Back to School - Autumn is here!

 

Schools in the performance / arts communities are reopening in Malta and this is such a relief. Although children have to wear masks, which can be a bit difficult when the activity involves strenuous exercise, it is always better than not being able to continue with tuition at all.

At The Ballet Shop, we have stocked up for all forms of dancewear for different forms of dance, but remember that if you have a uniform requirement for a particular school, you need to be specific about what it is you need.  The colour and material of the leotard is important, for example. If you are in Malta, we are also happy to have you over for a fitting, especially since pointe shoes require proper fitting, for example.

Ballet shoes, tights and socks, hair nets, bunholders - these are universal. A pink bunholder is the same in any school as is a pink wrap-over cardigan (ok you might be asked to choose between fleece and normal knitted cardigan); hairbands are the same colour as the leotards (usually) and tights, socks and shoes are invariably pink.

Head over to our shop now and see if there's anything that works for you!

The Size Dilemma!

I think this is one of our more important posts for you who purchase items online!

Have a look at our very brief article, The Size Dilemma, and look at how you should be calculating your size!

Remember size is indeed very important when it comes to dancewear and dance shoes, as it can cause injury or lead to mistakes not being corrected! Injuries do heal but they sometimes remain a weakness - don't risk!



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New Website launched!

An astrologer has recently told us that, to paraphrase, the reason things endure is that they are still relevant. Or perhaps resilient. Or both.  And we have in fact enduring relevance - we are still here today, fifteen years later!

To celebrate, we have launched our new face - a brand new website!   To start, we are featuring a number of discounts, so as to let you take the advantage of our celebratory mood!

Our shop section brings you the best of the best, while our blog section will pretty much be repeated here. Do feel free to browse around and ask questions - but we do have a FAQ section in case you have questions that many people tend to ask!  We also accept comments on our blog  - both here and on the actual Shop Blog!

Finally you can contact us in order to answer any specific query you have which might not be on the generic website! Keep in touch! 

Have you checked our discounted sneakers?

Hurry up! Our dance sneakers section is going crazy with sales - we have reduced prices of items all round, which means that our shoes are more affordable.  These shoes are fantastic for hip hop, jazz, street dance, or even aerobics and zumba and similar workout classes.  Most are even great for hanging out!  Lots of items await you at discounted prices, and not just in this section. Browse at The Ballet Shop and email us should you have any queries!

Sansha Montpellier Dance Sneakers

Our sale on Maltapark

We are placing our sales on Maltapark for a few weeks. This is Malta's auction site and operates on lines very similar to eBay.

At this point we have placed on sale some of the limited edition sneakers in black. These are the Marseille and the Montpellier which normally sell higher than the prices at which they are auctioned. These shoes are ideal for street dance, hiphop and open jazz classes but are also cool for hanging out.

We will eventually put these on ebay also, but we would like to give Maltapark a chance.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any queries. Sending an email (theballetshop@onvol.net) might be better than leaving a comment if you are expecting an answer

Buying Ballet Shoes

Things to remember when fitting new soft ballet and pointe shoes

It is imperative that toe-nails are checked and properly cut before buying the shoes. This is extremely important for a good fit. Nails are there to protect the flesh and the bones and should reach the tip of the toes only. The corners of the nails should be slightly rounded to prevent ingrown toe nails. It is HIGHLY INADVISABLE to buy soft and pointe shoes larger than the actual fit to allow space for eventual growth. Shoes must fit snugly. If there is extra space and shoes move about in any way, they will cause callouses, bruises to joints and facilitate accidents to ankles and toe-joints. Toes must not be able to move around in your shoes, but neither should they be scrunched up. This is especially important for pointe shoes.

Preparing the shoe

Darning You will need: a large darning needle, curved would be best, carpet thread or stranded cotton in the same colour as shoes, whenever possible. Note that this is not frequently used any more as you can buy soft leather tips of 'darned' tips and simply glue them on to your pointe shoes. Darning is a traditional practice, and ballerinas used to darn their shoes before using them. Place shoes on feet and slightly soil the satin by turning the fully pointed foot to and fro. This indicates how far the darning should reach. Start as near as possible to the end of the leather sole and stitch a series of bars of stranded thread to and fro across the pleats adjacent to the sole until they reach as far as indicated by the soiling. Do make sure that the satin is well caught with the needle. This is easier with a curved needle. The first line should pick up the satin with every stitch. Start near the sole and blanket stitch over each bar, linking rows by pushing the needle through the loops of the row below. Continue until all bars are covered (see drawings 1 and 2). If the satin at the sides of the toe and under the big and little toe-joints shows signs of wear, these spots should also be darned. Sewing on ribbons You will need: 2 to 2½ metres of ribbon from 1.25cm to 1.87cm wide. The amount depends on the side of the ankle. If you wish, a short length of tape slightly narrower than the ribbon may be attached to strengthen the ribbon from where it is sewn to the shoe and just past the first crossing. Sew on with light herring bone stitches to the ribbon before both are sewn on the shoe together. Fold back seam straight forwards towards insole (see drawing 3). Ribbons must be sewn at the angle of the fold at either side. They must tilt slightly forwards so that they lie flat over instep. The ribbon (and tape if used) must be sewn on with the raw edge well turned-in on the inside of shoe. It must be hemmed on securely. No knot should be used as this can bruise the flesh. Do not stitch the ribbon to the upper binding and drawstring as the drawstring may need to be tightened to mould the shoe to the foot (see drawing 4). Tying on the shoe The shoe should be tied kneeling with the foot flat to the floor and leg, with knee bent, leaning slightly backwards. It must never be tied on with toe on pointe, nor with leg straight as this allows no flexibility of ankle and prevents a full movement of the foot in demi- and full plies. Bring one ribbon forward, cross it and allow it to lie flat on the centre front of foot (roughly at level of ankle bones). Take ribbon round to back of ankle and again forwards so that it lies flat on centre front of leg and a little higher than first cross. Take to side of leg and hold firmly. Bring second ribbon forwards, crossing over other so that it lies flat at centre front of leg. Take second ribbon right round ankle and knot with other at the small hollow between ankle-bone and Achilles tendon. They must be knotted twice and the ends pushed down this slight hollow and underneath the ribbons so that no ends are visible. If the knot is tied on the outside of the leg, there is less danger of it being rubbed undone against the opposite leg. Never tie the knot over the Achilles tendon which is aggravated by pressure and thus frequently becomes inflamed. Working the shoe in Always work the shoes in before wearing in class and particularly on the stage. Soften the block slightly by moulding them in the palm of the hand Ease the insole by lightly pressing it to and fro at instep level between the palms of the hands Always wear shoes before class, preferably the night before, and work them in by walking around, rising from quarter, to demi- and three-quarter pointes several times which moulds the shoes to the foot and finally occasionally rise to full pointe on one and then the other shoe, and turn the toe lightly to and fro.

Warning

If a shoe needs elastic round the ankle or up the back of the heel, it means that it is a badly fitting shoe. Elastic restricts the Achilles tendon during bending and constrains the blood flow through the important veins of the foot and leg. For free movement of the toes, do not use foam rubber toe pads. Never use cotton wool to soften the inside of the shoes as this is non-absorbent. Animal wool may be used but as little as possible and only to prevent blisters when the shoes are new. Article featured on www.the-ballet-shop.com

Storing dancewear in humid conditions

If you happen to buy plenty of dancewear, it pays to take into consideration the climate you live in. Dancewear, in particular pointe shoes, is very sensitive to humidity and can easily be attacked by mould and damp. This is damaging, although most items can be cleaned gently. In the case of leather dance shoes, like ballet and tap, flamenco or jazz shoes, you can air these properly and then brush off any hint of mould. Suede dance shoes can be sprayed with a cleansing spray after you have dried them out.

Pointe shoes are a little different. Because they are made of layers of cardboard and a special resin, humidity will soften them beyond repair. Pointe shoes are made by a special baking process which hardens the resin and the glue to make them what they are. Once they are hit by humidity, the softening process is irreversible.

Always make sure to store your pointe shoes in well-aired places. Avoid plastic bags: Sansha, for example, sell cute mesh bags in which to store your pointe shoes, and you should leave the pointe shoes (whether in the mesh bag or not) hanging on a coat hook, door handle or other well-ventilated place, especially immediately after use.

We hope that this little hint will prove useful to you. More can be found on our website, featured in the logo above.

If you have any suggestions, please feel free to send them to us by means of a comment and we will be happy to publish them or expand on them!

Pointe Shoes - Sansha Legende (model 909)

We are wondering whether anyone has tried these lovely pointe shoes. The fit is lovely, and the external split sole gives great flexibility without compromising the strength of the shoe. It is designed for professional use, which means that it is sturdy.

We'd welcome any comments that anyone may have on this model