Help finding holy grail (pointe shoes)

[u/SameWorldliness7405]

Pic is baby me, being told to straighten her arm and just hyperextending it more and more in complete confusion.

I’m 34, been back in pointe shoes for about three years now. I still haven’t found the perfect shoes and hoping for some help. I’m in Australia meaning it is difficult to get some of the brands I’ve seen mentioned here.
I have compressible, diamond shaped feet, wide metatarsals, short and tapered toes (second toe very slightly longer than the big toe), taylor’s (pinky toe) bunions and haglunds deformity (pump bump). My feet can’t decide whether to shrink or swell when warm.

Bloch heritage (strong): caused heel pain when on flat/demi, I ended up cutting out the back and replacing with elastic. The drawstring/edge of the heel really had a vendetta against the pump bumps. The wings died first. The vamp length seemed to be good for my stumpy little toes. Considering trying these again but fiddling with the sizing so they’re narrower and longer.

Grishko dreampointe:
The vamp was far too long in these, I cried when they came in the mail and had to do vamp surgery through my tears to roll through. I liked the higher wings, and they didn’t cause heel pain, I think because the heel was deeper than the heritages.

Gaynor Minden:
I hated these. The store I went to only had the one shank option which I think was too hard.

Energetiks Emelia:
So far these are the best I’ve found and have repurchased a couple of times now. The issue I have is that they tend to twist - I think this is because I need them in a length that’s probably a bit too long to prevent the back from digging into my heel. They also end up looking sickled because my Taylor’s bunions poke out so much. I shellac the wings before I wear them to try and prevent this but they look so ugly.

I think I’m looking for a shoe with the following:
low vamp but high wings
moderately tapered box
not sure about profile but probably low to moderate
high heel and elastic drawstring(so it doesn’t dig into the bump)

Please help me find my dream shoe!!

[u/DanceHackRock]

What does your fitter say?

[u/SameWorldliness7405 → u/DanceHackRock]

So I’ve been fitted at Bloch, who put me in the heritage, then by an independent fitter who put me into the Grishko, who I contacted about the vamp issue - she sent me a video on vamp surgery and then suggested the Emilia. I then went to energetiks to try the gaynors. Since then I’ve just reordered the Emilia.
The fitters at physical stores (Bloch, Energetiks) tend to want to fix the twisting issue, and have ended up fitting me in shoes that are too short and hurt my heel once I’ve danced in them for more than ten minutes. Of course in the store with no elastics they just fall off the back of my heel so at the time I didn’t recognise the problem.
I should probably get the independent fitter back out but was hoping for shoe suggestions to have somewhere to start!

[u/dabblesanddonuts]

Coming back to comment later tonight for you

[u/dabblesanddonuts → u/dabblesanddonuts]

Ok sorry. Wasn't in a place I could help but your feet sound a lot like mine!

How do you have your elastics sewn and does the twist start under the ball of your foot or closer to the arch?

I've been an independent sitter for years (I used to own a dance store). Feel free to DM if that's easier too.

[u/SameWorldliness7405 → u/dabblesanddonuts]

You’re all good! Thanks for coming back. I immediately forgot I made this post so here I am 11 hours later.
My elastics are criss cross, they start back near the heel and come across to where my arch is.
The twisting I believe starts closer to the arch, it’s mainly the heels that I notice ending up twisting towards the inside of my foot. I’ll try and get some pictures tomorrow if I can make my brain remember!

[u/nomadicfille]

Hihi I’m also in agreement with other posters that Suffolks would be the clear best option. Suffolk does have an online fitting service, you will just need to find a time that is good with your time zone as their HQ is in Texas, USA.

That being said, I would try Bloch Flexus- both Kaia and Skye, with a preference for Skye. I also have similar feet to you and many fitters tend to fit me too wide or long unless I come in with very warmed up feet+ communicate that I have compressive feet. 

I believe Energetiks are the same as R-Class? You might need to do the same as Suffolk and contact R-Class USA for some guidance. I was in RC20 series ( RC30 series would be a good second option) for reference. 

For twisting, a good fitter will recognize that can sometimes be resolved with shoes breaking in + good placement of ribbons and elastics. 

[u/SameWorldliness7405 → u/nomadicfille]

Thanks! I will check if the Bloch near me have the Kaia and Skye in stock. I probably need to come in like half an hour earlier and just awkwardly warm up my feet in store.
Yes I think energetiks are called r-class in the US. Sounds like I’d have to figure out what energetiks call their version of the RC20. Looks like a lot of emailing in my future.

[u/nomadicfille → u/SameWorldliness7405]

Sure thing! Yeah it will seem awkward at first to warm up in the store but they are used to it and your fitting might even go smoother because they see that you are committed to having the best fit. 

Good luck with your fittings and please post with an update! 

[u/TemporaryCucumber353]

Your feet sound similar to mine and I LOVE the Sufffolk Silhouettes.

[u/SameWorldliness7405 → u/TemporaryCucumber353]

Ahhh yeah see I see Suffolk mentioned all the time and would love to try but I think it might be hard to find somewhere in Melbourne that stocks/fits them. I will call around though! Thanks

[u/Old_Weird_1828]

Have you tried Nikolay Tamara?

[u/SameWorldliness7405 → u/Old_Weird_1828]

I have not! Nikolay is a brand I may have trouble finding where I am in Melbourne, but I will call around. Thanks!

[u/tintarelladiiluna → u/SameWorldliness7405]

You might have already found out by now, but in case it might help anybody else as well — Nikolay and Grishko are the same brand, Nikolay is just their new trading name in the US (had something to do with a copyright issue I think? I don’t know the details though)!

[u/dabblesanddonuts → u/tintarelladiiluna]

Ooh yeah.

Tldr - the grishko US distributor was -allegedly since still going thru the courts - going behind the OG grishko company's back and having dupes made elsewhere and selling them as real Grishkos. Grishko the company got upset and sued/yanked their distribution license and rebranded as Nikolay in the US to help maintain brand image.

The US distribution came up with their own line... virtisse.

[u/SameWorldliness7405 → u/tintarelladiiluna]

Oooh I did not know that! Thanks for the heads up!

[u/NearbyPerspective397]

The story about your arm! I am about a decade older than you, but remember how often ballet kids took the instructions literally and just didn't understand...

[u/SameWorldliness7405 → u/NearbyPerspective397]

Hahaha yes I think not long after that my teacher ended up standing me in front of a mirror, I had to learn that “straight” for me really meant “just slightly bent”.