I have one question for teachers/ students, doesn´t matter. I haven´t got very good feet. I do have pointes for about 4 years but still my pointes are very hard and I am not really on the top. Does anyone of you has some good advises/ exercises for me to increase my pointes technique?

Elleke - do you mean that you are not quite getting on top of your shoe platforms?<P>This is very necessary to do. There is no magic way to increase the arch of your foot. The best way to stretch your foot is to fully use the tendu - articulating your foot each time. Going through all the parts.<P>Also, when you do a tendu - press into the floor, like you are ironing it. Use the floor as an isometic exercise.<P>If you do a search - at the top right side of this board - and search on the word "Tendu" you will see a couple of threads that you can read that will help.<P>You might also talk to your teacher about it - you may need a different kind or style of shoe. <P>You can also stretch your feet by doing a tendu with your pointe shoe and then pliéing over it - but you have to do this very gently. Remember your feet are made up of fragile bones - that you will need the rest of your life - long after you are done dancing.<P>Talk to your teacher.....

Thanks for your advise. I have already discussed this problem with my teacher, but she only said that my feed are getting better and I just have to practise a lot.<P>The schoolyear is almost over for me and I don´t have to do much on pointes now, but next year I will buy new pointes who are better for my feet.

Oh, I have another question, does any of you know the Grishko pointes? And what do you think of it?

Elleke - I am not personnally familiar with these shoes. <P>However, the only way to really know if they are right for you is to find a store that has them and try them on. Shoes and dancers' feet are so very individualistic - that each dancer and her teacher need to try on the shoes and see how them feel and work.

Hey Elleke, hoe gaat ie? Waar ergens in Nederland woon je? Ikke in Amsterdam. Leuk, om nog een Nederlands iemand hier te hebben. Berry is volgens mij ook Nederlands, maar woont (volgens zijn 'profile' in Duitsland).

Hello Elleke,<BR>I have Chacott pointe shoes myself, the EH (extra hard, and they are just right, maybe a very little bit too soft), but i know they also have a lot of softer ones, as a few girls in my class also have them. Ask your teacher about them, you can buy them in Le Papillon if you're in Amsterdam, i don't know for other cities, they cost about f(dat was een geïmproviseerd gulden-tekentje )100-125. Well, I don't know so much about pointe shoes, but perhaps you could try to let them fit all over again, beginning with trying on old pairs in the studio and ending with making endless relevés in different pairs in the store.