2007 #
I would suggest that you only wear your point shoes on dance appropriate floors. If you find it hard constantly tying and untying shoes I would recommend you buy some thick socks or slipper like things to put over your pointes when not on dance approppriate area. (road, tile, sidewalk, etc.)
Comment by Charity — January 16, 2007 #
Does anyone know how to make rosin at home?
Comment by abby — June 10, 2007 #
abby: I don’t think you can make it at home, it’s chemically processed. but you can buy it online or at a lot of dance stores.
Comment by Marissa — June 11, 2007 #
let your shoes sit out for a while after you use them so the sweat doesnt break down the box of the shoe
Comment by samari — June 22, 2007 #
Try pointeshoeglue. I got a bottle in a dance store in NYC back in the summer. It works great. A lot better than jet glue. I have never used the floor polish. You can get it on their website, http://www.pointeshoeglue.com.
I think the best thing for your shoes is to make sure you dry them. My teacher makes us tie our shoes to the outside of our bags.
Comment by Alexis — December 1, 2007 #
Hi, I have just got my first pair of points and I am very exited and can’t wait to dance in them. My dance teacher has said to glue some leather protectors on the front. can you suggest how I (or my Dad) do this and what’s the best glue to use.
Many thanks
Katherine Hawkins
Age 11
Comment by Katherine Hawkins — February 6, 2009 #