What is your pointe shoe secret? Episode 14: Nancy Burer
Updated: 11 hours ago
Episode 13 of the What is your pointe shoe secret? interview series features Nancy Burer, Coryphee with Dutch National Ballet.
The CV of the beautiful Nancy, whom some of you may recognise as a Yumiko model, is self-explanatory. It shows how strong a dancer she is. She is from Almere, the Netherlands, and trained at Dutch National Ballet Academy in Amsterdam. She joined the Junior company in 2013, then the main company in 2015.
I have seen Nancy on stage numerous times including David Dawson's Four Seasons. I was mesmerised by her clean line and clean technique. I have also had pleasure of making her leotards a few times.
In private, Nancy is a mother of a girl! She is the first mummy dancer I interview for this pointe shoe secret series. Her husband is Semyon Velichko, a Principal of the company (Don't be jealous). Needless to say, she is always manic busy. Now that Dutch National Ballet is in the first leg of the 2026-2027 Swan Lake run until November, she is even busier. But she kindly accepted my interview request and shared many secrets with me. She told me when and why she changed shoe brands, and what took her to get en pointe with the new shoe. So, let's find out about her secrets.
What brand of pointe shoes do you wear?
At the moment I switched from a long time use of Duvals to Bloch Flexus. (Editor's note: Duvals refers to Sansha F.R. Duval.)
Why do you like them?
Bloch Flexus just fits so nicely around my feet. And what I like is that I can use them immediately without really working them in. So my shoes always will be clean on stage. With Duvals I really had to break them in.
What is your size and width?
Size 6 xx
How is your pointe shoe size compared to your regular street shoe size?
I think it’s the normal size for my street shoes.
Since when have you been using this brand?
I started using them after I gave birth to my daughter. But I realised I was too focused on getting used to a different shoe. I had to shift my focus and give myself the time to rebuild a strong, healthy body and a solid foundation as a ballerina again.
Do you ask for any customisation at the manufacturer side?
Yes I recently did. Unfortunately it takes some time for them to come in. I asked to put
the sides 0,5 (cm) down and a harder shank.
Do you do any customisation yourself? If so, how long does it take for you to finish
customising a pair?
Not much. I sew just ribbons and elastics.
Can you share a picture and short movie clip or two of your pointe shoes with us?
Which do you like better, soft shanks or hard shanks?
Harder, because otherwise they will break to soon.
New shoes or old shoes?
New! 100%.
What support or protection do you use, i.e. toe pads, taping, toe spacers etc?
Well, now with the Bloch, I really need some extra protection for my feet if I want to
avoid blisters. So I put some extra wool in my toepads. Also use some second skin for
the shows.
Do you use elastics and ribbons of any specific brands?
No, as long as they match with my pointe shoes.
Have you tried any other brands before? If so, why did you change?
Yes, I used Grishko in school before switching to Gaynor Minden. When the brand
changed the satin (see the footnote), the shoes no longer felt the same on my feet, so I switched to Duval, as it was the closest alternative at the time.
Do you use different shoes for different roles?
No.
How long do a pair of shoes last?
Now with Swan Lake I would say 1 or 2 days…
Lastly, what is your ambition for the new season?
My ambition for this season is to find the right balance between pushing myself and listening to
my body. To stay healthy, feel strong, and keep growing as a dancer without losing sight of what
really matters. I want to enjoy the process, be present in every moment, and appreciate the
opportunity to do what I love. Not everything has to be about achieving more or getting
somewhere faster. Sometimes, it’s about feeling good, finding happiness in the little things, and truly enjoying the journey.
Thank you Nancy!
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Footnote from the editor: Gaynor Minden changed the satin of their pointe shoes when thier domestic U.S. shoe manufacture closed down -- not clear if it was a permanent or temporary closure -- at the unspecified timing during the Covid-19 pandemic and they decided to outsource production to a manufacture in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a personal experience, I had been a happy Gaynor wearer for many years but I had to quit it and look for a new shoe, too. I was quite pissed off and I felt insulted when the dance shop in Covent Garden treated me as if I was special when I told them the new Gaynor shoes were not same at all.
Note: The text is unedited except for some punctuation additions, the (cm) in the answer to the question 6 and the footnote.
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Update on 27th October 2026 to correct a grammatical error in the introduction text.