Pointe shoes - Freed Classic

I LOVED Freed's. Yes, it is hard to get a maker once you find the perfect maker for you, but you can also find some similar makers. You can find catalog's or stores that will order your maker for you and stock up while you can. They ARE NOT great for people who want the shoe to do the dancing for them. YOU have to do the work. They make your feet stronger, especially when they are dead (or soft). A little superglue keeps the toe from getting too mushy. They help you feel the floor- I can't imagine something like Gaynor Minden's when you can't feel ANYTHING. I'm sure they are comfy but if that's why you want the shoes, WRONG Profession! Anyway, I loved Freed's for the same reason some other girls hate them, depends on what you need. Don't tell someone it's awful if it just isn't the shoe for you! Yes, they are expensive because they don't last a year or six months. They are great shoes though. I did try the Studio and liked that for rehearsals and lots of classes, try that if you want M... Read more

Lovely but expensive, hard to come by if you need a certain maker and they do not last long. Freed Classics are the most lightweight shoes I have ever worn, if they are the maker you need, they are wonderfully soft and lightweight- as if you were dancing in stiff socks. The downside to it is nevertheless that they wear out extremely fast and the shanks (I wore the Extraflex extra hard shanks) get mushy really quick and lose their supportiveness. Not all Freed Classics are the same- according to the guy who made them they differ greatly in weight, vamp height, box stiffness and box shape. Bad luck most makers are not always available and even worse that the maker of tapered shoes "F" I used to wear is very hard to come by and I would have to wait 6 or more months for a pair of shoes which would die right after a few hours of training. Plus they are really expensive and I am not willing to pay 80 or more dollars for a pair of shoes that dies right away. What a waste. Found Grishko Vaga... Read more

I usually like to follow tradition in dance, which is why before I wore Gaynor Mindens I tried every brand of shoe, except a few types of bloch and the Freed Classic was the worst. This shoe didn't provide much support, even though I had the strongest shank and box(I wear a VERY soft shank in GM's as I am at a intermediate/professional level) I help our studio with pointe shoe fittings for the younger students and none of them start in Freeds as they need more support from their shoes,a stronger shoe seems to stregthen their feet more then a softer one, and a longer lasting shoe to help with second fittings and parents wishes. Freeds last about half an hour and break down faster then that in the critical parts of the shoe. Tradition may be important in ballet, but $80 shoes that last 30 min. is outragious.