Capezio Airess pointe shoe review

Several months ago, Capezio released their newest innovation in pointe shoes: the Airess.  Murmurings surrounding this “next big thing” flew for almost a year before local and online dancewear retailers and began carrying the Airess in the summer of 2015.  Now that the Airess has been widely available for about 5 months, I have enough information to give you my well-formed and honest opinion.

(Note: I have not purchased or danced extensively in Airess pointe shoes.  I have thoroughly examined and tried them on in the store, and I have done some simple exercises like bourees and eleves in the shoes.  I have seen about 5 different dancers at my ballet school purchase the Airess and have the same issues with the shoes.  I am using this information along with my personal observations to make somewhat general statements that I believe apply to the shoe in general.  It will become clear that I am not a fan of the Airess.  If you like the Airess, I do not mean to disrespect you or your choices.  I am expressing my opinion as well as pointing out factual problems from the point of view of a dancer and shoe fitter.)

Let’s start with some basic specs.  The Airess is supposed to be the culmination of “Russian” and “American” innovation in the “perfect” pointe shoe.  The shank is made of compressed particle board and balsa wood (yes, this is the exact shank that can be found in Russian Pointe shoes).  The drawstring and casing are elasticized for a smoother line (a very “Capezio” trait in a shoe).  The shoes are also lined with a suede-like material that is supposed to help the shoes not slip on the heels (this trait is taken from Bloch’s stretch European).  The wing is medium to high, and the crown is relatively high.  These factors severely limit the types of feet that can comfortably wear the Airess, even though there are supposed to be options for every dancer.

As far as sizing goes, The Airess comes in sizes 4- 12.  Dancers should go up about 1.5 sizes from street size to find the correct Airess size (Usually Capezio requires going up about 1 size, so the Airesses are running small.  Capezio’s website tells dancers to order their street size; this is not a good recommendation.  Go one size up for no or very thin toe pads, 1.5 sizes up for thicker toe pads, and 2 sizes up for wide square feet with normal to thick toe pads).  The smallest available size (4) fits approximately a children’s size 13.5 or 1 foot.  I (size 5.5 ladies) felt most comfortable in a 7.  Dancers with feet larger than a ladies’ size 10 will probably not be able to wear the Airess.

There are a lot of other options to choose from when fitting the Airess.  The shoe comes in “tapered” and “broad” toe options (noted as TP for tapered and BT for broad).  These can be generally applied to tapered and square feet respectively.  The “tapered” option is similar to a Russian Pointe Entrada(quite tapered with a smaller platform), and the “broad” option is somewhat like a Bloch Seranade (a bit tapered with a larger platform).  However, in my opinion, there is not a huge difference between the toe shapes.  I don’t think it’s really necessary to have both toe options since the shoes also come in narrow, medium, and wide widths (noted as N, M, and W).  There is a pretty obvious difference between a narrow tapered and a broad wide, but the combinations in between can really look and feel the same. (Note: in pictures of the shoe on their website, Capezio uses a tapered Airess.  Even in places noting broad, the picture is of the tapered version of the shoe.)

In addition to toe and width, the Airess also comes in 3 different shanks that can be called soft, medium, and hard (noted flexifirm or 5.5 for soft, firm or 6.5 for medium, and  maxifirm or 7.5 for hard).  “Soft” is supposed to be the same as a Capezio Tiffany 126, and “medium” is supposed to be the same as a Capezio Tiffany Pro 128.  I think that in reality all of the shanks are harder than they are supposed to be, so “soft” is more like a typical Capezio medium, and “medium” is more like a typical hard.  “Hard” is very hard and should only be used by advanced dancers or others who need a super hard shank.

Because the crown is high, the wing is medium/high, and the shank is pretty hard, the Airess is a very poor option for young, petite, beginning point dancers, or those with narrow tapered feet.  Anyone who prefers a soft shank, low crown, or low wing will not find an ideal shoe in the Airess. 

The platform and pleating area (the Airess is pleatless) are very rounded to the point of being bulbous.  This is supposed to assist with roll-up and stability.  In reality, it does not.  Most dancers, especially beginners, are held back by this feature.  Dancers get “stuck” in roll-up and cannot get all the way up on the platform.  The bulbous look is also really not aesthetically pleasing; it makes the feet look chunky.  The Airess is also a relatively heavy shoe, which can be tougher to work with (especially for small or beginning pointe dancers).

Some of my friends at my ballet school have purchased the Airess and worn it in class and at rehearsal (5 dancers total).  Every single one has noticed a very fast breakdown of the platform of the shoe.  It has become squishy (and I mean severely squishy and unsupportive, like a dead Freed) after about 3 or 4 hours of wear.  Pointe shoe glue can repair some of the damage, but nothing can completely bring the platform back to its original supportive form.  Since this has happened to multiple dancers on multiple occasions, I believe that it is a widespread problem.

Overall, I am very disappointed in the Airess. This “next big thing” has turned out to be “no big deal.”  I would not recommend this shoe to any dancer.  The shape is poor for narrow feet, and it exacerbates the “chunky” look of wide square feet.  The hard shanks may be nice for advanced students who frequently kill shoes, but the weak platforms completely nullify any benefits to shoe lifespan.  Many dancewear stores bought large quantities of the Airess because of its buildup as the “next big thing” in pointe technology.  If you go for a fitting, be prepared to be offered the Airess.  Try it on and see what you think for yourself, but I would not purchase a pair. 

If the Airess seems like it would be a good fit for you, see if you can also try a Russian Pointe Rubin (most of my friends who have tried the Airess have found more satisfaction with the Rubin).  This shoe has a generic semi-tapered fit that can work for many foot shapes, and with 6 width, 3 vamp, and 3 shank options it is as customizable as the Airess.  The Rubin is sleeker, has a more stable platform, and has a much longer lifespan that can be easily elongated with pointe shoe glue.

I can see what Capezio was trying to accomplish by combining the best of American and Russian pointe shoe designs.  However, all the pieces of the design did not come together in a great way.  Unfortunately, this one is kind of a flop.