Preparing your pointe shoes for performance

If you are dancing in a production, your pointe shoes need as much care and attention as your own body does - they are your tools and they need good treatment. There are many different methods and techniques for making sure your pointe shoes are performance ready, and it is important to find what is right for you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNlYVLkgF1o Many professional dancers have special rituals for preparing their shoes, such as cutting parts from the shoe, sewing on additional parts, gluing them, using shellac to harden them and even painting them with calamine lotion in order to lighten the appearance of the shoes and making them appear matte and non-shiny on stage. Whatever your methods for making your shoes ready to use, whether it is standing on the box to soften them, shutting them in doors to break them in or simply working at them manually until they are perfect for you, often your shoes are dictated by the piece and the choreographer! Performing on stage can be daunting: the lights which throw you off balance, the huge audience and the gallons of adrenaline suddenly pumping around your body. Performing well against these odds mean that it is imperative that you have secured your technique in class, learnt the piece thoroughly and have been responsible for arranging your costumes and bringing everything you need to the theatre. Only then can you be confident that if there is a mistake or malfunction on stage, you have previously done everything you could to prevent this by being fully prepared for the sensation of stepping on to the stage and performing.