Maria Chapman, principal dancer at Pacific Northwest Ballet, demonstrates in the video below how she uses Hot Stuff CA glue to strengthen her pointe shoes by hardening specific areas. With her simple instructions, you will learn the pointe shoe hardening method used by many dancers at Pacific Northwest Ballet.
Dancers at many other fine dance companies, such as New York City Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, and Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo also use Hot Stuff on their pointe shoes. In an interview on Ballet News with soloist Ashley Laracey of the New York City Ballet, she was asked, "How do you prepare your pointe shoes?"
"First I select a pair of shoes. Fresh out of the packaging I place Hot Stuff glue in the tips of the pointe shoes..." Read the full article here.
In an article in the New York Times Lens Blog, "At City Ballet, Footwear Is Almost as Important as Feet", dancer Alexa Maxwell was interviewed while preparing her pointe shoes:
Like a number of other dancers, she squeezes some glue into the inside of the hard toe — the glue of choice at City Ballet is a strong, thin adhesive called Satellite City Hot Stuff that is usually used on hairline cracks in furniture. “I just put it in the tip,” Ms. Maxwell said. “Just doing that will make your shoes last a bit longer.”
The product shown in this video is our Hot Stuff Original 1oz CA glue. Order a bottle today and start strengthening your pointe shoes with the pointe shoe hardener professionals have been using for decades!
How to Glue Pointe Shoes with Hot Stuff CA Glue from Satellite City Instant Glues
Instructions by Maria Chapman and Sandy Barrack of Pacific Northwest Ballet© Satellite City 2011
Satellite City adhesives used in this guide
Hot Stuff CA glue (1oz)
GENERAL NOTES:
- Using Hot Stuff CA glue on your pointe shoes is a way to make different areas of the shoe harder, and to make the shoes last longer.- Once you have glued your pointe shoes, it cannot be undone.
- Always use Hot Stuff CA glue in a well-ventilated area.
- Be careful not to get Hot Stuff on your skin.
- Lay down paper or cardboard to protect the floor from any glue.
- You will need to cut off the tip of the bottle. Cut as close to the tip as possible, so that you have a small hole and can control the flow of the glue.
- You should remove all jewelry from your hands and wrists so that you dont get any glue on your jewelry.
- Hot Stuff usually only takes a few minutes to cure, but when possible, try to glue your pointe shoes the night before so that you dont risk any wet CA glue touching your skin.
- Young students should get help from an adult when first learning to glue shoes.
GLUING THE INSIDE OF THE SHANK
- Break the shank where the arch of your foot breaks. (The easiest way to find this is to put the shoe on and push the sole into your arch)- Once the shank is broken, put the tip of the Hot Stuff bottle on the inside of the pointe shoe, between the side edge of the cardboard and the sole of the shoe.
- Gently squeeze the bottle, and let the Hot Stuff flow down between the shank and the bottom of the shoe.
- You will see the CA glue forming inside of the shoe. Use that as a guideline for how much you need.
- Repeat steps 2 through 4 on the other side of the shank.
- If the glue is soaking through the fabric to the other side of the shoe, you have probably used enough. Ideally, the glue wants to stay mostly in the shank rather than on the fabric.
- Hold the shank of the pointe shoe in the shape you like for 10 15 seconds after applying the Hot Stuff.
GLUING THE INSIDE OF THE TIP AND BOX
- Put the tip of the Hot Stuff bottle inside the box of the shoe, down by the tip.- Run the tip of the bottle along the area that you are trying to harden, gently shaking or squeezing if needed as you go.
- You may repeat this along the inside of the sides of the box, if you want that area strengthened as well.
GLUING THE OUTSIDE OF THE SOLE
- You may also want to apply Hot Stuff on the outside sole of the pointe shoe, in the arch.- Gently fill in the area you want to harden on the sole, and the sides of the sole.
- Be careful not to get Hot Stuff on the front or back parts of the sole. Hardened CA glue in these areas will create a slippery surface where your shoes touch the floor.
