The Ballet Shop Blog

A lot of people frequently ask me: how shall I wash my dancewear?  Others come back to the shop claiming that perhaps a product may be made of inferior material, only to admit that they have washed their dancewear in very hot water,  tumble-dried or ironed their dancewear, or even applied bleach.  All of these are very damaging to dancewear.

Owing to the very particular nature and quality of dancewear, and because it requires flexibility and comfort, dancewear must be treated as ‘delicates’.  The way you wash and dry your dancewear, and otherwise care for your items, will determine how long you can use them and, even more importantly, how long they will retain their superior quality and appearance.

Roch Valley has some recommendations to make on the care of leotards.  We believe that this applies to all dancewear, so we are passing on their recommendations, coupled with ours:

All dancewear should be turned inside out and machine washed at 30 degrees Celsius short cycle.  (Note that in some cases we have also recommended that you only handwash - especially if you have not really soiled the dancewear with perspiration or floorwork - don’t use the machine unless you have to).

You should immediately hang to dry - on a coat hanger where applicable. If not, you can dry flat or, if you will use pegs, make sure you apply the pegs on a place which is not prominent, such as under the armpits, or at the very edge of the waistline.

The following are a few important DO NOTS:

DO NOT use bleach, detergents or fabric conditioners.  To clean, use handwashing liquid, which is milder.

DO NOT tumble dry or iron

DO NOT rub or scrub foil print or metallic garments

DO NOT hang over radiators

Foil print and metallic garments may fade or dull with wear and repeated washing.  Areas where there is friction or abrasion may show some loss of foil - this is not a defect in the garment, it is normal with foil.

Remember that since leotards and most dancewear contain a reasonable amount of elastic or similar components, fabric conditioners, bleach and heat tend to be among the worst enemies of your dancewear.

With the acrylic cardigans, you can afford to put some fabric conditioner - but only if you are washing separately from your other dancewear, and the recommendations on heat still apply.  We would suggest you dry these items flat.

It is now growing colder and it is important to keep your legs warm so that the muscles do not stiffen up - at least until you’ve moved enough to be able to say you’re well warmed up!!

We have some very well priced legwarmers  from Sansha and from RochValley in our Woolies section. Sansha have the Lobelia model, which are stirrup legwarmers, that come in two versions: 57 cm long and 51 cm long. We currently only have the black model, since these are in the highest demand, but if we have an order pending with Sansha we would be willing to place an order for an alternative colour, provided you can wait a few days until it reaches us and then we dispatch. Our Roch Valley Chunky legwarmers are also very popular. Both are very inexpensive and good quality items.

For children, we also have the pink, white, black or pastel blue cardigans. The pictures shown on the site are of pink cardigans, but the other colours are available. We stock sizes 24 to 38 but not in all colours. For example, we stock pink cardigans only up to size 32 as normally it is the small sizes that are required. However, we stock the main sizes which children require - you can always send us an email to theballetshop@onvol.net if you require any confirmation.

We look forward to receiving your queries! In the meantime, happy dancing!

We are back from beyond, having had some server glitches over the summer.  And schools are just about to begin - in Malta, many ballet schools will begin the new academic year in late September / early October.

A new year is often the time for a new uniform, or new dance gear.  It is nice to start a new academic year with at least one new item.  This does not have to be an expensive experience, and neither does it have to be a battle with crowds and queues at the dance store.  Come visit our online shop, and especially if you know what you want, you are guaranteed a hassle-free experience, with a relatively quick dispatch time. If you want items in a real hurry, you can also email us to make sure we know it’s urgent, and we’ll give you priority. Our email address is theballetshop@onvol.net or geraldine.spiteri@gmail.com.

We are happy to provide you with a large variety of children’s items - such as hairbands, bunholders, pink and blue leotards, ballet cardigans, bun nets and . Adults’ items are amply in stock - check out are sneaker range, our jazz range and our ballet range. If you are looking for ballroom or latin items, these will be placed on order so they will take a little bit longer, but we promise it will be worth your wait.

We trust that everyone has had their much-needed rest after ballet exams.

During this time of year a number of summer school courses tend to be running. Why not kit yourself up for a new look for this summer, with our fantastic leotards, jazz pants or tights, and ballet shoes or jazz shoes? If you order a full kit, we’ll give you a good discount, as we always give discounts on orders of more than one item.

Take this opportunity to invest in a pair of our sneakers - many summer courses include hip-hop, which is great fun and requires some sensible shoes - we have both low-ankle sneakers, such as the Dynamo, or high ankle sneakers such as the Boomerang. If we do not have what you require, we can always place it on order.

Get yourself ready for a cool look this summer !

We know that at the moment, exams in Malta are underway for those who are studying the Cecchetti method. Other methods have their exams close by

Good luck to all our readers that are currently preparing for one of these ballet exams.  If you know someone that soon has an exam, show them you care and buy them one of our gifts as a good-luck token !

You can also ask us to ship directly to the recipient - just remember to let us know via our contact page after you have placed your order! We can also include a greeting for you in our delivery letter, at no extra cost !  Naturally we will only send the invoice to you!

So hurry, order now!

Further to demands from our clients, we are stocking Sansha canvas split sole ballet shoes model 3 in black. At present we have Sansha sizes 7M to 11M (37 to 41 European sizes, in medium width). These are ideal for boys, or for teachers who prefer black ballet shoes rather than teachers’ shoes with a heel.

If the option does not come up to select the black shoes when you make your order, just send us an email on geraldine.spiteri@gmail.com and be sure to leave your username. We will then know to send you the black ballet shoes when we process the order.

Dance exam dates are approaching in Malta, as they probably are in other countries. In most cases this means ballet exams. However others will also have flamenco dance exams and jazz dance exams or assessments. This means a whole lot of stress for those who take it to  heart.

A dance exam should never mean stress to you. If you do, your performance can be affected because you are nervous. One must consider a dance exam as a normal dance class - provided of course that you always do your best during class. This is why your performance in your class all year round will prove useful to you during the exam. If good presentation and dedication in your work is second nature to you, you will not need to ‘remember’ this during the exam.

Good grooming is also important during an exam. Many students deliberate as to whether to buy new dancewear just before an exam. While worn out shoes - especially soft pointes - give a professional look, you must be careful not to look too shabby. Therefore if your dancewear looks worn, or in the case of soft pointes too worn, then you’d better invest in some new things.

The things that generally need replacement are the chiffon ballet skirts and the ballet tights. This is of course because they are the most delicate and most easily worn out. Tights also sometimes lose their colour when they’ve been used heavily, that is to say usually among older students. A good idea would be to buy practice tights for class and performance tights for exams and shows. This will not work for the children - they grow out of things fast, so it is best to buy a new pair whenever it is needed. With older students, keeping a spare pair is always a good idea - you never know when you’ll need a new pair of tights in an emergency.

Ballet skirts are also very delicate. They tend to get caught up with nails, jewellery and other sundry items in your ballet bag. If you can see numerous little points where the ballet skirt has been caught up, presentation will not look good and you will need to replace the item.

Leather ballet shoes can be cleaned with a soft damp cloth and some handwashing liquid. When you wipe down your ballet shoes, make sure the cloth is moist but not wet. A little moisturiser wiped down the shoe with a cotton wool will work wonders in restoring the leather. Canvas ballet shoes can generally be washed, but try this well before your exam so that if something goes wrong, you have ample time to replace them.

pointe shoes are a little different - there is little you can do to replace filthy or well-used pointe shoes. If you think you will be needing to replace them, do so well before the exam so that you can wear them in a little and the shoe  can take the shape of your foot. If your old shoes are still usable, you can alternate use after the exam so that you prolong the life of your shoes. In fact, if you dance more than once a week, it is suggested that you keep two pairs of pointe shoes and alternate using them, to give them enough time to dry out properly between one use and another.

If the leotard looks shabby or worn, you should replace it too. Don’t forget that the leotard is immediately visible because it clothes the shoulders and upper body, and forms the first impression. If it has faded with washing, or with general use, do not risk using it in an exam.

As a general rule we suggest that ballet shoe ribbons and pointe shoe ribbons are changed before an exam. These become dirty with use and in some cases, washing is not enough to restore them to their original beautiful state.

You must remember that grooming is a part of presentation, and can lose you marks if you do not look good.

Visit our shop so that you can kit yourself properly in time for exams. We will give you a quick service and good quality merchandise. Contact us you have particularly tight time lines, and we will see what we can do for you!!

When I was young, I used to go to ballet at a school which taught the RAD Method (Royal Academy of Dance), and as a result, our ballet shoes were always tied with ribbons. We were also told that having elastics could affect the circulation of blood going towards the feet.

When I changed ballet school, I also changed to Cecchetti method (not out of choice - I just went along with whatever the school offered). I was older, and noticed that the younger kids were gradually being allowed to wear their ballet shoes with elastics.

I therefore thought I’d take the plunge and see for myself. I took a pair of Sansha canvas ballet shoes from my stock- I had just started importing this model - and found that, delightfully, they were provided with criss-cross elastics, which gives increased support while distributing the pressure of the elastics so that my feet were not left with the mark of the elastic after the class. In this case the elastics are sewn on one side at each ankle and then you have to sew on the other end to your taste / needs.

I also had the opportunity of fitting some children I knew with ballet shoes that came with single elastics, that were already fixed on. Sansha’s children range (Tutu, featured in the picture) do not have cross elastics. Provided that they are not too tight, they will be be harmful. However, they must not be too lose as the shoe could fly off when you are dancing. You can always unpick them if they are too tight, and fix them back on or replace them.

Nowadays most methods - at least the rules for the uniform in Malta - allow the use of elastics. Just make sure they are not too tight! And make sure that when sewing them you do not stitch the outside of the shoe, or the passage of the drawstring!

Who is The Ballet Shop ? We run an internet operation, which is hosted in the Isle of Man. All our backdoor work happens in IoM - software and shop management in general. Here we manage queries and other issues relating to the operation of our website.

The actual shop operations happen in another little island, Malta. Here we have our stocks, and our physical shop, which stocks exactly the same items as the website. Naturally, we are not limited to sales in Malta - we ship to anywhere in the world. The Isle of Man is of course one of the countries we ship to and, what’s more, charges are same as for the UK and the rest of the European Union. We are one of the few stores that does ship to IoM at no extra charge - and why should we, when the postage rates are the same?

Let’s take a look at the items we stock. We have six main categories of dancewear: Accessories, Bags, Dancewear, Hosiery, Gifts and Shoes. Each is divided into a number of subcategories, to make it easier to find what you need.

The Accessories section covers hair items, like hairbands and bunholders, feet (such as ribbons and toe pads), flamenco items such as castanettes, and the odd items of make-up such as lipsticks, eyeliners and hand cream.

The bags section contains a few bags which we thought are most popular. Of course we can source other items, if you have anything in particular in mind - just drop us an email.

The Dancewear section contains an interesting selection of items that are well priced. They are also good quality and durable. Sansha’s dance collection ranges from jazz pants, to leotards, a few short tops and others. We even have some knits for those who love adding a flair to their basic dancewear requirements. We find the two-tone leotards particularly attractive, while we think that the turtleneck leotards are also very elegant.

The Hosiery collection contains a variety of socks and tights that are commonly used in dance - fish net tights, convertible ballet tights, normal ballet tights, ballet socks… We have just provided a few links in this article but our range is wider.

We have succeeded in creating a very wide Gifts section. There are a variety of mini pointe shoe keyrings from two main brands: Sansha and So Danca. These come in a variety of colours and are worth collecting, besides making excellent gift ideas. We also have Sansha’s mini ballerina keyring collection, and So Danca’s other collection of keyrings such as tap shoe keyrings and jazz shoe keyrings. We also have some ballet-related silver plated jewellery, all of Sansha’s original design.

Our Shoes category is probably the most popular. This is because we have done our best to keep our prices low for these items. You will find very competitive rates for our sneakers and our pointe shoes. Our other dance shoes follow suit, and are well priced and of high durable quality: we stock various other types of dance shoes. While we advertise the standard colours (pink for ballet, black for jazz), we do sometimes have alternative colours and you can always request a particular item to be sourced for you when making your order.

Our checkout system is secure. You provide your Credit Card details through a secure server, and this is only seen by ourselves. We do not debit your card until we are ready to ship. Our bank has an internationally good reputation and its payment processing systems are secure and reliable.

Finally, we generally post by registered mail. We only charge a nominal fee for postage - rates in reality are much higher. We try to ship as quickly as possible. Please view our terms and conditions of service, which we have fashioned into a FAQ section to make it easier for you to understand.

If you have queries on sizing policies, we have sizing charts for dancewear and for shoes. Of course, if you are still in doubt, please do not hesitate to send an email.

We look forward to receiving more business from the Isle of Man - we do believe that like countries do well from trading with each other!

Every dancer needs a number of accessories to make the dancing life easier. We at The Ballet Shop try to offer a wide range of the most commonly used articles. Of course, it is impossible to stock everything, so if you do see something that you need, feel free to send us an email and we’ll try to source it for you in as little time as possible.

The Ballet Shop has four main categories of accessories: Hair, Feet, Flamenco and MakeUp. The make-up section is probably the smallest, since we do not normally source makeup. However we have come across some stocks of inexpensive but excellent French quality make up and cosmetics that we offer on sale until stocks last.

The Hair section comprises bunholders, hair nets and other similar items which you might find useful. Our bunholders come in pink, black, white and burgundy, though we can stock other colours should you wish. They are handmade which means that they come to you with the loving care of their maker - and they help someone to earn a living !

The Flamenco section basically comprises a number of castanettes, though we have sometimes stocked fans and shawls. We source our castanettes from a Spanish company, Yebra, that has a reputation for making good quality Flamenco dancewear according to tradition.

The Feet section is likely to be the most important. We stock animal wool, silicone or neoprene toe pads, and ribbons for your ballet and pointe shoes. We also sometimes stock taps for your tap shoes - these are usually available from our suppliers so please do not hesitate to ask.

Other uncatagorised items include bags. We especially like our mesh bags as they give ease of carrying your stuff but allowing for plenty of ventilation, keeping your dance shoes well aired. If you remember our article on caring for your dancewear, airing is an important ingredient of caring for you precious dance things.

So, happy browsing of our accessories - please do not hesitate to ask if you want anything in particular!