Pointe Shoe Hacks: Tracy Jones (Colorado Ballet)

Colorado Ballet Soloist, Tracy Jones, shows us how she gets her pointe shoes custom to fit her feet and what she use to do before they were custom made for her.
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[@Velvet_wings9]

I love that in the end you asked her to put on her shoes and stand in them, so we could see them on her and I could understand why she does these thing to the shoes even better! 👍 loved that part

[@ThePointeShop]

Agnes Balla I’m so glad!

[@mcdanielvalerie0]

Yes, her en pointe and coming down from en pointe was everything.

[@fancydeer]

When she did that slow R O L L down my mouth dropped. I had no idea that was possible??? wtf

[@sarahbronstein2480]

I saw this comment from the beginning and was eagerly waiting for that part and omg it was so satisfying!!

[@mcdanielvalerie0]

@@fancydeer Me and you both.

[@mcdanielvalerie0]

@@sarahbronstein2480 Yes indeed and she did it so effortlessly.

[@kristiearriving1071]

I gasped when she went en pointe! Gorgeous!

[@ThePointeShop]

Kristie Arriving stunning isn’t she?

[@ToriAnneNH]

Me too. Those feet! I could only dream of every having feet that flexible! Mine, sadly, do not bend much at all and I danced for over 20 years!

[@erins.5420]

I couldn’t tell which way she was facing until she came down.

[@lalitafaroli]

Ike, me too.

[@taralynn7712]

Oh My...me too. The long box and her foot profile...amazing!

[@katiefulton9456]

Really loving your professional pointe shoe hack video series! Thank you for this!!! 🥰👏

[@ThePointeShop]

Katie Fulton thank you! I’m so glad you like it

[@ReadObituaries]

I never seen anyone come down from en pointe so smoothly!!!!

[@pjaypender1009]

Rotating shoes is good advice for all shoes. When I was nursing I always had two pair of work shoes going at once and rotated them. It saves you money over time because you go few way fewer shoes in a year.

[@shamrockgirl6595]

B4 watching your videos I had NO IDEA how much went into pointe shoes! I'm constantly amazed.

[@ThePointeShop]

Shamrock Girl isn’t it amazing? The shoe process is an art form in on itself

[@shamrockgirl6595]

@@ThePointeShop it is!

[@erins.5420]

When I danced in humid places I liked to use desiccant packs or beads (easily and cheaply found on amazon) to make my own sock to put in my shoes to dry them out quickly. You could probably build you own line making these easily. I’d love to be a fitter for your shop but I’m in Phoenix!

[@ReadObituaries]

Dollar tree sells moisture beeds for 1$! Easily enough fill 1.5 shoes!

[@karycantowe9207]

I came to the comments to make a similar point, but I hadn't thought about dessicants! I was imagining that Josephine could invent a sort of "drying box" that ballet dancers could use to store their shoes when they weren't using them. I know there are dehumidifiers for all kinds of things for sale out there, including portable containers you can use for keeping food as dry as possible. So why not market a portable box (like a suitcase, with wheels and a pulling handle) that dancers can use for damp/sweaty shoes? They could use @Erin S.'s idea of a dessicant sleeve or insert for the shoes, which would then be inserted into slots in the box (I'm imagining it could hold 3-4 pairs, though you could make supersized boxes for professionals with lots of shoes, or families with several ballerinas, or couples who are both dancers, or ballet schools or companies. I'm sure it would become a best seller in the dance world! She could brand the box something like the "Pointe Parcher" or "Dryer for Dryads" (or something better!).

[@2009bubbaray]

Pretty please, a video showing how to measure exactly for the loop ribbon? Thanks!

[@ninanicolecockrell]

i have a video on sewing loop ribbon for pointe shoes, if you might be interested! hope this helps :)

[@2009bubbaray]

@@ninanicolecockrell THANK YOU! I make my two daughters hand-sew their ribbons & elastic, but I'm going to have them try your method. Loop ribbons look great for quick changes! Thanks!

[@ninanicolecockrell]

@@2009bubbaray no problem :) yes they are super easy & quick! the method works great with hand-sewing as well! glad to help :)

[@jennagrace725]

I love your videos so much. They have a lot of information in all of them.

[@ThePointeShop]

Jenna Grace thank you so much!

[@ndipasquale4134]

Could you please do a video on fitting for very low profile feet? Thank you for all the wonderful videos, Josephine!! 💕

[@ThePointeShop]

N DiPasquale yes absolutely

[@Unknown-vf4pt]

I met Tracy this year in the San Jose ballet intensive and I love here and she is so nice

[@cherieagleson]

When I used to dance not professionally, we used to put moleskin on the tips of the shoes. We also had the durotoe pointe shoes too. Great video. ❤

[@AnimeLover14272]

Wow. Really informative video and her pointe is to die for.

[@melodyleong]

Seranades used to be the default pointe shoe most girls here started with (It was that or Suprimas pretty much...) Interesting to see how different it is in different countries!

[@MISSPHOTOGENICBABY]

She has gorgeous feet! It just looks so painful 😩, do you feet and ankles swell up from pointe?

[@jv.9261]

They shouldn't swell up but bleeding and blisters are pretty normal

[@cra5ybeccra5ybec91]

No, no swelling unless an injury occurred, however blood, blisters, calluses etc. very very common 🩰

[@irenekokoula5705]

Omg! I currently wear bloch serenade too 😍😍

[@allisonharranmua8193]

A hack to dry them out quicker is to put your hair dryer on the cold setting and blow dry them or prop them up in front of a fan. Definitely don't use heat though. Also, if you dry them out really well before jet gluing the glue lasts longer

[@lily6692]

I'm not a dancer(still enjoy your vids :) ), so this might be a dumb question. If she can get custom pointe shoe's why cant she get a more squared off and wider platform so she doesn't have to darn every single pair? Seems like it would save a lot of time.

[@dancingcalla8008]

Lily darning makes friction so she doesn’t slip during a preformance

[@lily6692]

@@dancingcalla8008 Oh! didn't know that thanks.

[@dancingcalla8008]

Lily yeah anytime i darn my pointe shoes too

[@patriciacouto5956]

OMG that's a gorgeous feet!!!

[@ThePointeShop]

Patricia Couto she does!

[@EnchantingWings1]

I'm not a fan of elastic drawstring. Granted that the pointe shoe was not fitted great for me at the heel, but I had Gaynor Minden pointes that had the elasticated drawstring. It snapped on me because I had to pull it so hard to try to get the heel to fit 😭

[@darijabrojchin5324]

I subscribed 💖💖💖😘😘😘

[@ThePointeShop]

dadica b thank you!!

[@kathymyers7279]

Beautiful pointes!

[@annabetz1314]

Omg my VERY first pair was Bloch serenede😂😂😂I remember my teacher saying she wanted a hard shoe.... it certainly was, yikes! I may recommend something else for my beginner students!

[@shychameleon]

I like the shoes🤗

[@lillianparsons8261]

I have the Bloch sonata

[@ThePointeShop]

Lillian Parsons nice!

[@icarrus4u]

8:57 Woah!

[@Something_aboutpineapples]

currently: obsessed with her feet

[@andreawallenberger2668]

Does she have compressive feet? I might, and even in my new soft (shankless) pointe shoes, which "fit" properly, I still feel like something (okay besides the shank lol) is missing, or doesn't actually fit. Is this a commonly overlooked factor in fitting pointe shoes, Josephine?

[@ThePointeShop]

Andrea Wallenberger definitely overlooked all the time. But we’re very conscious about compressive feet.

[@andreawallenberger2668]

@@ThePointeShop Thanks, Josephine! I'm unfortunately a bit frustrated with my local dance shop, seems like there are a number of things they should know/be aware of, but maybe don't? And/or they give in to the tendency to put seemingly most of their dancers (at all levels) into one or two brands. Anyway, thank you so much for all your videos. You are helping each of us as dancers know our feet & the shoe "technology" better.

[@breannap9728]

Anything I need to know bf I get my pointe shoes?? [Tips, Facts, Info.]

[@JGreen-le8xx]

Josephine❤❤❤❤❤❤😄

[@ThePointeShop]

J. Green ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@pheart2381]

Blochs break too high up for me,never felt right.

[@ThePointeShop]

P Heart we all have different needs!

[@jacquelineseetho]

ANY ADVICE??? I've been on pointe for 2 1/2 years. I have recently gotten bruised big toenails (since its summer intensive and that means a lot of pointe). I got bruised toenails once before about 1 1/2 years ago, and then both of my nails fell off. I've healed since then and for protection I use a toe pad, a silicone/cloth covering for my big toes (which often causes numbing in my big toes), a spacer, a pinky pad, and the occasional piece of tape for blisters. (I'm not sure if I protect/pad too much). All of it has been working until now. My current shoes are capezio kylee's. I have flat feet and I struggle on pointe, so when I'm on pointe for long amounts of time my toes start to compensate for the lack of work in my arch and ankle, I'm not sure if this is the reason why I have bruised toenails. Is there anything I should change about my protection?? What should I look for when I get new shoes?? How do I dance without being in so much pain from my bruised toenails?? Thank you!!!😬😄

[@bellarotker7160]

Maybe use less padding and ask your teacher if a different shoe would work better for you.. I know bloch’s heritage have built in padding (I personally don’t like it but I know some people that do) make sure you tell your fitter these issues you have

[@jacquelineseetho]

Googly Mason Thank you!!!

[@paytonpawlak6681]

I dance here

[@jankoraven]

Love that moleskin tip!

[@ThePointeShop]

jankoraven right?! Me too

[@sharoncole8249]

💖👑👑💖🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀

[@Angelika5378]

they only last 2 weeks? they must go through soo many shoes...o.o

[@ThePointeShop]

Angelika5378 that’s actually a really long time for pros. Most professionals will go through 1-5 pairs a week!

[@Angelika5378]

@@ThePointeShop wow. o.o do they have to buy all their shoes themselfes? i assume that point shoes are expensive