In 1930 a man by the name of Jacob Simon Bloch founded J.Bloch/Australia(USA) Incorporated. His three children, Bill, Bernard, and Betty all joined his business. Currently the Bloch business is managed jointly by Betty's husband, Gerson Wilkenfeld and their son, David Wilkenfeld.

It seems that family tradition dies hard because David's brother and sister, Simon and Judy, work as a team within the company as well! Today, you can find a Bloch retailer in almost every major city in the United States as well as dance catalogues.

The arch support in the Bloch pointe shoe goes through a special shaping process that lets the shoe to provide support where it is needed while still enabling the dancer to roll through and move freely. The toe box is formed by many layers of natural fibers and are hardened by a paste that is also made from natural materials.

Bloch uses two types of paste in their shoes. For the Serenade, Sonata, Suprima, and Aspiration they uses a rubbery type glue that makes the shoe resilient but workable and perfect for students and professional alike. Their other shoes are made with a water soluble glue making it more of a "performance" pointe shoe and not meant to last as long as the others. Bloch uses cloth drawstrings

Custom orders are accepted from any dancer with a minium order of three pairs. Almost everything can be customized to suit the dancers needs. Delivery time is 8 to 10 weeks. Contact Bloch for more details on custom orders and their special order professional line of lasts.

There are two types of glue this company uses to create their pointe shoes. Each requires special breaking in instructions so that they have a long life. In their own words, this is what Bloch suggests:

For the Triomphe, Sylphide, Aspiration, Serenade, Sonata, and Suprima:
Use Instructions "A": These shoes are made with a harder paste and susceptible to "snapping" if treated roughly at first. However, if broken in correctly they have a long life. Doing barre is the best way to break in a pointe shoe. We understand however that you can't stand at the barre with a new pair of pointe shoes and expect to do a tendu, so the shoe needs to be prepared for barre by gently softening the shank and box by hand. Concentrate on the demi-pointe area of the shank being careful not to crush the box. Then work your way up to the heel gently massaging the shank until it is at a point where tendu and releve to demi-pointe is comfortable. Softening the box is not always necessary and is left up to the individual. If softening is necessary then concentrate on gently softening the sides of the box. Lots of dancers stand on the top of the box in order to soften and widen it. We advise that standing on the box or squashing the box can permanently damage the shoe. Please do so at your own risk. If you must stand on the box, you need to concentrate the pressure on either side of the box centre. This is important because the top centre of the box is the weakest point and prone to the most damage if stood on. Once the shoes are ready for barre, 1 to 2 hours barre will be a sufficient time to shape them to your foot. At this point the shoes will be evenly softened with no weak points resulted from incorrect breaking technique.

For the BPS, Signature Series, and Synergy:
Use Instructions "B": These shoes are made from a paste that is designed to soften when moisture is applied. The technique here is simple to understand. Follow break in technique A. After 1 to 2 hours of barre the shoe will become moist and shape itself to the dancers foot. Once the shoe dries it will have set in the shape of the dancers foot. At this point it is possible to apply Shellac to the inside of the block and shank. This will not only harden the shoe in its current shape, but also stop any more moisture entering the shoe. So we are left with a strong shoe, molded in the shape of the individual dancers foot on the inside, whilst leaving a quiet exterior.

Bloch makes a lot of different shoes, so to give the Reader a better understanding of the exact shape each model is, below is a list of all their pointes. At the top of the list you'll find the narrowest and most tapered. Going down, the pointes get more squared and less tapered. When you see that models share the same line with an / separating them, this means that those models are equal in their degree of taper.

In numerical order, these are the Bloch pointes:


Still in development, Bloch has released a small amount of information about the SO103 "Veritas" to be released around March of 2003. They say, "It will be similar to the Alpha but have a full outer sole and be more student friendly."

S0100L "Synergy" and SO101L "Synergy 3/4 shank" Professional shoe with a well balanced box. Breaks in very easily but made to last longer. Wide platform with a square, flat box shape. High vamp.

S0104L "Alpha" Released in early 2002, this shoe which is made on the Salt last, is designed to have the specs most professionals love: high vamp, high wings that cradle the metatarsals, and a medium tapered box. But Bloch went a step further and left the inner heel portion unattached to the sole. Therefore, the dancer can pull the heel fabric down and trim the full shank that it comes with, to the appropriate length for their feet without mutilating the shoe. The inner leather lining lies back down to protect the dancers foot. The outer sole is cut to a 3/4 length and even without trimming the shank, this feature allows the dancer to sit high and properly supported in the heel, perpendicular to the floor.

S0105L "Aspiration" This is Bloch's beginning pointe student shoe. It features a wide platform for easy balance and a hard supportive box that will assist the beginner. Its full shank is made to break in and flex at the 3/4 position.

S0111L "BPS-Professional" This professional style shoe is available at very few dance retailers but available always as a special order directly from Bloch. In 1999, three of Freed's most popular cobblers went to work for Bloch; Spade, M, and Triangle En Pointe. Each of their shoes have slightly different characteristics so the professional can pick which works for them best. The BPS has the same pasting method used on the Synergy Model, that allows the shoe to mold to the dancers foot when moist. BPS has a red board body and a leatherboard centerpiece, with no tack or glue on the heel. Spade, M, and Triangle En Pointe are the only 3 cobblers in Bloch that make this shoe. Here are their individual specs: Spade: very popular with European dancers. His shoe is made to have a tapered streamline design that promote a long line of the leg. M Maker: popular in the USA. His shoes are more square, offering better stability in turns and balances. A bigger, wider platform. Triangle en Pointe: His shoes are exactly in between Spade and M Maker's. Streamlined, but good stability. These shoes are popular all around the world.

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Bloch Inc. 3895 Corsair Street Suite A Reno, NV USA 89502 Tel: 1800 94 BLOCH Fax: 1702 824 2551 Bloch International 5/6 McLachlan Avenue Artarmon, NSW Australia 2064 Tel: 61 2 9901 3223 Fax: 61 2 9901 4773