Sometimes pointe shoes slip off the heel, even when the shoes seem like a perfect fit. Dancers with narrow heels and longer feet seem particularly prone to slipping heels, especially when shoes are new.
Here are some tips to tame those heels!
Make sure shoes are not too tight or too loose. When you have a perfect fit, a shoe will feel snug when feet are flat and have a slight pinch of fabric when on pointe.
Instead of one loop of elastic, take two pieces of elastic and criss cross them. One end of each piece should be sewn close to the back of the shoe and one end near the center of the foot arch.
Sometimes a heel gripper can be helpful, but check with your pointe shoe fitter. Even adding even the slightest amount of material can change the fit.
If you are using stretch ribbon, consider trying satin ribbon for more resistance.
A customer recently shared this video of how to sew ribbons to prevent slipping heels. She tried it with success and we are going to share this tip with others. Always be open to new ideas!
Some professional dancers have custom shoes made or customize the heels themselves, but we can probably help you before you need to get to these extremes!
If you decide to criss cross your elastic, use the photo below that we marked up to make it easier to see which pieces are elastic and which are ribbon. This dancer effectively hid the elastic under her ribbon. Very clever!
