Pointe shoes - Gaynor Minden

I have mixed feelings about my Gaynor Minden shoes. I like them because they are cheeper and they last longer and that is nice because I dance a lot. I love Bloch Sonata's and I love them so much but they long last about 2 months. I have hyper flexible ankles so this is normal. They are not as comfortable for me but they keep me on my box and not over.

I LOVE these shoes. I have been through four pairs of pointe shoes: Bloch Aspiration, Capezio Glisse, Bloch Sonata, and Russian Pointe. NONE of them worked well on my feet. So I chose to try out the Gaynor Mindens. I had no trouble getting on the box and it didn't hurt. I got an 8.5 with a medium length, supple shank, regular vamp and regular heel. They feet great on my feet and they make my feet look a lot nicer. They are really quiet and really comfortable. I will definitely be getting these again.

These are great shoes but only after you've gone through 10 pairs to find out which one works for you... because they don't mold to your feet you must find the perfect fit for these to be the perfect shoe... which is the reason I have gone through 10 pairs before finding the right one. Another negative... rolling through pointe... you must be strong or it won't happen. Good shoe for beginners starting pointe. Good shoe for weak ankles and feet. I don't recommend wearing them for a long period of time... as they do not allow your feet to become stronger. I sprained my ankle recently and will be going back to my Fuzi's once my ankle is completely healed and strong again... but for now its gaynor's for me! Gaynor's would also make a good performance shoe, as break in time is minimal to none. They are not good for dancers who are serious about getting strong on pointe.

Horrible shoes! Sure there are people whose feet work well in Gaynors- but they are not for everyone. Clearly not for my feet. I wore the most tapered model in a narrow width with a deep vamp and the second hardest shanks- and hated those shoes! The plastic boxes were gross- they got smelly after a few hours dancing, the profile of that shoe is so extremely flat it completely threw me off my posture and alignment, that shoe is overall plastic and wont conform to your feet in any way no matter what you try- sure you can heat form the shanks but not the boxes. The horrible built in toe padding irritated me and the platform is kind of padded too on the outside leaving the platform not completely flat making balancing hard. The deep vamp was a joke- it really is a short- medium vamp compared to other pointe shoes. The shanks were the second hardest Gaynor makes and they were much too soft for me- mushy and flimsy- I need very hard and supportive shoes and Gaynors secons hardest shanks ju... Read more

Even though their is pressure to wear old paste and paper shoes, the GM's last longer(up to a year and a half if you take care of them) and to PTRoxieMisha if you seem to like them one day and hate them another, try heat forming the shank with a blow-dryer to change the arch or try a softer shank/box combination, as I had the same problem you did until I heat formed my shank and then changed to a softer shank when I bought my next pair, if you'd like anymore information about GM's go to their website at www.dancer.com where they even show you the insides of their shoes compaired to the old-style shoes.

I happen to have a love/hate thing with these shoes - some days they'll feel so comfortable that I can stand on pointe in them all day, other days they feel like torture chambers. I do agree that they may be cheaper in the long run though due to their long lasting high-tech shanks, but they don't work for every dancer, even with the millions of box, shank, width, vamp, and size combinations they have.