Best Pointe Shoes Reviewed & Compared for Performance

In order to be able to dance well, you will need a pair of ballet shoes that fit your foot. You’ve probably seen images of ballet dancers’ feet, and they show just how much of the burden of dancing is taken by this part of the body. In ballet, not only are you expected to dance, jump, balance and turn on the tips of your toes but even more, you will need to make all of these movements look beautiful and effortless while also concentrating on other things such as your arms, head, turnout, posture, and line. This means that the pointes you choose for ballet need to give you the best possible fit, allowing you to focus on the quality of your dancing instead of worrying about your feet.

First and foremost, a good fitting shoe may not be completely painless, seeing that you will still be expected to rest your entire body weight on the tips of your toes, but it definitely should not cause too much discomfort. In order to find the best fit, you will need to look at several aspects, seeing that with pointe shoes there’s much more to look at than just length and width.

Once you’ve checked all of these aspects, you can stand en pointe in your shoes. Make sure to check whether there are any points where you feel the fit could be improved. Some of these might be adjusted by correct padding, while others will require getting a different shoe. Remember that each person will need something different from their shoes, and finding the perfect might take some effort. Nonetheless, once you’ve got it you will see that your dancing will be incomparably better and more enjoyable.

The shank of your shoes is one of the most important parts, seeing that it has the sole purpose of keeping you up en pointe. It’s a layering of materials at the sole of the shoe and is usually made out of paste, canvas, and leather, although technological advancement has brought us shanks made out of plastic or even thermo-responsive pastes which last longer and can be customized better for a superior fit.

Shank strength and positioning varies from person to person and can be based on more of a personal level of comfort. This is a feature that is important for beginners as well as professionals and usually changes in preference over the course of time, trial and error.

Depending on your teacher’s preferences, they may recommend a softer or harder shank. Most will ask for a harder shank for beginners seeing that they provide more support and require you to build strength, but some teachers will tell you to get a softer shank which allows an easier transition while requiring you to hold up without relying just on your shoes. It is very important to keep this in consideration when purchasing shoes, but you will find that as you gain experience you will have a clearer idea of how hard or soft you need your shank to be.

Another thing to note is that some dancers may be tempted to choose a shank that is harder than what they ideally need in order to maximize the longevity of their pointe shoes. However, this should not be done as the foot will have to work overtime in order to break in the shoes.

Once you start feeling that your shoes have gotten too soft in the shank, it is important to replace them. Dancing in dead shoes is a safety concern and can lead to injuries, seeing that your body won’t be supported enough to perform the rigorous movements required of it when en pointe.

The toe box is one of the most vital areas of the ballet shoe. Dancing en pointe pushes all the weight and pressure of the dancer against the toes and it takes a strong, graceful dancer and durable, reliable shoe to make this type of dance possible.

The toe box works together with the shank to provide your toes with stability and support. It is important to know the shape and size of your toes in order to find proper shoes. Your toe shape will not only determine the size of the toe box needed, but also the shape and length of the vamp.

There are 3 commonly used shapes in the design of the toe box area. They are: tapered, slightly tapered and square. The toe box should provide a comfortable, snug feel in the shoe while not being too tight or loose. Consider the fact that a lot of pressure is going to be put on your toes while dancing en pointe, so it is crucial that this area is well fitted.

The vamp of the shoe is the part which covers the tops of your toes and determines how you will stand en pointe. Too short, and you might find yourself falling over, Too long, however, and you won’t be able to stand fully en pointe. The length of the vamp depends on the length of your toes, while its shape (U-shape or V-shape) depends on your arch. A V-shape vamp may be a good choice for those with higher arches who need a bit more support against pushing too far over the platform.

Dancing en pointe challenges the arch of your foot and can apply a decent amount of pressure to that area. The shape of your arch is what’s used to determine the correct profile position and support needed in your shoes.

Your arch is an aspect that’s used to determine the right size in almost all areas of your shoe. Your arch helps to determine your shank strength, profile height, and vamp length. Dancers focus really hard on creating a deep, flexible arch within their foot and a great shoe will be able to show this off.

When choosing pointe shoes, you’ll want to make sure that the arch of your foot fits securely and comfortably into the shoe. The arch should be compatible with the profile height and the amount of compression against the shoes. Shoes that don’t fit correctly around the arch of your foot can lead to health concerns like overextending your arch and stress fractures.

While every other aspect of your shoes may be perfect, having an improper profile height will be the end deal breaker. Every dancer has a different level of flexibility and that is why profile height is selective. The higher the profile, the deeper the arch; too high and you’ll be bending your foot in a direction it’s really not made to go in.

Finding the perfect profile height for your arch will take trial and error, as it will with every other aspect in a pointe shoe. An easy method to test if your shoes are the correct profile height is to try and insert your fingers underneath the throat of the shoe. If you’re able to fit your fingers underneath, your profile is too high and should be lowered.

While ballet shoes can get very specific, you’ll be able to find many examples of the different profile and arch lengths through our best list. Just remember to pay deep attention to your foot shape and don’t listen to other people’s opinions because everyone’s feet are shaped differently. It’s truly important for a dancer to find the perfect shoes that work for YOU.

Some of the shoes on this list come with padding, while others may have built-in comfort features. As you will learn when dancing en pointe, a little bit of softness can go a long way in preventing blisters, corns and overall painful areas on your feet. Padding techniques greatly depend on the dancer - some can get away with just paper towels, others prefer lambswool, and some turn to gel or silicone. Today, you can even get special pastes that are custom molded to your foot shape, so that they give support and comfort where needed, without creating too much bulk in other sections.

You might find that you will need to tape your toes to keep them from rubbing together or even use toe spacers in order to ensure proper placement inside the shoe. Those with a longer second toe will probably need to use more padding under the big toe in order to relieve the stress that is placed on the second toe. The best padding for you will depend on the shoe you choose, so it’s very possible that what worked great with one pair of shoes will not be appropriate for another pair. It’s also important to replace your padding for multiple reasons, including flattening as well as hygiene.

While most shoes do not come ready-made with ribbons, they are still a crucial part of the shoe. Ribbons are not only used as an aesthetically pleasing part of the shoe but more importantly, they play an important role in keeping your shoes safely and securely on your feet. Correctly placing these ribbons is also important - they need to be sewn at the part of the shoe that will pull the shank closest to your arch, while also helping create a more beautiful line.

In addition to ribbons, most dancers also use elastics to get a more secure fit and to keep the heel from slipping. You can choose to sew a single piece of elastic from one side of the heel to the other, or to use two pieces in a criss-cross way that resembles what you will usually find on soft ballet shoes. Whichever of these you prefer, it’s important to make sure not to sew the material at the very back of the heel as this can lead to stress and injury. Instead, always gravitate a bit towards the side - some dancers will even sew their elastics on the outside of the shoe in order not to disturb the fit.