Inside Dancewear Center’s Continuing Education
A Look Into DWC Pointe Shoe Fitters’ Processes
By Madison Huizinga, DWC Blog Editor
Since Samantha Weissbach took over ownership of Dancewear Center in 2018, she and the rest of the DWC team have tasked themselves with offering dancers high-quality products and pointe shoe fittings. A big part of providing community members with knowledgeable pointe shoe fittings is staying up to date on the latest product knowledge and progressing the staff’s knowledge base with continuing education training sessions and programs. Read on to learn more about Dancewear Center’s continuing education processes from the staff members themselves.
Owner & General Manager Samantha Weissbach says that new pointe shoe fitters go through an initial training that involves shadowing another fitter. “When somebody is in training, [I try] to get them with as many senior fitters as possible,” she shares. Pointe Shoe Fitter Tija Dupont recalls sitting in on fittings, in which she would take notes and ask questions. Once onboarded and fitting on their own, fitters meet weekly with Samantha for one-on-one check-ins, in which case studies are reviewed and questions are answered. “We go over notes from their past week,” Samantha says, sharing that they also go over notes for the upcoming fittings for the week.
Samantha shares that the fitters also undergo in-depth quarterly training sessions and monthly fitters educational meetings, where case studies are discussed, new products are introduced, and more. Assistant Store Manager Anna Peters says that the quarterly sessions are useful, as the team discusses product knowledge, customer interactions, and more. Tija recalls her first training seminar with Dancewear Center, in which she was introduced to every single shoe the store carries. She shares that the initial seminar was extremely helpful, as she was able to take detailed notes which she still references from time to time. Tija also shares that in later training sessions, fitters were given extensive training on customer service, including role-playing sessions in which different scenarios were acted out with the staff. Anna says that Samantha makes an effort to intermix more written, textbook-style learning with hands-on learning so there’s something for many types of learning styles.
Outside of the internal training, DWC fitters and staff also undergo training sessions with different pointe shoe manufacturers, such as Russian Pointe, So Danca, and Bloch. Anna recalls undergoing virtual fitting training sessions with all brands. Samantha shares that fitters even observed Freed fitters fit pointe shoes at Pacific Northwest Ballet.
Senior pointe shoe fitters also undergo external certification processes, including the Progressive Pointe Method, a pointe shoe fitting curriculum offered by ThePointeShop. Dancewear Center is also closely connected with ThePointeShop and Master Pointe Shoe Fitter Josephine Lee through ThePointeShop Retail Partnership, making DWC a recommended store by experts like Josephine.
Anna says that just the basic training was eleven weeks long and was focused on the basics of fitting, sizing, troubleshooting, product knowledge, and much more. Samantha also views continuing education as a collaborative effort, creating dialogues with other dancewear store owners and pointe shoe fitters across the country including Beam & Barre in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Samantha is also a member of DanseMedica and participates in monthly “mastermind” calls in which she connects with specialists in the dance medicine world. She is also currently enrolled in the Pointe Safe Certification course, where she’s learned more about anatomy, strength, and how to progress young students en pointe safely. This course informs her teaching efforts outside DWC as well as her fittings. Samantha is also a part of Seattle Performing Arts Medicine (SeaPAM), which features Seattle-based medical professionals. She attends SeaPAM journal club meetings every other month in which members meet together to review case studies, look at medical journals, discuss work they’re doing in realms relating to dancers’ physical and mental health, and more.
“I try to stay up to date with dance medicine and bring anything that’s relevant up with the team,” Samantha shares.
Tija says that Samantha makes an effort to be hands-on with fitters during the training process and allows them to be hands-on when learning. She shares that there are a lot of opportunities for fitters to explore fitting in non-judgmental environments before they work with customers so that they can learn by doing. “I feel super confident,” Tija says of her fitting abilities following the training sessions she’s experienced. After much practice, she feels comfortable finding dancers the best shoe for them in a reasonable amount of time.
Anna also expresses the confidence she’s gained from training, sharing that the knowledge she’s gathered is much more intuitive, allowing her to have much more efficient fittings. “I think we’ve managed to streamline the whole process. We’re a lot more organized,” Anna says, referencing the notes that DWC has on hand on customers’ pointe shoe preferences. She also says the DWC community as a whole has gotten much more friendly, happy, and confident as they’ve gained more fitting knowledge and experience.
“We try to help each individual develop their own fitting style because it is going to be different for everyone,” Samantha says of the different ways individuals can approach pointe shoe fitting.
Samantha shares that the extensive training and resources available to DWC fitters today have allowed for the establishment of a more helpful guiding framework for employees to use when fitting pointe shoes. “People are progressing a lot faster and part of that is [due to] having a solid knowledge base,” Samantha says.
Being able to pair the newer fitters with more experienced pointe shoe fitters has also greatly facilitated the fitter onboarding and education process. Samantha says that being able to split the fitting process into different categories and sub-categories, has allowed fitters to understand both the mechanics and empathy required of the process. In general, Samantha says that the more detailed training process has allowed new fitters to feel more confident when they fit on their own for the first time.
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Tija shares that the learning process never stops as a fitter. “Every time I go into watch a fitting or do a group fitting, [it’s] still very educational,” she vocalizes. Tija also expresses her appreciation for the relationships she’s developed with customers, sharing that she’s grateful for the mutual understanding and transparent communication that’s developed between fitters and dancers.
Anna appreciates how available and accessible Samantha makes continuing education. “She’s very supportive of any continuing education that [we] want to take part in,” Anna says.
“One of our core values is integrity and I feel like that shines through in the fitting process,” Samantha says. “We’re here to make sure that the dancer goes home in something that is as safe and comfortable as possible. We always prioritize the dancer over the sale, every single time.” She’s excited to be a part of a pointe shoe fitter community that works to empower dancers with informed knowledge about their pointe shoes, as well as help build out a larger fitter knowledge base.
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