anyone with a boy who does ballet? or a young girl?

[kiwik]

Ds3 loves his preschool ballet and like most young kids dances barefoot. But we are going into winter here and the studio is getting cold (Saturday morning class). I thought I might buy him shoes for his birthday next month. I can't really afford $30 plus dollars for leather ones but it sounds like canvas is fine. The problem is the sole - every full soled shoe I can find is pink. He likes pink - but not so much the dirty pink of the shoes. But he already wears purple leggings and does ballet so I am wondering if the only black pair I can find would be ok even though they have split soles. PS. I didn't even know there were two types of sole until today.

[justasque]

Split soles is a good thing.

Think about pointing your foot - it will be easier in a split sole shoe, because you're not fighting against the stiffness of the sole.

 

A dance shop is more likely to have what you're looking for than somewhere like Payless, and the shoes will be of better quality, but still reasonably priced.

If you find pink ones you like locally, you may be able to have the shop order black ones.

Have you tried places like discountdance.com ? They carry quite a few styles of children's ballet slippers in black, and for less than $30.

[kiwik]

I am trying on line places. We are in new Zealand and I don't think there are shops selling ballet shoes in my city.

 

Thanks.

[mom2scouts]

Dance stores will have black and white, but if that's not an option then buy online. I know that our teachers prefer the little ones have full sole leather ballet shoes. Another thing you could do is paint the shoes. We spray paint ballet shoes all the time for our recitals. Make sure you stuff the insides with paper and then just give it a coat or two.

[Sisyphus]

Young students should have full sole so they have to work harder to point those toes, but imagine for a 3 year old, if you can only find black in split sole for now, the teacher wouldn't mind. What about white? I know several dancing boys wear white canvas shoes. They get dirty fast though!

[Dmmetler]

You can also ask the teacher about gymnastics/acro shoes-they're very similar to ballet shoes, with leather soles, and are white.

[kiwik]

will look at gym shoes. The dance studio doesn't care what colour he wears or even if he does at this point. When he is older it will be different but I may have to change studios as he is the only boy at this one (at any level).

 

He is happy to wear pink (doesn't want black anyway) and I can dye canvas ones. For future reference the online shop I contacted put me on to someone who sells both black and white in leather but the price range from $40 to $50 plus postage.

 

If he sticks with it I will. For now I want his feet to stay reasonable warm this winter.

[redsquirrel]

I have two boys in ballet, and yes it it can be a PAIN to find black shoes. They often danced in pink shoes when they were tiny. I agree that full soled shoes is best for a beginner.

 

Honestly, if he is three just get what is cheapest. Wait until he is 13 and taking 5 classes a week and running through shoes before you have to spend 50$ on a pair.

[kiwik]

I have two boys in ballet, and yes it it can be a PAIN to find black shoes. They often danced in pink shoes when they were tiny. I agree that full soled shoes is best for a beginner.

 

Honestly, if he is three just get what is cheapest. Wait until he is 13 and taking 5 classes a week and running through shoes before you have to spend 50$ on a pair.

 

That is my thinking too. He had pink gum boots (rubber boots?) last year and this year he chose bright purple- he will love having pink dance shoes.

[LibraryLover]

Our school discourages split soles for the young dancers. Take that for what it's worth. Also, you should be able to find white canvas shoes. Male dancers wear white canvas...and they stay white for about 4 minutes; then they turn dark gray. ;) Have him watch vids of male ballet dancers. Or, with your son, check out web pix of Rudolf Nureyev's old canvas slippers. Filthy. :)

 

www.discountdancesupply.com is a great place for bargains. Lots of coupons, specials, and free shipping offers etc.

 

I can't get the Mens page to link. But if you search Mens shoes, you can show him the the white canvas. I don't see them for little boys, as they are probably the same ones you would buy for a girl. You could always dye them.

 

Our school requires black leather ballet flats for boys. Full stop.

[amsunshine]

Our ballet studio actually prefers the split sole canvas ballet slippers, and the boys typically dance in white shoes. They teach the Vaganova method, so I don't know if that has anything to do with their preferences. I have heard that other studios prefer full sole for younger dancers. I don't think it really makes that much difference one way or the other. I understand the argument that the full sole helps build strength in the feet, but the soles are typically very flexible, so I've often wondered how it could really help. My girls both have incredibly strong feet, and have worn split soles from a very young age. So, I guess what I'm saying is -- canvas shoes should be just fine. The nice things about canvas are that they are very breathable, and you can wash them.

[LibraryLover]

Our ballet studio actually prefers the split sole canvas ballet slippers, and the boys typically dance in white shoes. They teach the Vaganova method, so I don't know if that has anything to do with their preferences. I have heard that other studios prefer full sole for younger dancers. I don't think it really makes that much difference one way or the other. I understand the argument that the full sole helps build strength in the feet, but the soles are typically very flexible, so I've often wondered how it could really help. My girls both have incredibly strong feet, and have worn split soles from a very young age. So, I guess what I'm saying is -- canvas shoes should be just fine. The nice things about canvas are that they are very breathable, and you can wash them.

 

 

 

Vaganova here, and our school is pretty strict about no split soles for young dancers. My dd was thrilled when she was able to wear them, and even more thrilled when she got her first canvas pair. Only leather until they are in a certain level. Our school doesn't even have a store...so their making money off clothing and shoes doesn't even come into play.

 

The world of ballet can be maddening. ;)

[amsunshine]

 

 

Vaganova here, and they are pretty pissy about split soles for l young dancers. My dd was thrilled when she was able to wear them, and even more thrilled when she got her first canvas pair. Only leather until they are in a certain level. Our school doesn't even have a store...so their making money off clothing and shoes doesn't even come into play.

 

The world of ballet can be maddening. ;)

 

That's interesting! Then, I guess it can't be a Vaganova thing at our studio. Who knows? Our studio doesn't have a store, either.

[Greenmama2]

Our studio prefers full sole & only leather for little people. DS danced in pink shoes all last year & borrowed a pair of black leather shoes for the concert. They don't care what colour under 6s wear unless they're onstage.

[LibraryLover]

That's interesting! Then, I guess it can't be a Vaganova thing at our studio. Who knows? Our studio doesn't have a store, either.

 

 

I've stopped trying to understand any method to ballet madness. My dramatic youngest once said to me, "If I couldn't dance, I would want to die."

 

I opened up one big can of worms the first day I drove her to that studio. How naive I was. ;)

[laf919]

I would ask the teacher before you spend any money - what do they like? My dd6's teacher likes them to be barefoot until age 5 (kindergarten) because otherwise she spends so much of class fixing shoes. For k-1st grade she likes them to wear a newer style of shoe that is a full sole but has wide elastic in a strip around the arch instead of drawstrings. Again, this is purely practical - otherwise she is always having someone who needs help tucking in the drawstrings or adjusting the fit and it really distracts from the class. From 2nd grade on, it's leather ballet shoes but drawstrings or not are up to the child and how they fit. So - check with the teacher. It is possible that at your son's age they really don't want them in shoes for reasons not directly related to the shoes themselves.

[laf919]

okay, so I was wrong - dd6's shoes are a split sole. They are from Revolution Dance Wear - see here: http://www.revolutiondance.com/stretch-ballet-ii-products-196.php?page_id=72 I don't see prices listed - we ordered through the studio and they were about $20. HTH! I had never seen this style before, but they are great for littler ones because no adjusting is necessary.

[mom2scouts]

 

I opened up one big can of worms the first day I drove her to that studio. How naive I was. ;)

 

 

That cute little one hour a week preschool dance class seemed like a good idea, didn't it? It leads to MUCH bigger things very quickly! :001_smile:

[Nart]

I would buy him the split sole back ones, not the pink ones. My son did (pre) ballet at three and four and loved it. He didn't care what color shoes he wore, but the studio made it easy because they ordered the shoes. There were lots of pink ones to try on to get the right size then the studio ordered black ones for the boys. While my son didn't care about the color of his shoe some girls did. One day he had to borrow a pink pair and a girl said something about his girl shoes. Then a couple of weeks later the only other boy in class went on vacation and a girl said something about ballet being for girls. That was the end of ballet for him. I have begged and tried to bribe him to go back but he said, "no way".

I think it is hard enough to be a boy doing ballet, so I would stick to white or black shoes.

[chepyl]

Split sole is fine, my some actually wears jazz shoes because it is hard to find the black ballet for boys.

 

As a dance teacher/dancer, split sole vs full sole really does not matter. It is cardboard, it does not even really form to the foot, it does not strengthen the foot as well as a properly executed tendu or point, which cannot be done as well in full sole shoes.

 

Ask the teacher, but if it were me, I would say go with what you find.