A traditional pointe shoe costs between $102 and $120. Pointe shoes built with non-traditional materials or with special design features will run more than this, around $160.

Accessories for pointe shoes include ribbon and elastic (around $10), toe pads and spacers ($20-35), sewing kits ($10-25), and a mesh bag for storage ($13). At the first fitting, you will need to purchase all of these items for your pair, which can total around $200 or more. After the first pair of shoes, the only items that you will need to purchase along with the shoes are ribbon and elastic. Other items will only need to be replaced as they wear out.

A traditional pointe shoe will last around 15 hours of use. Because first-year pointe schedules are limited (generally around 30 minutes per week) and because the work being done in these classes is less intensive than in intermediate or advanced classes, a first pointe shoe will often last for a full academic year. That said, if a student outgrows the shoe, it is important to have them re-fit to avoid injury. Your teacher will advise you if the shoe needs to be replaced because of growth or wear.

After the first year of pointe, schedules start to get more intensive, and you may find yourself replacing shoes more frequently. Advanced students and professionals will often go through a pair of pointe shoes in just a week or two due to heavy performance schedules. At this point, we recommend having two pairs of usable shoes at the same time, so that dancers can rotate them and allow the shoes to dry more completely between uses.

At your child’s first pointe fitting, we will go over a lot of detail about caring for the shoes. We highly encourage putting your child in charge of caring for their own shoes.

The shoes should never be exposed to water (other than sweat during wear) because it will cause the glue in the shoe to break down. Students will be told to remove all accessories from inside the shoe, keep the shoes separated, and store them in a mesh bag to allow them to dry out. Likewise, keep the shoes out of the main dance bag, where they could encounter sources of moisture like sweaty clothes, leaky water bottles, etc.

The shoes should be kept away from pets, siblings, and other destructive forces in your kid’s life. Pets, in particular, like to play with or chew on the shoes.

Follow teacher guidance about at-home exercises. Pointe shoes should not be worn on carpet, tile, or other surfaces not prepared for dance, as slipping could cause injury.

Accessories (pads/spacers) can be hand-washed and air-dried, but this is optional.

Silicone accessories should be stored in baby powder to keep them from sticking to the skin.

As with the care of the pointe shoes, we strongly recommend that students sew their own shoes. Often, teachers will have a sewing session with first-time pointe students to ensure that they know how to do it and to provide specific guidance matching the teacher’s training goals.

Please see our Pointe Shoe Sewing Guide for more information.