This season I danced in three professional productions and one university production including a touring Nutcracker (ok, granted it was one-city, three-shows, but still... a tour!) and a Harrison McEldowney work back in October. I also did Aspen Santa Fe Ballet's Nutcracker earlier in December, danced in Giselle in November. In less than two weeks I begin rehearsals for two original works, Tango Café (ballet) and an untitled work of student choreography involving a more jazz influenced ballet style,.
I haven't actually performed in this many shows in one season before and the season isn't over yet. Hopefully there is A Midsummer Night's Dream in my future in May.
At my age, I know am not going to be Sugar Plum or Giselle or Titania (yet!), but every production I am in, I give my best to dance completely in the moment. For me though, even more important than performing is perfecting my technique.
Christmas break is going to be over soon. I am grateful that if there is anything to worry about, it is that there are almost too many opportunities right now. It may not always be that way, so I will never complain. :) Happy new year's eve!
I love my Capezio Glisse Pro pointe shoes. My feet feel great and I love the platform. I've also tried the Capezio Plie, but I went back to the Glisse Pro - those suit me best. I like the regular shank - hard shanks aren't for me. I'm pretty strong at pointe work after three years, but these shoes are easily the best I've tried and my feet look pretty in them. Before wearing a new pair of shoes, I break the shank and use gorilla glue to glue it back and then put a few drops in the toe box.
Before Capezios, I spent a year in three different styles of Gaynor Mindens. I never had problems getting over the box before, which is what this shoe is supposed to be helpful for. The Gaynors were pre-formed with plastic shanks. They lasted a long time (unfortunately) and were pretty shoes, but definitely not for me. I know lots of people like them, but none of the professionals at our ballet company wore them - not even the dancer/teacher who wanted us to get them. Luckily, my main instructor that year, Miss Deborah who danced many years at several ballet companies, was excellent. The training is more important than the shoe... though a good shoe makes it easier. 
I had a professional fitting out-of-town (at a place people raved about) before this. The man who fitted me, Mark, had a wife who was a professional dancer. He himself had spent many years studying the anatomy of the foot and figuring out how to prevent dancers from having severe foot problems and surgeries as their careers progressed. He put me in Russian Pointe shoes with toe spacers and gellows toe pads. After dancing in them for a while, the dancer/teacher (mentioned above) disliked how they looked on my feet. She didn't like the high vamp and that my feet looked big in them. (Btw, my feet ARE bigger - I wear an 8 1/2 street shoe.) I agree that the Russian Pointes were not THAT pretty. My feet felt great though, and I became very strong on pointe during this time because my feet didn't ache, blister and bleed as much as everyone else's. :) I liked these and thought they were comfortable; but I have not gone back to them. (Did I mention I really like my Capezios right now?)
My first pairs of pointe shoes (purchased right after I turned 11) were Sanshas. They were not really the best shoe for me. For some weird reason, the ballet company had a lot of brand new pointe shoes (originally purchased for the professional dancers) left over after the season. They suggested that the girls graduating to pointe try to find a pair in our size and use those. My mom didn't love this idea since this was my first time on pointe (and looking back, it was not really how my ballet school usually did things this important), but we did buy a couple pairs of size 7 Sanshas. They ended up looking pretty and made my arch (which is lower) look good. Even though my mom trusts my teachers to train me and doesn't offer advice, she used to dance herself and shared stories of what worked for her when breaking in her own shoes. The Sanshas were not really comfortable (but whose first pointe shoes are, anyway?) I ended up outgrowing them before I even really used most of the pairs. That said, my soft slippers of choice are def. Sansha.
I have never tried these, but I am intrigued by the Leo split soles that I recently ran across. I spend some time and effort making sure my shoes are prepared before I ever dance in them. I am so curious how this split sole compares to my regular pointe shoes after I first break the shanks. I should read a product review, find someone who's tried them (no one I know, so far) or maybe try out a pair sometime.
