Ballet Stuff: Sansha Pro1c
I ganked Denis’ Sanshas, which he doesn’t wear anymore, re-sewed the elastics, and wore them to class last night. The width proved suitable, which answered my remaining question about them (I know I like canvas shoes, people speak well of them, and they seem to wear well).
I’m glad it worked out as well as it did, because I had already ordered myself a pair — size 11N, which is basically a 41 narrow in European sizes. They arrived today. I’ve sewn in the elastics and they’re ready to go.
My balances seemed more stable last night — two-foot demi-pointe balances seemed pretty effortless. Part of me thinks, “It’s gotta be the shoes.”
Anyway, the new Sanshas are the right width (finally), which means they don’t roll off at the heel, and the right length, which means they fit well fore-to-aft without cranking the around-the-top elastics ridiculously tight.
I’ll try to give them a proper review (and some pictures?) after class on Saturdy. Unless I make it to Friday class, which is marginally possible.
Posted on 2014/09/04, in balllet. Bookmark the permalink. 3 Comments.
danseur ignoble 
I’d been thinking about that lately- do the shoes make a difference in balancing and different shoes are better for different feet, or that just something to worry about for pointe shoes? After reading this I’m starting to think it does matter, even for flat shoes. It would be nice if all my balancing troubles I could just blame on the shoes!
I was kind of surprised how much more secure the Sanshas felt, and I’m kind of wondering the same thing 🙂 I always assumed, “Meh, flat shoes are flat shoes.”
It’s possible Wednesday was just a really good day in terms of balance, but there are a couple things about the Sanshas (even Denis’ Sanshas) that are different about my other shoes.
First, the width. I have narrow feet, and Sansha makes a narrow size. I love Capezio’s Romeo shoes in theory — they’re beautiful, flexible, light, and all that lovely stuff — but I haven’t been able to snag a pair in a narrow width. I noticed that the little sole pads on the Sanshas generally seem to be right where I want them to be all the time. They don’t slosh around in the middle of turns, and they’re just the right width.
Second, support — I think this is probably a function of having the right width shoe. The Sanshas are like little hugs for my arches 😀 The new ones, which are the exact right size, feel amazing. I kind of used to feel like the whole point of soft shoes was just to keep you from sticking to the marley, but my feet seem to like the way a supportive shoe feels.
I wonder if that supportiveness somehow also transfers to the ankles — like, if maybe by holding everything together in the feet, it makes life easier for the ankles?
Lastly, (perhaps because it’s specifically designed as a demi-pointe shoe?) the Sansha Pro1c has really stiff sole pads. They’re a lot stiffer than the ones on the Romeos. I think that probably makes a difference as well.
I can’t wait to give the new ones a run in class tomorrow. I’ll definitely keep you posted as to whether my balances continue to be markedly better!
I would imagine the supportiveness on the foot probably does translate to the ankle. I have issues with overpronation (fallen arches) and lately I’ve really been wanting to blame my shoes. Balancing, both flat and on releve, has always felt so much easier just with socks on, so a different brand or style of shoe is long overdue.