How to Find the Best Ballet Shoes that Fit You

  Hey guys,

Today my blog is going to be about how to find the right kind of ballet shoe, for those who are on pointe and just regular ballet.  Also I will be giving my own tips and advice on how you can take care of them better so that they will last longer.

For those of you who are just dancing in a regular ballet slipper, your ballet shoe should fit snug like a glove.  I always found that wearing ballet shoes that did not fit that tightly just made it harder for me to dance in and it was frustrating that they just kept on falling off.  Even though your shoe should be tight, your toes should not be crammed.
Here is what you should do:

• Balance on the ball of your foot
• Relax your foot
• If your toes do not cram up against the front of the shoe, then it is your perfect fit. 

If you are struggling between two sizes, always go with the little bigger size, so your foot is snug, but you do not want your foot to be too loose in the shoe.

What brand of ballet shoes should I buy?
If you are new to ballet, or just do not know what brand of ballet slipper to buy, I am suggesting two different brands that are my favorite and that have lasted me a very long time.  I normally wear Capezio or Danskin dance slippers, or any other dance shoe for that matter because they have the best quality in their shoe.  Also, I would suggest buying a split sole ballet slipper because it provides friction and for new dancers.

If you are a pointe ballet dancer, finding the right ballet shoe is a little more difficult and more important because pointe is more dangerous. This is because when you are doing pointe, all of your weight is distributed to the top of your toes.  This causes blisters and bruises, so it is important that you find the right shoe so that you do not hurt and destroy your feet and toes.   

Many of the pointe shoes are made differently and  come in different length and styles so it is important that you try a lot of different types on before you make your choice. 
When trying on a pointe shoe, it is important, that you stand fully on your tip toes and make sure your toes are resting and laying flat.  If this is not the case, your shoe is too small.  It is important not to get pointe shoes too big however, because it is easy to trip over them and fall and pick up bad dancing habits. 

With pointe shoes, your toes  actually lay on a piece of wood at the top of the shoe.  When you stand on your tip toes, your toes push up against that wood and will cause ingrown toe nails, blisters, and cuts all over your feet.  It is important that you put some kind of pad insert at the tip of your ballet shoe so that there is some cushion for your toes.  After all, if you are a constant dancer, you do need some comfortability.

Pointe Shoes are going to get really worn and ripped.  Your are going to have to replace them every two-three months, which is very costly considering that one pair of ballet shoes can cost up to $200.  I  take care of my shoes by:

• Airing them from sweat between dance practices
• Keep them in a mesh bag, not a regular dance or gym bag- we do this so that they do not get moldy from the sweat of you foot after your dance.  Also it eliminates the bad odor that can occur from sweat.
• Stick a dryer sheet in your meshed bag
• Make sure your ribbons are sewed on well

These little tips helped me when I was looking for ballet slippers and pointe shoes.  I hope that this was informative and I was able to help you learn more on how to find the right ballet shoes and how to take care of them.

How Laura Shearman got into Dancing and on the Moravian Dance Company Team

For todays blog, I interviewed one of the dancers of Moravian College's 2011 dance  team. Her name is Laura Shearman, a sophmore at Moravian College. I've known her for two years, and she's an important dancer to the dance team. She has amazing choreographing ideas for the team and is an amazing role model for the other dancers on the team.

Name: Laura Shearman

Age: 19

Where are you originally from? Schnecksville, PA

How long have you been dancing? I have been dancing for 15 years.

What styles of dance do you do? I do ballet, tap, jazz, modern, pointe, and hip-hop.

What styles of dances are your favorite? My favorites are ballet and pointe.

Where did you start to dance? I started to dance at a studio called Dance Power when I was really little, but then that studio closed down, and I switched to Sue Albert's School of Dance.  I was there for thirteen years.

What do you like most about dancing? The feeling of excitement when stepping onto the stage.

What made you start dancing? I went to my cousin's dance recital, I liked it so much and I decided I wanted to to take a dance class that following year.

How did you get involved with dancing on the Moravian Dance Team? When I toured Moravian, I asked my tour guides about the dance company because I knew they had one.  They all said that the dance company was really good, and they put on a great spring recital, and that it was a lot of fun.

Do you find being on the dance team is difficult, while trying to keep up with your school work? Balancing both school work and dance team is hard at times, but I still find a way to make it work.  I know I always take advantage of my weekends to get ahead of my school work, so that if I know that I have additional rehearsals(esp around recital time) then I know I won't have to stress out as much because I was able to make the most of my time.

Were you in any dance competitions? At Sue Albert's School of Dance, I was part of the competition team for three years, and then with Parkland High School Dance Team, I also participated in various competitions in there as well.

How Many recitals have you been in? And which were your favorite dances? I've been in sixteen recitals, and one showcase with the Parkland High School Dance Team, and roughly eighteen half time performances at the home basketball games at Parkland.  I was on their dance team for three years.  Out of all the dancing I have done, I cannot pick a favorite dance.

What is the Moravian College Dance Team?

Moravian College Dance Team has been a dance team for 35 years now.  The dance team has been founder and advisor, Dawn KettermanBenner.  She is also Moravian's head woman's tennis coach and associate director of athletics.

Moravian College Dance Team is typically known as Moravian College Dance Company.

Currently, this year, there are 20 female dancers that are involved in Moravian's Dance Company.  The dance team meets 2 days a week.

• Mondays from 7p.m.-8:30p.m
• Thursdays from 6p.m-7:30p.m or 7:30p.m.-9p.m.

This is their fall schedule, in the spring it varies depending on senior solos and choreographing.

Their practices are normally held in the dance studio in Moravian College's ARC.

Moravian College Dance Team practices and participates in many different types of dances including:

• ballet
• jazz
• tap
• modern

On certain days is when certain types of dances are rehearsed.  On Mondays, the girls practice jazz, tap, and modern.  On Thursdays is when they practice ballet.

Moravian College Dance Team has 2 performances a year, a fall performance, and a spring performance.  In the fall, they perform for the homecoming football game.  In the spring, they hold their annual spring recital. The spring recital is choreographed and held by seniors and upperclassman of the team.

I have talked to many people about both performances, and everyone says that the dance team puts on fantastic shows every year.  I highly recommend that people come out and support the dance team in the fall, and highly recommend that they come and see their spring recital.

For recitals and performances, sometimes the dancers are asked to pay for costumes, but other times they use old costumes that the college has or sometimes even their own clothing from home they will make into a costume.  Some other fees that come along with being on the dance team is that the dancers may have to pay for the extra shoes that they do not have, and also the dance team provides sweats and warm-ups.  This is not required to have but is highly recommended.  Other than this, there is not extra fee just for being on the dance team.

During the school year, Moravian College Dance Team takes part in something called "master classes," where they get to dance another type of dance other than jazz, modern, ballet, or tap.  Last year was that they got to participate in a yoga class and a hip-hop class.  It is said that everyone enjoys experiencing these classes.  In will be exciting and interesting to see what the girls participate in this year.

I blog because I want to Inform everyone how Wonderful Dance really is

Hello everyone,

Welcome to my blog Just Dance!!!! I created this blog for my journalism class.  I will be blogging mostly on Moravian College Dance Team and other dance related topics.  I have started to dance since I was 3 years old.  I think that blogging about dance will be the best and most interesting topic to blog about.  I have done many different types of dance such as, ballet, contemporary, and hip-hop.  I would have to say that contemporary ( a form of modern dance) would have to be my favorite.  I am always open in learning new types of dances and the history behind them.

Dancing allows me to express myself in a different way that no one else can.  It is my own creation of expression, and even though many other people in the world dance, everyone has their own way of dancing and expressing themselves.  If I am mad, I put on loud music, if I am upset, I would put on quieter music, more somber music, and if I am happy I express it with music that someone would smile to.  I love choreographing my own dances and improvising to music.  It allows me to express myself more.

When I was 3 years old, I walked into my first dance class, the room seemed so big, and I just fell in love with my pink ballet slippers.  When my dance teacher put on the music, my feet just could not stay still.  I just wanted to learn all these ballet moves.  I had so much fun my first day of class. When the class was over I did not want to go home.  I will never forget that day.

I am interested in seeing the choreographing that the Moravian College Dance Team has done, and the individual expression each of the dancer has.  During this blog, I will be posting:

• Dance events
• Interviews with dancers
• Biographies on dancers
• Behind the scenes information
• Updates on practices
• Anything else that is dance related and seems interesting