pointe shoes

Moment versus Movement

The boards are coming down from the windows and our downtown is beginning to carefully reopen during the ongoing health crisis. Neither the health crisis nor the BLM movement is going away. If you notice a change in our messaging, it is not because we are flipping a switch and everything is going back to the way it was. Nope. We are just a small niche business that plans to continue to use our tiny platform for good, but also needs to survive so that our tiny voice can continue.

Today, I’ll address how The Station will do our part to support change and racial inclusiveness:

  1. Business survival: First, we are going to have to stabilize the business. The past few months have been a rough road for the dance industry. Please allow us some time to recover financially and take on some of the easier ideas first. We can’t help change move forward if we aren’t here.

  2. Staff training: We will investigate retail best practices to make sure that our customer service standards are inclusive.

  3. Ballet Slippers and Tights: We will be a part of breaking the attrition cycle of: dance retailer does not stock tights and ballet slippers in skin-tone colors because there is not enough demand à Girls of color cannot find skin-tone tights and ballet slippers à Adds to the perception that ballet is not for girls that look like me à Attrition for girls of color in ballet continues à dance retailer does not stock tights and ballet slippers in skin-tone colors because there is not enough demand….. There is a risk to our business that this inventory will sit longer than is financially responsible, but we will take on this initiative in the next three months.

  4. Pointe Shoes: More brands than ever are offering pointe shoes in skin-tone options. We will make sure we are knowledgeable about the options for special order. However, at this time, we are not able to stock all of the pointe shoe possibilities in skin-tone colors (see #1 on the list).  We will, however, continue to stock satin ribbon and elastic in skin-tone colors. We will also continue to stock pointe shoe paint in skin-tone colors and offer one bottle, free with pointe shoe purchase, so that dancers of color can have shoes that match their skin immediately, while we wait for special order colors to arrive.

  5. We will communicate with our dancewear brands when we see potential areas for more inclusivity. Shoe and tight color names that are more inclusive. Dolls with dark skin. Silence is no longer an option. In case we miss something, we ask you to tell us if you see something that needs to change at the production level so we can pass the suggestion along. 

  6. We will communicate with our local dance studios to make sure they know the products that are available in stock and support them if they would like to make changes to their dress code that promote more inclusivity.

  7. We will work with local dance studios and dance organizations that have inclusivity programs to find out how our business can help them in their initiatives.

  8. We will be open to conversations. We are listening.

Pointe Shoe Tips: The Dog Ate My Pointe Shoes


Is today good day? Not if your dog found your pointe shoes. Pictured here is a brand new pointe shoe. With teeth marks. So sad. All that was left of its mate was a small piece of leather from the sole.

Make sure to keep your pointe shoes out of reach of your fur friends. Even a brand new pair that doesn’t smell like your feet can become a nice al dente chew toy in minutes. Imagine the temptation for your pets once the shoes are worn by their girl a few times?

A good habit is to take your mesh shoe bag out of your dance bag every night and hang it out of reach. A good practice to let your shoes dry out safely away from furry helpers.

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Pointe Shoe Sewing Tips: Sides Pull Away from Ribbons & Elastic

How to Keep the top edges of your pointe shoes from gapping

🎵🎶🎶 Now whip it. Into shape. Shape it up. Get straight. Go forward. Move ahead. Try to detect it. It’s not to late. To whip it. Whip it good. 🎵🎶 ~ Devo

Do the top sides of your pointe shoe pull away from your foot and anchored ribbons, particularly as you are rolling through demi-pointe? Consider adding a whip stitch that is stitched around the drawstring channel (so you don’t inhibit the drawstring function). The whip stitch will create a bond between your ribbons/elastic and the top of the drawstring channel, keeping everything neatly together.

Some dancers may not need to add a whip stitch to every elastic connection. The pointe shoe is this photo only had a gapping problem on the front elastic connection, so that is where we added an extra whip stitch. Do what works for your feet!

As always, your sewing doesn’t have to be perfect. No one will see your uneven stitching, but they might notice gapping sides!

Adding a whip stitch can bond your ribbons and elastics to the top edge of your pointe shoe.

Adding a whip stitch can bond your ribbons and elastics to the top edge of your pointe shoe.

Pointe Shoe Sewing Tips: Sore Fingers

How to prevent your fingers from getting sore from sewing pointe shoes.

The fabric on some pointe shoes is a bit more challenging to sew than others. If your fingers are getting sore, consider these options.

1. Buy a thimble to keep in your sewing kit
2. Use an old pointe shoe to help push the needle through the fabric. 💡
3. Get someone else to sew your shoes (actually, no.)

We are a huge advocate for dancers learning to sew their own pointe shoes. It’s the best way for dancers to learn to fine tune their pointe shoes and take responsibility for their dance equipment. If something goes wrong backstage, a dancer needs some sewing skills.

As a clumsy sewer, my own personal finger-saving sewing hack is to use an old pointe shoe. I place the old pointe shoe on my lap or table, leather side up. After I get the needle in the right spot, I press the back end of the needle on the old pointe shoe and push the fabric down on top of the needle tip. The old pointe shoe takes a beating (see all the small holes in the photo?), but my fingers can live another day.

Happy sewing!

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