In another discussion re the best Giselle DVD to buy,Volcanohunter said that the Maina Gielgud version with the Australian Ballet was pleasing, in spite of Christine Walsh's technique being seen as weak. I agree. I have bought 4 Giselle DVDs in order to compare and learn and I love the general sweetness, good dramatisation and lack of superficial detail in this version. However its true Walsh's feet seem gently unsteady at times and she appears to lack the attack and power of say the Fracci version. ( I must say that the cinematographers of the Fracci - Bruhn version must hate ballet , they cut away so often).
My question is this, could better pointes have helped Walsh. Her shoes look round and sloppy and generally SOFT. Some dancers shoes seem aerodynamically designed and often much more pointed. I'm not being nationalistic here and trying to talk up Walsh's performance but could better shoes have made her dancing seem more precise?

Professional dancers and even advanced pre-professional students order their pointe shoes tailored (cobbled?) to their specific preferences, and because they wear them out so quickly, generally have many pairs to choose from at any time. I can't imagine that for a filming, any ballerina would not choose a very good pair. The unsteadiness was more likely in the ballerina than in the shoes.