Hey everbody,

in a result of perfect timing my beloved Bloch Suprimas are slowly dying, while I'm already scheduled for a flight to Russia. Turns out that my boyfriend apparently lives right next to Grishko store. Which opens up new opportunities.

I've never had the chance to try a Grishko shoe, as they are almost impossible to get in Germany, especially in my size (sadly I have rather big feet - I'm a 7 in Bloch).

Now I have the chance to check them out, but: I need to keep my time in the shop rather short, and as I need my boyfriend to translate for me (my russian is rather, um, limited) I need to know which models I should look at.

So, here's what my feet look like: Very tapered, big toe longest, compressible, not-very-high arch (okay, let's be honest here - non existant-arch) I prefer soft shoes, and a very short vamp + a low profile, although I have longer toes. So far I've been returning to the Bloch Suprima, medium shank, again and again, after using Repetto for a while (they discontinued my shoe, booo!).

I wanted to look at the 2007, but now I saw that there's the "Nova 2007". Does anyone know anything about that? Which other shoes are tapered and have a short vamp? Which ones can you recommend? Is there anything about Grishko sizing that I should know?

It could just be that I don't get the full range near me but I always recommend Grishkos for my dancers with wider, less tapered toes. Have you looked into Russians at all, they tend to fit much better on narrow, tapered feet.

Here's the link to their site though, it explains what type of foot each shoe was designed for.

www.grishko.com . . .

^Russian Pointes are not available in Germany. I don't even think they are sold in Europe at all.

Thanks for the link!

I have narrow feet with tapered toes, and not a very good arch, and I really like Grishko. I've had the Ulanova I and after breaking them in they're great! I much prefer Grishko over Bloch. Grishko makes a wide variety of widths, and can get pretty narrow.

I have just ordered a pair of Grishko Proflex shoes, which I'm really excited to try because they're supposed to have a soft shank designed for low arches.

I'm also curious how they work. I have a low LOW arch and a tight instep. Right now using custom-made Gaynors (yes, even custom for THEM!!!) but I'd prefer a regular shoe. Like the Gaynors but I can't ever get them to fit JUST right, even with custom work!! Heard about the pro-flex. My local store doesn't carry them but is willing to fit and order if need be.

I have a narrow foot and tapered toes also. The best grishkos for me were the Grishko 2007. I was a size 6 width; XX with a hard shank. Also, the Ulanova 1 seemed to last longer for me! In those, I was a 5.5 XX with a hard shank. They seemed to take longer to break in too....

Russian pointes would work good for you!!! If you want to enhance your arch and instep or make it look better, I would say get the Entradas or Grande/Polettes. If you want to stick with Grishko, I'd advise that you get the 2007 Super soft shank, or the triumphs. The triumphs make everyones feet look great!!!

Mmh, how come you think that Grishkos are rare in Germany? Actually, they aren't. Maybe Bloch is quite big here compared to Grishko, but it's no problem at all to get them.
When you're at the Grishko store, you could try "Ulanova II", "Vaganova" could be a good fit, too, (try it, even if it's recommend for higher arches), maybe "Grishko 2007" could be worth a try. Choose a shank S (soft) or SS (very soft), they offer shanks from SS - SH for every shoe.
Never heard from "Nova 2007", it's not listed on the official Grishko Website nore on the website of the official Grishko Online-Shop in Moskau.

Yes, Russian Pointes are not availible here, but "Russian class". It's the same brand, but they come as Russian Class in Europe. Unfortunately there are no shops in Germany, you can only order them online or go to Czech Republic.

Another shoe/brand that could be intresting for you is "Kaliste" from Merlet. They are for very tapered toes, the vamp isn't really high and they usually work great for people with not so high arches.

If you're not lucky at all: Did you ever contacted this online shop? tabeo.de
They have quite a good range of pointe shoes and they offer a good online fitting service.

Viel Glück!

^Actually it's really not easy. I tried three major german cities and a smaller one, and was turned away in every single one. Most stores nowadays seem to offer only a very small range of them, if at all, and when I asked in a major store around christmas time I was told that aquiring Grishko was difficult because the russian company itself has some weird policies in place. It's only my experience, so you may be lucky and have a store close to your hometown where finding Grishko is easy. I've just not been lucky so far.

I also never heard of "Russian Class" shoes before, but if they are only sold in the Czech Republic it's understandable. "Merlet" is really popular around here and probably the most horrible brand for me - they don't work for my feet at all. Which is sad, because getting my hands on Merlet shoes would be super easy. (My american teacher was absolutely crazy about Merlet shoes and loved them. She was super sad that she couldn't get her hands on them easily and horrified when she heard me telling her that you could get them everywhere in Germany. One man's meat is the other man's poison, I guess..)

Thanks for recommending the Ulanova II - I'll make sure to try it.

ProFlexes are downright scary. When I was fitted for them, I thought I finally had my perfect shoe since I don't have amazing feet and the fit was supportive and comfortable. They broke in during variations and they lost ALL their support.

I have long, skinny feet and tapered toes as well, and so far 2007s are the best shoes I've ever worn. The overall fit is pretty close to ProFlex, but the shank is hard enough where I have to work. I definitely recommend starting with 2007s.

Good luck with finding the right shoe in Russia. Yes, I know that Grishko isn't as common as Bloch and maybe some european brands like Merlet or Sansha here, but it's really not impossible to get them. I know many shops in Germany who carry them, it's not only "my" local shop. Plus there are several opportunities to get them online from reliable german Online Shops, which makes it very easy to return them in no time in case they don't fit. I know really many people, not only from my area, who wear Grishko, I myself wore Grishkos over many years. For me, brands like Russian Pointe/Russian Class or maybe Chacott and Capezio are really, really hard to get here, because there are only a few or no shops at all which carry them. But doesn't matter anyways since you will have the full range in Russia.
Ah, I understand that you don't like Merlet, it was the same for me with Bloch for quite a long time. I hated them, every model I tried made my feet look ugly, I had trouble getting over my boxes and so on. But times change and it's possible that only one model of one brand can be perfect for somebody, even if all the other models are simply terrible. I'm the best example, I wear Bloch at the moment and I love them. So just in case you never tried the Kaliste, I really would recommend to try them (in case Grishkos aren't working for you), because the Kaliste feels very different from some of the other Merlet shoes and they fit your description very well (very tapered toes, rather flat arches...).
@mochalatte: I had the exact opposite experience. I had Grishkos 2007 for quite some time, but switched to pro flex and liked those more, because the usual 2007 has a carbon fibre shank that never really mold to my feet. But I guess it's always the same: What works for one person doesn't work for another at all.

I have the exact same feet as you, except that you didn't mention whether or not you have bunions. I do, and this means that I've basically only been able to dance in Chacott, which I think also can't really be found outside of Japan, the UK, or the USA. This thread has been helpful for me, as well!

"Russian Class" (i.e. R-Class)'s website is here:

r-class.biz

Off the top of my head, I know the Sapfir is a tapered shoe, so you might want to look into that. (Also the Bonbe and Celesta might work--they have higher crowns.)

Good luck!

Fayet wrote:

^Actually it's really not easy. I tried three major german cities and a smaller one, and was turned away in every single one. Most stores nowadays seem to offer only a very small range of them, if at all, and when I asked in a major store around christmas time I was told that aquiring Grishko was difficult because the russian company itself has some weird policies in place. It's only my experience, so you may be lucky and have a store close to your hometown where finding Grishko is easy. I've just not been lucky so far.

I also never heard of "Russian Class" shoes before, but if they are only sold in the Czech Republic it's understandable. "Merlet" is really popular around here and probably the most horrible brand for me - they don't work for my feet at all. Which is sad, because getting my hands on Merlet shoes would be super easy. (My american teacher was absolutely crazy about Merlet shoes and loved them. She was super sad that she couldn't get her hands on them easily and horrified when she heard me telling her that you could get them everywhere in Germany. One man's meat is the other man's poison, I guess..)

Thanks for recommending the Ulanova II - I'll make sure to try it.

I have the same foot, the "egyptian" foot. I wore 2007s almost exclusively. I hadn't changed shoes in so long I went to a fitter just to see what was out there. I found the Russian Pointe Rubin and I have never been happier. It fits so well, feels comfy on the first day I wear them and, they have a HUGE platform to balance well. If you are in a store, ask to try them.

Just a quick note to let you know that I returned from Russia with new pointes in my luggage.

I bought the 2007 ProFlex S shank and so far really like it. It's sitting in my bag waiting for it's first trial by fire in pointe class today, but what I saw in the mirror while fooling around in them last night looks good. The shoe is super soft and will probably not hold up for a long time - but then I won't need to do any breaking-in work in it. The Grishko store in Moscow is wonderful, and they offer a full selection of pointes. I think I tried almost every shoe that they had there..

Btw, the "Nova 2007" in mentioned above does indeed exsist. It seems to be made on the 2007 mold, but features a slightly different box and there's something special about the shank that I didn't quite understand. I didn't try it on, because they didn't have my size there.

Just got a call from my local store that my pro-flex shoes are in. Have to wait before picking them up but I'm looking forward to trying them.

I got the Pro, and I like them, but have to re-sew the ribbon. For some reason, my usual method of sewing put the ribbon in the wrong place and the shoe falls off my foot. Weird....(and yes, I do have elastic but again, my usual method didn't work on this one!! LOL!).

Curious as to how you like them. Please do post your experience after class today.

^Sure!

We only did half an hour of variations on pointe last night, so I can only talk about my experiences from that short amount of time.. First, I have to say the the 3/4-shank is really something you have to get used to. When going up with too much force I feel like immediately popping over the box. So I had to work more carefully and go up "softer" - but then the shank worked beautifully. I always felt that my Bloch shank was working against me, and as soon as it was properly broken in it basically felt too weak. The Grishko shank feels perfect. I had some trouble keeping the shoe on my feet, but I haven't yet managed to put elastics on it - something I really need to do. But the russian ribbons keep up well: Somehow they seem to be made out of different material than the european and american ones I had so far? Strange, but very convenient.

Overall the shoe felt good. My toes were maybe a tiny bit squished, but the box will get a bit larger by itself, so that's okay. I had no trouble working through demi-pointe, although the vamp isn't very short. And, on a very superficial side: The shoe looks wonderful. My rather ugly and weak feet suddenly have this very ballerina-style-look to them. I'm perfectly on my box and feel like I can really feel and work with the floor. Balancing seems to be very easy. Plus the shoe is very light and soft. Negative: I don't think it will hold up for very long.. a few month, but then it'll be dead. And then I'll probably just get the next one..

Thanks for that report. I wondered about the vamp being too long, as well. I have medium length toes.

It'll be interesting to see how it works for me!! Thanks so much for the report!!

How many hours of pointe do you do a week?

You're very welcome.

Currently I'm only doing a couple of hours, nothing much. I'm working a lot now and had to cut back on dance. Sigh. That equals that my feet aren't very strong at the moment. The 3/4-shank seems to be good for work with my type of feet, although I'd never recommend it for a beginner: I need quite an amount of control to stop my foot from going over too far or becoming instable. So placement seems to be easier in a full-shank-shoe.

Don't worry about the vamp! It's surprisingly soft, like the whole shoe. Working through demi-pointe was not trouble at all.

I'd be interested into your experiences with the shoes - maybe we should open a new "Grishko Pro-Flex"-Thread and continue the discussion there?

Re Grishkos:

One thing recommended to me was to get shoes specially made with a full length shank rather than 3/4, if you find that they're breaking too quickly as the case was with my daughter, who studies full time and has high arches and flexible feet. We keep being told by certain sources if her feet are strong enough, she should need softer shoes. Well, she put a pair of her old Grishko medium 2007s on and she nearly fell over on them. :\ So she's moved to super hards now, and even they aren't lasting that long. She's had a pair of hard in full shanks made and will try them next week, and two pairs of superhards with full shanks being made up and they'll be here in a few weeks. If you have high arches/flexible feet and find your Grishko's breaking too quickly, ask your teacher or fitter if they think that could be a solution.

Nova 2007s:

Not many places have them. I've only seen Dance Choice and Pointe Shoe Fitting UK that stocks them, as said above they have a wider platform and longer wings etc, with some mention of better durability? Trying to convince daughter to try those out too!

Glue on Grishkos.

Ok, they seem to soften really quickly which might be the reason why they don't last long for daughter, also, we live in a humid area (she rotates pairs, keeps them dry as possible etc). She went to get her pointe shoes one day, left on the floor in her bedroom and they were soft! I am understanding that Grishko is experimenting with a new "tropical" glue for people in warm humid countries, or even those that have a lot of rain. From someone who has it in their shoes (it's not readily available yet, you will have to make enquiries) they told me apparently it does seem to help the shoe last longer. It might be worth a shot.

My daughter loves Grishkos after quite some time wearing Blochs, which she seemed to find gave her ingrown toenails. Grishko's aren't easy to get anywhere bar Russia, but try Dance Choice as they are cheaper and have a better range (including the Novas, Triumph and Miracles).

AS always, please be guided by your teacher and your regular fitter, anything I say is only a hint of something we found may help, it may not suit you or your foot type.