Day 174: First Pointe Shoes

As if having a birthday was not enough, Issa earned her first pair of pointe shoes last week! She has been doing pre-pointe training for a year, and she passed the test to actually be able to start on pointe! Traditionally, all of the girls who pass go together to get their shoes. That was clearly not an option this year, but it was still super special. Mrs. Lauren face-timed in to the appointment so she could coach Issa and help find the exact right pair:

It really is an amazing process. Ms. Tami, the pointe shoe specialist, spent time just getting to know Issa's feet. She watched her tendue and plie barefoot, and Issa lit up when she told her she had good feet. Issa tried on about seven different styles of shoes, and I was absolutely amazed when she just went straight up in the shoes:

Ms. Tami was pretty impressed, too:

It says a lot about how hard she has worked to build ankle, foot, and knee strength, and we are so grateful to be a studio that has trained her so well. And at the end of the appointment, she said yes to the shoes:

This week, she will sew in her ribbons and elastics, and then she will start dancing en pointe in the studio. We couldn't be more proud of our favorite bun head!