how to tell what arch my foot is?

Check this out I know it's a little small: http://www.toezone.com/Fltarch.jpg

Next time you get out of the shower or have a wet foot, but it on a hard surface and look at your footprint. The more foot you see in your footprint..meaning where your arch is...the lower arch you have.

Some things to consider when picking out your first shoe, what type of toes do you have. If you have tapered toes (big toe longest) you want a shoe with a tapered box. Square toes, round box.

If you plan on wearing padding, make sure you bring it to the dance store. Padding can affect the fit of the shoe.

I always recommend Freed pointe shoes because I love them. But you should be fitted by a professional who will be able to help you the most. Your toes shouldn't feel cramped, but also you shouldn't have wiggle room.

Good luck and congrats!

I'd like to supplement what ballerina_kim wrote. I've never worn pointe shoes, so I'm the furthest thing from an expert on this, but I've watched my daughter get fitted for pointe shoes more times than I care to count.

Absolutely, get fitted by a professional; that's key. I think ballerina_kim's points about proper fitting of the "box" show that it's actually your toes that are much more of an issue than your arches. Given that pointe shoes start out flat, the issue isn't how high your arches are, but how strong your feet are that determines how much shank support you want. It's the breaking in of your pointe shoes that gives you the arch support, and learning how to do that properly is going to take a bit of trial and error - and LOT$ OF PAIR$ OF POINTE $HOES. =8-o

I'd like to highly recommend that you invest in a copy of this instructional DVD: "Behind Barres: Tricks of the Trade."

http://behindbarres.stores.yahoo.net/behbartricof....

The DVD includes the following topics:

* pointe shoe fitting

* ribbon & elastic placement

* ribbon & elastic sewing

* manipulation of the shoe

* ribbon tying

* product showcase

My daughter was very fortunate to have the maker of this DVD as her personal teacher midway in her pointe training, as she then found out that much of what her original ballet teacher told her about selecting pointe shoes was wrong. My daughter's pointe work improved greatly once she applied these "tricks of the trade."

I really do think your feet will thank you for making the investment in this DVD.

P.S. Also try this link:

http://www.behindbarres.com/pointe-shoe-dvd.html

If it is a low arch it would be small, medium is in the middle, high arch is the one that is on the top of the medium arch, Hey, try bending your feet into a arch which is a curve. And then find out if it is a small=low, medium, or high arch.