Brand Spotlight: Bloch (includes Mirella and Josette)

Bloch was established in 1931 when an Eastern European cobbler moved to Australia.  Jacob Bloch began making custom pointe shoes, then marketed his products across the country.  Today, Bloch has 16 stores in Australia and Europe and is a staple brand that many local US dancewear stores carry.

pronunciation	Block
website	blochworld.com (US), bloch.com.au (Australia)
styles of dance included	Ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, modern/lyrical/contemporary
types of items	shoes, bodywear, warm-ups, accessories, also street clothes/shoes and sportswear
country of origin	Australia
price point	generally higher-moderate
quality	Excellent
availability	Pretty broad availability in the US and overseas.  Easy to find in local dancewear stores and online (discountdance.com, etc.).  Sometimes different items are only available in Europe/Australia.  New collections also sell out quickly.
sizing	shoes: ballet shoes: true to size, but  many models run on UK sizing scale (subtract 2 to 2.5 from US street size) pointe shoes: models vary jazz shoes: true to size (US sizing) sneakers and hard shoes (tap, etc.): up 1 to 2 sizes (US sizing) leotards/bodywear: runs short and wide, but true to size tights: size chart is accurate warm-ups: true to size, but waistbands/legs/sleeves can be wide or loose
Jillian’s top pick	warm-up boots, “Zenith” and “Prolite II” ballet slippers
Jillian’s item to avoid	none to speak of, however Bloch pointe shoes tend to be square and heavy, which is not good for tapered feet.