I have heard many reports in other forums that they are ugly, not real pointe shoes, too expensive, too arched, etc etc! (the list keeps going)<BR>So are they really??

I personally have never used these shoes. I have heard from teachers that they do not conform to the dancer's foot - do not shape themselves. Also that the roll down from pointe to flat is too sharply done and therefore a strain on the tendon at the bottom of the foot. The only way you will really know - is to try a pair at a shop. I would be interested to hear what you think if you do try a pair.<P>------------------<BR>Approach life as a dancer approaches the barre, with grace and purpose.

Apparently they last a lot longer than regular pointe shoes, presumeably because they are made of a tougher composite material (amalgam of plastic,not balsa/glue like others). They are also more expensive....Technically speaking, they don't let you"roll down" or "roll up" like other pointes. For this reason, I wouldn't recommend them to my students....but....never say never!!

I agree with you completely, Trina - I wouldn't want a shoe in which one couldn't roll up or down either for myself or for my students. That abrupt descent (when you can't roll down) places a very big stress on the foot - that tendon that runs the length of the bottom of the foot. <P>I tried a pair of Woessner's (spelling?) once that also had that abrupt descent and for the first - and only - time began to have tendonitis. I got rid of the shoes and the problem immediately disappeared.<BR><P>------------------<BR>Approach life as a dancer approaches the barre, with grace and purpose.

purple, my guess is you are already aware that these shoes are up around the $200 mark in australia.<P>here is the excellent gaynor minden site:<BR> <A HREF="http://www.dancer.com/" TARGET=_blank>http://www.dancer.com/</A> <P>i find this site map page actually an easier way to get around their pages:<BR> <A HREF="http://www.dancer.com/SiteMap.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.dancer.com/SiteMap.html</A> <P>i wonder if the 'pianissimo' ultra-flexible shank may avoid the problem spoken of above, about not being able to go thru the foot? <P>i am certainly curious about these shoes, and would very much like to try a pair - but at that cost, one really can't experiment!<P>as to comments you have seen at other forums, i personally feel that shoes are a very individual thing, which is why there are so many brands and styles, and that while discussion might be interesting, it may also be very misleading, as many young dancers just say how it is for them AS IF that holds true for the rest of the population, or for all of the shoes of that brand. there is too much generalisation. skim such mesages for information - but ultimately you have to address your OWN foot's needs!<P>

There is a shop here that has Gaynor Mindens - I will have to get there and try on the shoes. But, even then trying them on and wearing them for work are two different things. However, after my experience with that abrupt roll down - I am not about to try it in class again.

There are so many stories going around concerning GM.<BR>I think that there is just 1 problem concerning Gaynor Minden pointes : there are so many options available that you need a VERY reliable fitter to choose the right type ! <P>It is just not possible for an average store to offer all these options, so they have to mesure the feet(I heard they wrap the foot an make notations).<P>I know a lot of users and they just won't think about other pointes anymore.<P>I will ask the importer for Europe to make a reply.<BR>

well, I did go and try them, but found that I just couldn't get through the foot, like Basheva says. (and everyone else) <BR>But I thought maybe it would get better if you had ribbons and elastic on them, and did the hairdryer thing... <BR>And yes, they are rather too expensive to try out!!

What I called a tendon above - is really the long plantar ligament. It goes from the ball of the foot to the heel - and connects the foot. I don't see how one can dance correctly on pointe without that roll down - it's part of the technique.<P>------------------<BR>Approach life as a dancer approaches the barre, with grace and purpose.

thanks viv - what you say makes sense to me!

*looks mournfully at the pair of hardly worn gaynor mindens in her room*<P>A VERY expensive mistake to make if they don't work for your feet<P>And they don't work for my feet, I have strong, not particularly great feet that seem to go through pointe shoes like they were going out of fashion. Which is why gaynor mindens seemed like such a good idea.<P>So what didn't work about them for me? The famous not being abe to roll through feet was absolutely a factor because there was this terrible springing action. Once on pointe for a while the shoe heated up and softened a dreadful amount, giving my foot a poor amount of support. The box never formed to my foot (it is plastic after all) and that flat box bruised every one of my toenails. There was uncomfortable padding in the shoe, including underneath the platform at the tip for 'quiet' landings. It was bizaare having my pointe shoes squish like that.<P>The jury is still out as to whether the flat box looks good. In my opinion, it doesn't but in my teachers opinion they look fantastic. Before the shank softened, I did feel nicely pulled up out of my shoes and the platform was a nice shape for balancing etc.<P>I still think my experience was terrible with them and I would never recommend them to anybody. Yet other people havehad the opposite reaction....

nice to see you, swan - it's been a while!