Monticello, the picturesque county seat of Piatt County, is known for its historic Courthouse Square which is one of three areas in town on the National Register of Historic Places. Walk around the square and you will see beautiful 19th-century architecture and get a glimpse into the town’s rich history and community spirit. As you look around the vibrant hub of shops, galleries, and restaurants surrounding this historic downtown square, there is a small shop on West Main Street helping young performing artists make history of their own. en Pointe Monticello is the name of this one-of-a-kind, high-demand retail establishment on the square, catering to aspiring ballet dancers in Central Illinois and beyond.

“This store is about serving a need within our community. If we can make it work, that’s all that we want. We just want to help the dancers in our community,” said Tobey Martinez, who owns en Pointe Monticello with her husband, as she proudly showed off her shop which specializes in ballet apparel and dancewear, with a particular focus on pointe shoe fittings.

“En pointe means standing on your toes on point,” Tobey remarked with a smile. “The phrase ‘en pointe’ means on point. Literally!”

A pointe fitting is a very specialized evaluation and measurement of a dancer’s foot for ballet shoes. Tobey emphasized the importance of finding the perfect shoe for each customer.

“Pointe shoes are something that you have to try on in person,” Tobey explained. “You can’t get them online and expect them to fit. Everybody’s foot is different. Every shoe is different. You need to find the right pair. If they don’t fit correctly, you can do lasting damage.

“The pointe shoe fitting is incredibly important to ensure that the dancer is having the greatest amount of success that they can have when going on pointe and doing so safely,” Tobey carefully explained. “If you don’t get that width right, if you don’t get the placement of their arch right, with the way the shoe bends in the shank, the dancer is not going to be as stable as they should be on pointe.”

The fitting process is both an art and a science. Tobey is careful to examine the feet of her dancers. Flexibility is just one of the key things Tobey is looking at.

“Where that shank (a supportive shoe insert) needs to break, so that helps me decide which shoe to start with. How long their toes are. The strength of that foot,” explained Tobey. “There’s so many different factors that go into finding something that’s going to work just right for that dancer.

“The most magical moment of having this store is doing those pointe shoe fittings and watching how those dancers look when they get that right fit,” Tobey said. “Being a part of that journey to support them as an artist is truly special.”

Beginnings

For Tobey, the store is the culmination of a lifelong love for dance, a dream nurtured through years of dedication, and a leap of faith taken with the support of her husband.

“I was a dancer growing up,” Tobey recalled. “I trained at the Ballet West Academy (in Salt Lake City) and then later on, I got a scholarship to the University of Utah. I got my degree in the performance of ballet.”

After marrying her husband, who was a Marine at the time, Tobey traveled the world, experiencing different cultures and communities. When they eventually returned to Illinois, she found herself drawn back to the world of dance.

“I began teaching locally here,” Tobey explained. “I got back into dance when we moved back to Illinois, and I had kids of my own that I wanted to put in lessons. I still felt that connection to dance that I have always felt. I wanted to pass my love on to them.”

Tobey noted that it was a pivotal moment in the local dance community that sparked the idea for en Pointe Monticello. An important store for dancers in the area was in the process of closing for good, leaving young dancers with no resources for their dancewear and shoes.

“The year that I retired, the one store that we had for getting dance supplies in Champaign closed,” said Tobey. “We put the store in Monticello because, first of all, we live here and secondly, we began with the dream when that store had closed in Champaign.”

Taking a leap to open a business was no small decision, conceded Tobey.

“I went to my husband and I asked him, ‘Do you think we can do this?’ And then there just happened to be a small business boot camp that the city (Monticello) was running,” recalled Tobey. “I attended the boot camp. Still wasn’t sure about opening. We had a lot of reservations about taking that kind of risk.”

Despite their initial hesitation, Tobey and her husband decided to pursue their dream.

“We went through the boot camp. I went to the small business center in Champaign. I ran some numbers with them. Then we started looking into getting contracts with suppliers. It’s a crazy process,” Tobey added with a hearty laugh.

Though the store has been open for two years, it has already filled a significant void.

“There are a lot of dancers here,” observed Tobey. “We have one local ballet studio and dance studio, but there are also dancers that we help in Champaign, Mahomet, Decatur, Bloomington, Danville, and Rantoul.”

When en Pointe Monticello opened and even today, Tobey and her husband can often be spotted at dance performances around the area.

“One of the first things that my husband and I did when we opened the store was to go to all of the recitals and all of the performances, from all of the schools so that we could see the dancers in our community and the surrounding communities,” said Tobey. “It’s so fun to watch those kids, see the look on their faces, and know that we were a part of getting them there.”

For Tobey, her shop is her a way to celebrate the art and magic of dance.

“What I love about ballet is the art. It is gorgeous,” said Tobey with joy in her voice. “The amount of athleticism that you have to put into it, combined with the artistry to make it look easy. It’s just beautiful.”

The journey from idea to reality was filled with challenges, but Tobey said her passion for dance, and her dedication to young ballet dancers in her community, keeps her moving forward.

“I want to pass my love on to them,” shared Tobey, referring not only to her own children, but to every dancer who arrives at her shop.

Dancing to success

Tobey said en Pointe Monticello is not just a place to buy dance supplies, but also a focal point where blossoming dancers and their families come to celebrate ballet and dance.

“I love the artistry of ballet combined with the athleticism,” Tobey shared. “When you watch it on stage, and you know what goes into it and the training that those dancers have gone through to present this beautiful form of art to you, there’s nothing like it.

“The kids come in, and when they put those pointe shoes on and we’re going through that process, when they find that pair that works for them, their face just lights up, grinned Tobey with joy on her face. “It’s a magical moment for them, especially that very first time.”

Overcoming apprehension

Tobey reflected on her own journey and what might have helped her when she was just opening her business.

“I wish someone had told us before we opened our shop that we just really needed to take a breath,” said Tobey. “There’s a lot of pressure when you open a business to get all the products right then and there. You know what? If somebody doesn’t come in, you just have to take a breath. And if you can just take a breath and ride it out, I think you’re going to be okay.

“Opening this store was never about getting rich,” Tobey emphasized. “This store is about serving a need within our community. If we can make it work, that’s all that we want. We just want to help the dancers in our community.

“When a dancer finds that perfect pair of pointe shoes, I feel like I have helped them in their dream,” grinned Tobey. “That makes it all worthwhile for me.”