What is your pointe shoe secret? Episode 11 - Beatrice Parma
- Ikuko
- Dec 19, 2025
- 5 min read
The Episode 11 of the What is your pointe shoe secret? interview series features Beatrice Parma, a Principal Dancer of Birmingham Royal Ballet. And this is the last episode of Year 2025.
Beatrice has been unstoppable this year. She was awarded the Outstanding Female Classical Performance award for the role of Lise in La Fille mal gardée at the UK National Dance Awards and she has just been voted for as the Dance Europe magazine's Best Dancer of the Year 2025.
In my opinion, Beatrice is an authentic dancer. She executes every single step absolutely properly as classical ballet is supposed to be executed. And she does it on stage effortlessly (look at her leg and calf muscle to support the effortlessness). That's why this petite Italian dancer has an amazing stage presence. It is called a star quality.
How do I know Beatrice? She is one of the early adopters of Prima Materia. And I had an honour to meet her in person when Birmingham Royal Ballet toured to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with Black Sabbath- The Ballet a couple of years ago. She is very very friendly! I am so charmed by her.
Beatrice kindly accepted my interview request while she was nutty busy preparing for The Nutcracker. She provided us an exclusive movie clip and lots of insights. So, let's find out about her secrets. What a nice way to conclude 2025!
What brand of pointe shoes do you wear?
Freed
What maker? Why do you like the specific maker?
My maker is D with a 2.5 wing insole. I like this maker because the platform is quite wide so you are more stable when balancing and turning and the shape of the shoe lets my feet go quite over my arch which is what I prefer.
What is your size and width?
I’m size 3 triple X
Is it same as your regular street shoe size?
My street shoes size varies, sometimes it’s a 3 same as my pointe shoes and sometimes it’s one size smaller.
Since when have you been using this brand?
I’ve been using Freed since 2020 although I have changed maker twice since I started as it takes a while to find the maker that works best for your feet and needs.
Do you ask for any customisation at the manufacturer's side?
I have a shorter outer sole so the sole doesn’t come up so high on the heel and I also asked for more paste in the box so it’s a bit harder which means I can bend the sole more but still get the support I need in the box.
Do you do any customisation yourself? If so, how long does it take for you to finish customising a pair?
I don’t really do anything particular to them, the only thing I do sometimes is scratching the sole a little bit for more grip but that’s about it.
Can you share a picture or a short movie clip or two of your pointe shoes with us?
Do you like soft shanks better or hard shanks better?
Definitely more on the soft side. I like to be able to control the shoe rather than the shoe controlling the movement, which is what I feel when the shank is too hard. With a softer shank I’m able to go through my feet more and make every step a little smoother.
New shoes or old shoes?
Generally older shoes. I love when there’s a pair that is just so comfortable that you keep going back for it and you wanna keep wearing until it’s dead. But sometimes a new shoe can feel great as you get that extra support and for some roles is absolutely needed.
What support or protection do you use? Do you use the same support for both feet or different for each foot?
I do exactly the same thing on both feet. I use Second Skin, which is like a jelly square, and tape over it only on my big toes as I hate feeling the hardness of the shoe and floor. A toe spacer and toe pads. I use Bloch Prima Pro fabric toe pads. They have a thin layer of gel inside only on the top and not the bottom as I prefer to feel the sole of the shoe on the bottom for more grip and ability to use my toes when dancing.
Do you use elastics and ribbons of any specific brands?
Ribbons and elastics are provided by the company. I’m not actually sure what brand they are but there’s a variety of different elastics you can choose from as everyone prefers something different. I tend to use not a very strong elastic, just enough to keep the heel up but not so strong that I feel restricted.
Have you tried any other brands before? If so, why did you change?
I used Bloch pointe shoes for so many years and loved them but I then decided to switch to Freed because I wanted to find a shoe that had a shape that would enhance my feet better and I wanted the ability to customise the shoes to my needs with a maker.
Do you use different shoes for different roles?
I always use the same maker and shoe model but what changes is how much I break in my shoes before different roles.
How long do a pair of shoes last?
It really depends. There are roles that you can dance with softer shoes so you can definitely reuse them a few times and others that the shoes are done after one rehearsal or one show. For a role like Sugar Plum I would wear a pair once in class to break them in and they’d be ready to wear in the show and after the show I wouldn’t use them again for another one. Sometimes you have a “magic” pair that seems to last forever. I remember I used one pair for Aurora in Act 2 in Sleeping Beauty maybe for 3 shows and 6 months later I wore them again for Lise in La fille Mal Gardée.
But generally speaking, for a three-act ballet I would have a different pair for each act, all three with a shank that is more broken into or harder to suit the choreography’s needs.
Lastly, what is your ambition for the rest of the season?
The past season has been incredible with so many beautiful and unexpected achievements so it probably will be hard to top it but I’m really looking forward to revisiting the role of Kitri in Don Quixote. It’s a role I’ve always loved so it will be nice to come back to it and improve it from last time i performed it and also find new and different details within the story. And I guess I’m just looking forward to keep working, keep progressing as an artist and enjoying being on stage and doing what I love.
Thank you so much Beatrice!
Note: Images and the movie clip are courtesy of Beatrice Parma. Text is unedited except some upper cases, bold and italic fonts and website links are introduced by the author.
