Ballet Pointe Shoe Review | Grishko Pointe Shoes
Hey,
Hope all is well,
Today I am sharing with all you lovelies my review on my current ballet pointe shoes, Grishko Triumph.
I have had these shoes for about a year now, due to my class only do Pointe work in lesson every now and then, as we are learning our floor and barre work for our grade; and the fact that we're always choreographing new flat ballet dances as well.
My Pointe shoes are also looking a bit battered now due to them being used on and off for a year. This is also because they were used frequently leading up to and during the summer dance performances I took part in with my dance school in July 2016. So of course after all the pirouettes, couru's and finishing positions on the floor in the dance, my shoes have scrapes, a bulged 'v' shape where the vamp is now visible as they've properly broken in, and black marks and scuffs from the stage floor. But despite all of that, they are still going and I still think they look as pretty as ever.
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My Grishko Pointe shoes which are now very
loved and battered. |
There are many good things about these shoes, so let me explain them in more detail all below.
Structure:
This is a very important point here. The reason why I only use Grishko Ballet Pointe shoes is due to their structure in regard for the shape of my feet. Being someone who has size 6 feet, with one foot half a size smaller, it can be tricky to find the right pointe shoe, as the shoe may fit my left, smaller foot, but squash my right foot. Another issue about my feet is that they are long and narrow, with long, tapered toes, and the second toe being the longest. To add I've a pretty high arch. This means that shoes such as Bloch would not fit me, as they cater to square feet and provide a more square, 'U' shaped vamp; suitable for toes that are the same length, unlike my feet which taper from biggest at my big toe, to smallest to my small toe, and who has a second longer toe. To sum it all up, this means that because my feet are tapered, with toes of different lengths, a longer second toe, pretty high arch and the ball of my foot being pretty wide; I have to have a 'V shaped vamp to stop my toes from being squashed and support my foot. And Grishko pointe shoes supply the 'V' vamp that I need.
I kid you not, when I had my feet fitted, the shoe fitter at the dance shop brought out so many brands, Bloch, Capezio, Sansha, Wear Moi and Gayner Minden, all which catered for different foot shapes and toe lengths. And yet every brand was either too tight, left my toes feeling numb because the tightness was cutting off my blood circulation, or stopped me from even getting my foot into them because they were so tight. No matter how many shoes I tried, which I believe were approximately 15, and which all were different widths and sizes, there was always something wrong. I really mean it, these brands were all ridiculously too small and the wrong shape. The the only brand that fit me, without being extremely tight, were Grishkos. Thank goodness Grishko Pointe shoes exist, because there are no other brands that fit me; none at all that can be purchased in the UK anyway.
So it may seem bias, but this is a good reason as to why I love Grishkos. They cater for the less common foot shapes and widths, such as myself who is a UK Size 6, has long, tapered toes with a longer second toe, has narrow feet but the ball of my foot is a lot wider and who has a pretty high arch; a lot of criteria to cater for.
Comfort:
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The shank of the shoe when the shoes were brand
new. Today around a year after use they are still
wearable and provide support. |
Now comfort is almost a exaggeration with Pointe shoes or something of a myth, because let me tell you, they will never be what we would imagine the every day, usual 'comfortable' to be like, with no pain, no pressure and no rubbing against the toes. For Pointe shoes, 'comfort' is different to the everyday word 'comfort', because I am referring to shoes that will hurt slightly- as they're pointe shoes and let's face it your feet aren't naturally meant to be in that situation- but you can dance easily in them, move freely without any struggle to stay standing with ability to stay on the platform (the base that your stand on on-pointe). To add, the best shoes have got to allow you to 'feel the floor', a Ballet term referring to being able to control your movement and feel the shoe against the floor, evidence that your feet are in the right type of Pointe shoe for you.
Colour:
I love the colour of these Grishko Triumph Ballet Pointe shoes. Some of you may be thinking 'But all Ballet shoes are pink, right?' well yes, but no. You can get some in different colours and some brands have a slight variety in the shade of their 'pink' pointe shoes. For example, I found during my fitting for my current pointe shoes in the Dance shop, that some brands such as Bloch appear to me to be of different hues to other brands. Block appear more brighter pink, however Grishko appear a more paler hue, similar to my natural skin tone. Others were very harsh pink or a so pale they appear close to white in the extremely bright shop. However my Grishko's appear to be a pale peachy-pink hue, which I find rather pretty as it shines in the light and the shoes appear cleaner than they actually are because of the colour.
Versatile and long-lasting:
Now this is the second mainly important point about my shoes. Due to Pointe shoes being required for very strenuous movement, and to support your weight, they have to be very tough and versatile when dancing in them. Grishko definitely are this: versatile. I am on my second pair of Grishko's and they are still going. After the dance show in the summer, I noticed that my pointe shoes broke in a lot when rehearsing in the weeks leading up to the show and during the show. After all the pirouettes, the many, many courus, running-and I mean lots of running, obviously in the delicate-ballerina style- and finishing positions, my shoes started to get pretty broken in, making them a lot easier to dance in and in turn a lot more comfortable; as the heat from my feet softens the glue in the shoe making, in turn them softer.
However the next day they were back to their normal, brick-like selves.
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My shoes when first purchased and after I
had sewn the ribbons on. Here you can see that
their colour is a peach-pink hue, |
Because the best thing about these Grishko Ballet Pointe shoes, is that after they have been taken off and left for a while, they maintain their strength, and are as tough as bricks the next day all thanks to their strong structure and glue. I can honestly say from experience with just two pairs of Grishkos, that these shoes really are versatile and long lasting, because no matter how much dancing I do, they take lots and lots and lots of movement and use to really- and I do mean really- break in. I often wonder if these Russian shoes are indestructible sometimes, because they make me adopt tricks of my own to break them in as they are just so tough.
To add, I have heard that these shoes are more versatile or 'better' than other brands, such as Bloch, as from what others have told me and the shoe fitter in the ballet shop said, Bloch are a lot softer and so easier to break in, meaning they don't last as long and that results in having to buy another pair for an average of £40. When first starting point, my curiosity to learn about them drew me to read articles about these shoes and their versatility and long-lasting state.
Cost:
Cost is something that can vary with Pointe shoes. For example, some brands can be pretty affordable, at prices as low as as £20.00. This cost I am wary of, because to me, that's a little too low for a shoe that's hand made out of multiple layers of material, with lots of strong glue specialised specifically for the pointe shoe to keep it strong and lasting, a shoe that uses satin on the outside of the shoe, and that has a shank, which is extremely strong to hold you up on your toes and support your arch when dancing.
However, prices can also be what appears to me personally, as too high, costing £80 or over. This is because as good a quality as you want for the shoes because of their use, you don't need to rear towards £80 to find the best quality shoe. And at the same time, you also do not need to spend so much, (unless you want to of course which is an individual choice) because depending on the amount of times these shoes are used, they could for instance break in and be unusable after just a few months of use.
So, regarding cost, from personal choice, I believe you want to go for mid way, paying approximately £40-£50 as a range on the shoes. My Grishko Ballet shoes I believe were £45.50 from looking at my receipt I somehow still have, which is actually quite a good price, likely because I purchased them from an independent store and not from a website for example. However, the price is also pretty good, as Pointe shoes will not be cheap, and will be costly to some extent, obviously depending on how much you're willing to pay, due to all the time and materials used to make them, and the skills to shape them into their idea structure so they work perfectly for the dancer.
And this is another good point about Grishkos, because they're not too low or 'cheap' as some say in cost, which many people and myself are wary of, due cheap items not always being the best choice when regarding a shoe that cannot just be made in seconds. But, at the same time, these shoes are also not so expensive as other brands may be, as they will do the same overall as a lower priced shoe will do an therefore there isn't really any need to double the cost of the shoe that will soon have to be replaced within 6 months to a year; depending on how frequently they are used.
There you go, my review on my current Grishko Ballet Pointe shoes. Hope this was useful for any of your interested in learning about types of pointe shoes and brands. This was just my own personal opinion to my Pointe shoes I currently have but hope it was useful to read.
Thank you for reading,
Yours truly,
Caris
