At BalletPro we are passionate about the correct fitting of Pointe shoes in order to prevent injury and maximise performance. We hold in-depth one day workshops on Pointe shoe fitting for stockists, teachers, dancers, and other interested people. These comprise a two-part interactive presentation as well as hands-on demonstrations of fitting techniques. The course is based on the work of Esther Juon who presented the course before moving to New Zealand. Esther is the author of Pointe shoe secrets (1995). Topics include:

  • Anatomy of the foot
  • Development of the dancer
  • Assessment of readiness for Pointe
  • Preparation for Pointe
  • Fundamental step-by-step Pointe shoe fitting- practical observation of fittings
  • R- Class Pointe shoe models and selection
  • Solving problem feet (use of different shoes, customizations, and specialized products)
  • Health and Safety aspects

Participants receive detailed course notes, academic articles, posters and a certificate. Attendance will be noted on our stockist locator so customers can see which shops have been on our training day.

Duration:

10:00 am to 4:00 pm with breaks for finger lunch and tea/coffee.

When:

Courses are generally run every 4-6 months on Sundays.  The next course will be on 17 November  2024 at Birmingham

Contact us to be added to the mailing list for the new date

Where:

Either at a hotel near Heathrow, London, or Crowne Plaza Hotel, Birmingham NEC depending on demand

Who for:-

Shop fitters, (beginners or experienced) interested teachers and students,

Next Course Date:

17 November  2024- Venue Birmingham

BOOK HERE

PLEASE NOTE YOU HAVE TO BOOK FOR COURSES, YOU CANNOT SIMPLY ARRIVE

CONTACT US for more details

 Course Feedback

We believe that we offer a thorough, stimulating, and informative course, and are very proud to have to have consistently achieved great feedback. Here are some real samples from just a few courses over the years below:-

Elly:-I found the course really helpful. I do pointe myself and it made me think about how my feet should be feeling and what position they should be in. I would go on the course again, because since then I've seen different feet that make me wonder what to do and Jayne said she found that going on the course again helped.

Thanks for letting me be on the course, I appreciate it and enjoyed it,

Linda:- I attended my first Pointe Shoe fitting course when I opened my dance shop & it was well presented & inspirational! As a nurse I was thrilled to see that caring for dancers feet is a priority throughout all fittings. I attended again, a few years later, to consolidate my knowledge after fitting several dancers. This was extremely helpful. I'd strongly recommend every fitter attend fairly regularly, to ensure that they've not developed any bad habits and also that they are up-to-date with current products and fitting practices.

Keith:-Yes we have attended a XXXX Pointe shoe fitting course by Amanda. We thoroughly enjoyed it, found it to be the best course we have ever attended and it has definitely helped us sell XXXX Pointe shoes.

Tina:- These pointe shoe fitting courses are professionally run and invaluable to Pointe retailers, with an excellent mix of theory of foot anatomy and practical fitting of the Pointe shoes makes this pointe shoe fitting course a must for all fitters.

Samantha:- When I attended your Pointe shoe course I found it was informative on many levels. Firstly I enjoyed all the information about feet health and why it is important that the dancers feet are exercised to strengthen all the intrinsic and metatarsal muscles. Also your knowledge on your products is second to none so it gave myself the confidence to learn and get to know the products well too. The practical session was vital comparing and feeling a badly fitted shoe to a well fitted one and the information pack I took away just gave me the security of being able to recap over anything I was unsure about when back in my shop. I would attend this course again as it was informative and enjoyable.

Leanne:- The pointe shoe fitting course was good to attend because I personally feel that the detail about feet was very interesting and gave vital information that I think fitters should be taught about. Seeing the passion about keeping feet healthy in pointe shoes is of such high importance. This in particular is a great thing to teach people especially as so many other shops etc are not fitting pointe shoes correctly leading to a lot of ill fitting and injuries. I also love the way we can fit with minimal padding because the shoes support so well and seeing the demo fitting I feel was vital in proving to delegates that a correct fitting pointe shoe should fit without the use of bulky pads.

Jo:- Both my Mum and Myself have attended one of your Pointe shoe fitting courses. We thoroughly enjoyed the day and compared to the others we have been on yours was by far the best. The course was very informative and made us feel confident we are fitting the shoes correctly. Would definitely do another one, it's just a problem fitting it in!

Anne:-The BalletPro pointe shoe course was extremely helpful in perfecting the way we fit, subsequently we are selling more of your beautiful shoes. The course was very well run and we feel the option to attend further courses should always be available to refresh knowledge and to train new staff.

Cathy: Myself and 3 members of staff attended a pointe shoe course run by Amanda in 2013. As the owner of 2 dance shops I had been fitting pointe shoes for over 15 years but felt that it is always useful to get another viewpoint and you will always learn something new. We were not disappointed, we learnt a great deal on that day, particularly about the anatomy and care of a dancers foot. It also was good to get confirmation of theories and ideas that I already had. It was also beneficial to meet Amanda and her team. We consequently stocked the Grishko shoes in our shop and they are a very popular shoe.

Sue:- We have attended 3 courses and have enjoyed and learnt something on everyone. The courses are delivered in a professional and friendly format. I am sure we will attend further courses.

Nichola:- Sophie and I thoroughly enjoyed the day, we learnt a lot and you covered far more than we expected, I found the information very accessible being a non dancer and I very much look forward to building a good stock of pointe shoes in the near future and working with you

Elaine: Many thanks for yesterday, it was a very beneficial day and I am really glad I attended

Lisa: I would personally like to say thank you very much for yesterday, I am not huge fan of courses but you made it very interesting & informative. Both myself & Lauren came away full of knowledge & excited to offer our pointe shoe fitting service at XXXXXX, I will send an order over this week.

Gemma. I just wanted to personally say that the course was amazing today, I feel so confident now to fit my girls and felt it was incredible value for money. It was well worth the 2 hr journey. It covered so much more than I expected and in fact tomorrow I am planning on not actually doing Pointe Work with the five girls in class but assessing their feet and working with them to strengthen to help them. I feel so much more informed on everything not just the fitting side of things.

Wendy: Hi Amanda, thank you for the most amazing day! We came home feeling refreshed & educated!

Becky: I just wanted to thank you for the course on sunday it was so informative and have recommended it to some colleagues already.

Amy:- Would just like to say we throughly enjoyed ourselves on Sunday

Stacey:- Thank You for the links, I thoroughly enjoyed your course and got so much introductory skill out of it, I would really appreciate it if you would keep me posted on the next one as a refresher as I would like to get really good at this. Your structure was one of the best ever attended and I cannot see how you could have improved on this.

Anon:- Excellent Course, well equipped in all aspects. Very informative day, really enjoyed it

Anon:-Enjoyable course, learnt more about fitting and all shoes even though I already fit them

Anon:- Great course and have learnt lots

Anon:- The most informative excellent course

Sarah:- Such an excellent day. Wonderfully prepared and presented. Incredible value for money

Anon:- very good value for money. Well worth a second visit soon. The overall course was fantastic. Nothing else to add

Anon:- Oh yes, no other course in the UK can begin to compare to your course. No other courses go into depth like this.

Libby- Great Content to look through and take away with all information.I feel confident with everything I have learnt and can take away knowledge. Anything you think we did really well? Showed multiple types of fitting which was really helpful

Anon: Anything you think we did really well? Actually seeing the fittings being done was very helpful. it was a very informative course

Anon: Anything you think we did really well? The detail of the lecture

Stephanie:- Facitlities and catering great. venue easy to find from aiport. Lovley to have an info folder and bag. great course. So much learnt. Really helpful, informative. As a teacher I now feel so much more aware and confident to help my students at a fitting.

Anon- it was so much easier to take all the information in from the 2nd course- thank you so much.

Anon- Good demonstration of fitting and I liked that we saw it multiple times

Leigh-Ann- Anything you think we did really well? Understanding why it is important to fit corectly / advantages/ disadvantages eplained and identified exceptionally well.

Anon- Was absolutely helpful and learnt so much, very easy to understand. Everything was done very well

Anon- Anything you think we did really well? Explanations of everything

Anon- I really enjoyed learning about the anotomy of the foot and calf. Very useful as a teacher.

Vanessa- another excellent day- thanks!

Becky- Excellent course as always

Anon- food smelt and tasted very good

Even the most experienced fitters learn something new.

It is great for retailers to network with each other

Learn in a comfortable conference room

We start with theory and progress to more practical fitting as the day goes on

Limited Places

So everybody can get involved

We usually fit about 3 models

Comparing old with new is so helpful