Buying Ballet Shoes Online

Shopping for ballet shoes, like most other items, has been made easier by the presence of well stocked and quality assured online businesses. Not only the shoes, but virtually every piece of ballet gear is available, along with a huge array of urban and street dancing attire.


When considering a purchase of new ballet shoes, whether online or in person, it is crucial to choose the correct size for your feet. For many the presumption that they should be small can lead to the acquisition of the incorrect shoes. If the ballet shoes are too small then they can damage your feet and make it more difficult to perform. The excuse for some is that the leather will stretch with use. However this happens only by a fraction, not enough to allow for the correct amount of space if you have bought a size too small.

After fitting there are still a wide variety of questions one should ask before buying a ballet shoe from an online business. The first is the material construction of the shoes themselves. Here there are two major choices, leather or canvas. Leather is traditionally more durable and warmer then canvas, however the weight of the dancer plays a crucial role in determining the life span of any given shoe. For heavier dancers the leather may stick, rather then slide across the floor, producing poor performance and increased wear. For this reason male dancers, being typically heavier, prefer the canvas shoe. Canvas also has the advantage of being machine washable and often at a reduced price compared to their leather counter-parts. The high grain leather shoe is regarded as the most durable and flexible of options, though it comes at the highest price. It is important however that each dancer consider their own preferences before purchase.


As a beginner or very young dancer the soft ballet shoe is the exclusive choice of foot wear, and traditionally comes in pink, white, grey or black, however those made from canvas have a much wider variety of colours and have the potentiality of being dyed. If you are a dancer of sufficient experience and old enough that your bones have ossified and your muscles strengthened, then you can consider dancing en pointe. For this a special type of ballet shoe, called the pointe shoe is required. The pointe shoe allows the dancer to maintain extended periods of movement upon the tips of the toes.

Dancers now use satin pointe shoes with a hard but pliable shank and a box made up of layers of cardboard. Dancers must break in their shoes by dancing in them using the proper techniques. In today's world of pointe shoes, there are a myriad of pointe shoe styles and shapes, which allows dancers to find a perfect pair. Still many dancers improve their shoes by manipulating them after purchase.


Once the choice of material for the ballet shoes has been decided the option of having split sole or full sole is an interesting addition on many brands. The split sole is popular with jazz dance and allows the dance to point easier. The full sole, resembling the shank of a pointe shoe is more popular with en pointe dancers. The decision, once again, is really down to the individual dancer and his or her style and preferences.


For further information regarding our range of leotards, please visit our website at http://www.dancedirect.com.

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