I remember my first pair of ballet shoes fondly – I was 5 years old, and they were a bit floppy. It was the classic “she’ll grow into them” kind of shoes.
As I grew older, I did grow into them – and out of them – quickly. Finally, in my teenage years I got to keep a pair of ballet slippers for a year or so before I had to replace them from being simply too worn.
I began dance when I was about 5 years old. My first memories of dance were a small studio in Columbus, OH. I had a Russian teacher who was a bit older – maybe in her 50s at that time – and she came dressed in street clothing and heels. She lined us up by height along the barre. Being the shortest, I was always in the front. When we learned a new exercise routine, I had to remember it since everyone behind me was following me!
When I was about 8, we moved north to Cleveland where I continued my ballet training at the Cleveland School of Ballet. Now it seemed, these were some serious classes. I was training several days a week. I even got the chance to be in the Nutcracker as one of the child carolers at the very beginning. It was my first time seeing what it was like to be backstage. Even at that young age, it became very clear to me that ballet was a lot of hard work. No matter how effortless it looked on stage, the dancers always exited the stage nearly breathless, sweaty and sometimes in pain from their shoes.
My next endeavor with ballet shoes were the coveted pointe shoes. I loved the feeling of finally being able to rise to the tip of my toes. However, this came with much more frustration around finding the best fitting pointe shoes. My first were Bloch’s, then I tried Gaynor Minden’s, and finally I ended up with Grishko’s. I loved dancing in them and they felt so comfortable to my feet – I truly learned the value of a pair of great-fitting ballet shoes.
So here I am – no longer a dancer – but passionate about writing and emphasizing how a good pair of ballet shoes can improve a dancer’s performance by allowing them to focus on the art rather than the discomfort that can come with ill-fitting shoes. That’s why I seek out the best resources I can find all around ballet shoes and share them on my blog. I also like to share any good tips that I’ve learned along the way.
To read some of these tips about ballet shoes, check out http://www.bestballetshoes.com/.
Lara Friesen is a newbie blogger and former recreational dancer. She hails from Cleveland, OH, where she learned ballet at the Cleveland School of Ballet as a child and later studied at Dance by Gloria until her mid-twenties. She now lives in San Francisco with her husband, where marketing is her full-time job.
As I grew older, I did grow into them – and out of them – quickly. Finally, in my teenage years I got to keep a pair of ballet slippers for a year or so before I had to replace them from being simply too worn.
I began dance when I was about 5 years old. My first memories of dance were a small studio in Columbus, OH. I had a Russian teacher who was a bit older – maybe in her 50s at that time – and she came dressed in street clothing and heels. She lined us up by height along the barre. Being the shortest, I was always in the front. When we learned a new exercise routine, I had to remember it since everyone behind me was following me!
When I was about 8, we moved north to Cleveland where I continued my ballet training at the Cleveland School of Ballet. Now it seemed, these were some serious classes. I was training several days a week. I even got the chance to be in the Nutcracker as one of the child carolers at the very beginning. It was my first time seeing what it was like to be backstage. Even at that young age, it became very clear to me that ballet was a lot of hard work. No matter how effortless it looked on stage, the dancers always exited the stage nearly breathless, sweaty and sometimes in pain from their shoes.
My next endeavor with ballet shoes were the coveted pointe shoes. I loved the feeling of finally being able to rise to the tip of my toes. However, this came with much more frustration around finding the best fitting pointe shoes. My first were Bloch’s, then I tried Gaynor Minden’s, and finally I ended up with Grishko’s. I loved dancing in them and they felt so comfortable to my feet – I truly learned the value of a pair of great-fitting ballet shoes.
So here I am – no longer a dancer – but passionate about writing and emphasizing how a good pair of ballet shoes can improve a dancer’s performance by allowing them to focus on the art rather than the discomfort that can come with ill-fitting shoes. That’s why I seek out the best resources I can find all around ballet shoes and share them on my blog. I also like to share any good tips that I’ve learned along the way.
To read some of these tips about ballet shoes, check out http://www.bestballetshoes.com/.
Lara Friesen is a newbie blogger and former recreational dancer. She hails from Cleveland, OH, where she learned ballet at the Cleveland School of Ballet as a child and later studied at Dance by Gloria until her mid-twenties. She now lives in San Francisco with her husband, where marketing is her full-time job.
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