Ballet & Dance

Ballet slippers, pointe shoes and tap shoes:

the shoes are what split one class from another. Soft slippers come in canvas, which washes well and suits growing feet, or leather, which lasts longer. A full sole makes a young dancer work through the whole foot; a split sole bends more easily and is what most older students wear. Pointe shoes are a different object, built around a hard box and a stiff shank, and a dancer moves onto them only when her teacher says her feet and ankles are ready. Jazz shoes and tap shoes, with metal plates screwed to heel and toe, cover the other classes. Mats and stretch bands sit under yoga and pilates, and strength work for older students under exercise equipment.

Leotards, tutus and costumes for the son:

many academies give each level its own leotard colour and cut, so on a used one the academy and level matter as much as the size. A practice tutu is short and soft; a stage tutu has stiff layered tulle and was made for one production. Folk dance is the other half of the story. School and academy groups dance the son in a wrap skirt, a huipil and a woven sash, while the costumes and masks for community dances such as the Baile del Venado are rented from the workshops that make and keep them, and rarely come up for sale. A costume sewn for a school performance is stagewear; a handwoven huipil is a textile that keeps its value whether or not anyone dances in it.

Sizing slippers and fitting pointe shoes:

dance shoes ignore street sizes, and Bloch, Capezio, Grishko and So Danca each size their own way, so the measured length of the foot tells you more than the number inside. Slippers should fit snugly with no room to grow. Pointe shoes are matched to one foot by box shape, width and shank strength, which is why a first pair is fitted in person with the teacher’s blessing, never picked from a photo.

How pointe shoes die, and what that does to their price:

sweat softens the glue in the box and shank, and once the platform turns mushy the shoe stops holding the dancer up and starts loading her ankles. A student in daily class can finish a pair in weeks. A new pair costs roughly Q700 to Q1,000, the dearest thing a ballet student buys again and again, yet a danced-in pair is worth nothing as footwear. The ones worth paying for second-hand are unworn pairs bought in the wrong size or model, and those can fetch close to what they cost, because they spare a dancer with that foot the same expensive mistake.

Second-hand slippers, tap shoes and leotards:

turn slippers over first. The suede patches under the ball and heel wear through before the upper does, and slack elastics can be replaced where a drawstring torn from its binding rarely can. Shake tap shoes and check every screw: loose taps tighten and worn plates can be swapped, so a tired tap on a sound shoe is no reason to walk away. Leotards give out at the seat and under the arms, where the fabric thins. Unworn pointe shoes have clean satin on the platform, no ribbons sewn on and a shank that springs back flat; darned tips or scuffed satin mean they have been danced in.

Passing on an outgrown dance bag:

families re-equip over the long holidays between one school year and the next, so dancewear listed as soon as classes close moves fastest. Give the insole length as well as the printed size, the brand and model of any pointe shoes, whether ribbons are sewn on, and the academy and level a leotard was bought for. For a recital costume, say how often it was worn and add the shoulder-to-crotch length, because costumes fit a child’s torso more than her age. A mother in Cobán buying first slippers needs that insole length long before a picture of the box.