What is your pointe shoe secret? Episode 10: Kira Hilli

Episode 10 of the What is your pointe shoe secret? interview series features Kira Hilli.

The beautiful Finnish ballerina is a Grand Sujet with the Dutch National Ballet. I have watched her performance on stage many times in Amsterdam. Tall and slender, it is difficult not to spot Kira. She is good in any roles, of course. Personally, I really enjoy her performing rather athletic roles, likes of Forsythe, Dawson and Balanchine.

Without a doubt, Kira is extremely gifted. However, she also posts lots of movie clips of class, rehearsals and workout on her Instagram. Obviously, hard work is the key to her clean technique and stage presence.

In addition, Kira is a repeat customer of Prima Materia (shhh, she is also a Yumiko model). So I asked her if I could feature her for this interview series. She kindly replied very quickly despite she was in the middle of the Romeo and Juliet run before the upcoming The Nutcracker season.

Kira talks about her pointe shoes casually and friendlily but her interview touches upon many serious aspects of a ballerina's life, from the quest to find the right shoe, injury prevention to her ambition on and off stage. She als0 tells us that the right size and customisation can be a very personal thing.

So, let's find out about Kira's secret. There are lots of lots of informative details in this interview. It is very motivational.

Kira in Rubies, George Balanchine's Jewels

1. What brand of pointe shoes do you wear?

I’ve been through it all, haha. But currently I am wearing Blochs and they seem to be a

keeper pair.

In Dutch National Ballet studio

2. What model? Why do you like it?

The model I have is called Flexus and is one of Bloch’s newest innovations. They

have only very recently brought it out to sales.

3. What is your size and width?

I wear size 6 with triple X as my foot is fairly wide and I like the comfort of a wider shoe.

I’ve experienced so called ‘dropped metatarsal’ from wearing too narrow shoes so that

is also a reason why I prefer a shoe that is slightly on the wider side.

4. Since when have you been using this brand?

It’s been a year and a half. I was fortunate enough to be one of the first ones to get trial

pairs from this wonderful shoe.

5. Do you ask for any customisation at the manufacturer's side?

I’ve had to ask for a slightly shorter/smaller outer sole in the bottom of the shoe since

aesthetically it looks better and the bottom sole doesn’t ‘stick out’ from my heel as

much. Other than that I have asked for the inner ‘sock’, meaning the lining on the inner

sole to be switched from cotton to leather as the leather sticks on for longer and doesn’t

peel off in the shoe unnecessarily when dancing.

6. Do you do any customisation yourself? If so, how long does it take for you to finish

customising a pair?

I am incredibly lazy when it comes to fixing and sewing my shoes so I always try to avoid

any extra customization. For now I only sew the ribbons and elastics (crossed over the

foot) and that’s about it. I usually break my pointe shoes in a lot by hand before wearing

them in class. As I don’t have massive arches, my feet can handle a very soft shoe well.

7. Can you share a picture/ short movie clip or two of your pointe shoes with us?

8. Do you like soft shanks better or hard shanks better?

Definitely soft.

9. New shoes or old shoes?

In general new shoes that are broken in nicely but sometimes old shoes just do their

magic. There’s always that one pair once in a while that just makes the cut all the way

and will last forever. They make you feel like a Cinderella.

10. What support or protection do you use?

I only wear toe pads and recently due to special repertoire I’ve had to add some lambs

wool to avoid blisters on my feet. Works well!

11. Do you use elastics and ribbons of any specific brands?

Just the most basic ones, pink satin ribbons and pink/beige sturdy elastics.

12. Have you tried any other brands before? If so, why did you change?

Like mentioned before, I’ve tried it all. I’ve gone from Grishko’s to Gaynors and from

Capezio’s to Freeds, and literally anything in between. Never really been happy until

recently with the Blochs.

13. Do you use different shoes for different roles?

Luckily the shoe offers a great suitability for different roles and ballets, ranging from

Forsythe to Petipa.

A minute before the curtain up

14. How long do a pair of shoes last? 

This depends on the intensity of the training schedule, shows and the type of shoe

needed. As every shoe is handmade, sometimes a shoe won’t last longer than one

rehearsal day. But normally my shoes last around 2 weeks when I alternate 5-6 pairs at a

time. This time frame includes glueing them with jet glue, sometimes even twice. I often

also ditch a pair in between and bring it back to training at a later time.

15. Lastly, what is your ambition for this season?

This season so far has been a true roller coaster, so much has happened. I am so close to

finishing my studies with the Royal Academy of Dance and so I hope I will get my

diploma out. Other than that, I'm looking forward to new opportunities and hope to

discover new sides and qualities of myself on and off stage.

Thank you so much!

All image and movie clips are courtesy of Kira. Texts and images are unedited, except for correcting a couple of typos.

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Updated on 1st November 2025 to correct my typographical error.