HEEL:
The back-seam's depth of the pointe
shoe. Heel height refers to the depth of the heel from the bottom of the
foot up the path of the Achilles' tendon and where the heel breaks in
relationship to the ankle on relieve.
HIGH: Good
for a dancer that needs more support in the heel and has a longer
surface between the bottom of the ankle to the Achilles' tendon.
MEDIUM:
Good for a
dancer with an average surface space between the bottom of the ankle
to the Achilles' tendon.
LOW: Good
for a dancer with little surface space between the bottom of the ankle
to the Achilles' tendon.
WING:
The sides of the shoe closest to the box. There are three aspects to
consider; how far the wing comes up over the metatarsals (the long bones
of the foot), how long the wings are and how hard or soft they are.
HOW FAR THE
WING COMES UP OVER THE METATARSALS:
HIGH: Good
for a dancer with flexible arches, long metatarsals, bunions or long
toes.
MEDIUM:
Good for a
dancer with average toes and arches.
LOW: Good
for a dancer with short toes.
HOW LONG
THE WINGS ARE:
LONG: Good
for a dancer who breaks down their pointe shoe box quickly or needs the
extra support due to the length of their metatarsals or flexible arches.
MEDIUM: Good
for a dancer with an average foot.
LOW: Good
for a dancer with short toes.
HOW HARD OR
SOFT THE WINGS ARE:
HARD: Good
for a dancer with flexible arches, long metatarsals, or breaks down their
pointe shoe box quickly.
MEDIUM: Good
for a dancer with an average bone and muscular structure of the foot.
SOFT: Good
for a dancer with short toes or painful bunions.
CROWN
HEIGHT: The thickness of the box area. This part of the shoe goes
from the bottom of the outer sole to the top of the box. It refers to
the thickness of the dancer's foot from the bottom of the foot to the
top.
HIGH: Good
for a dancer with a thick, muscular foot.
AVERAGE:
Good for a
dancer with average thickness.
FLAT: Good
for a dancer with a very thin foot.
