BB ballerinas: Gaynor Minden pointe shoes – yay or nay?

[Q8bunny]

I’m hoping to hear a few honest opinions on the high tech royalty of the pointe shoe world

[Sr. Melangell]

Just looked at them online, I noticed on images some very sore feet.

[Azerane]

Why waste your money on pointe shoes when you could be buying more things for Chewie!

Seriously though, I know nothing about pointe shoes so am of no use to you in that regard I’m afraid.

[Q8bunny]

I might have to do just that. Although you should hear Chewie growl at my current pair (which he helped customize lol). It’s adorable.

[Bam]

I don’t know anything about pointe shoes or ballet, but had to look Gaynor Minden up of course. Then I found lots of videos about pointe shoes and how dancers customize them by practically destroying them -really fascinating!!! I couldn’t stop watching.

[Q8bunny]

Yep. I break mine in using a utility knife, pliers, a torch lighter, resin, a rubber mallet, and a cast iron skillet. That doesn’t include ribbon and elastics prep, or the stuff that goes inside the shoes to keep my toes alive (including shellac/glue). One of the reason I am considering the GMs is because they are insanely customizable, and cannot be broken in in the traditional sense, so they last longer

[Bam]

Q8, that sounds even “worse” than what was in those videos! What’s the skillet for? Breaking the box? I was quite amazed, I spent at least 2 hours reading about pointe shoes and watching those vids =) I’d no idea ballerinas had to sew the ribbons and elastics on themselves, but it makes sense of course, if they came with ribbons and elastics the ballerina would just have to cut them off and sow them back on where she likes them.

The Gaynor Mindens struck me as an revolutionary idea, but they seem to be different in the way they’re danced in as well, technique-wise.

Really cool though, I thank you for this glimpse into the amazing world of the pointe shoe!

[Q8bunny]

You’re welcome, I think (I feel a bit like the mean teacher who assigned homework over the weekend LOL).

Yes, the skillet is for ‘squishing’ the box initially, and then on the other side of the pointe shoe as I hammer the life out of the box with the rubber mallet until it’s as soft as I like. It actually makes the box flatter (which I prefer), but also quieter.

The GMs really are like the latest Nike trainers – but for ballerinas. I’ve tried them on before, and I can see how if you don’t force your brain to judge them as ‘broken in to perfection’ shoes rather than ‘they’ll soften up a bit’ shoes, you risk ending up with bad shoes. lol From how they felt for the 5 minutes I had them on, I can see how you’d need strong ankles to get up over the box and square onto the platform, but also how they’re more supportive once you’re there. I don’t know how I’d feel in the long run – it’s one of the reasons I was curious to hear from other dancers on here Some ballerinas call them cheater pointe shoes, but I doubt so many primas would have switched to GMs in such a short period of time if they weren’t doing SOMEthing right. Plus I feel like they’d have even more dancers on board if so many professional companies didn’t have one shoe maker outfit all their dancers.

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