Starting at 12 – can I go on pointe?
Loryn asks:
I have something to ask that is quite important; I'm 12 and I've only just started ballet, but I'm not entirely sure whether or not I'm ready for pointe. Is it possible for a 12 year old girl who's only just started ballet to just put on a pair of pointe shoes and bouree across the floor in them? LOL I know that sounded a bit weird, but would it be possible? I can balance on quite a high demi-pointe arabesque with a slight arch on my foot (I have what look like quite flat feet) and also in passe position on demi-pointe without wobbling, but I'm still not sure if I'm strong enough to dance en pointe. Do you think I am?
Answer:
Loryn, that's a difficult question to answer. I started ballet late and yes, I have to admit, I did just put on a pair of pointe shoes and bourree across the floor! But that's certainly not recommended.
It will come down to what your teacher thinks. If he/she says you're ready for pointe, trust her judgment. It sounds as though you have strong legs and feet, and have good balance - but the thing that may stop you is your turnout. If you've never done ballet before, you're not used to using the muscles that hold your turnout, and you have to develop them before you go on pointe.
This video shows one of the best exercises for the turnout muscles (in my opinion). Watch it carefully, because most people do this exercise completely wrong - I know I did! Doing the movement incorrectly means you'll be able to lift the knee further, but that's not the object of the exercise - the goal is to strengthen those muscles!
If your teacher says you're not ready yet, please don't be tempted to buy a pair of shoes and practice at home, because you can get into bad habits.
5 Responses to Starting at 12 – can I go on pointe?
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Ok, thank you! I’ll ask my teacher what she thinks. I have also looked around on the internet for answers to the question “Does dancing en pointe hurt?” and there are loads of different answers.
Some people said “Yes, it hurts a lot”, some people said “It doesn’t hurt at all”, Some people said “It depends whether or not you’re ready for pointe”, my friend, who’s at grade 8 in ballet told me that it hurts at first but then you get used to it, and another person said “It doesn’t hurt at first, but then it starts hurting at around your second pair of pointe shoes but then it goes away again”. I’m really unsure of which answer to trust. Which do you think sounds most realistic?
Loryn, it depends. If you get a perfectly fitting pair of shoes, and you’re light and pull up properly out of your feet, it doesn’t hurt. Unfortunately, you may not find a perfectly fitting pair straight away!
Some girls use lots of padding in their shoes and if you do that, it doesn’t hurt – but it’s hard to feel the floor, which means your feet will look like bricks on the end of your legs, instead of beautiful instruments.
Ok, thanks a lot. My dad told me he’d actually talked to a professional ballerina and that she’d told him that it is very painful and quite intolerable. Now I think I understand why! Ha ha ha…
Loryn, I can believe that! In the olden days, most pointe shoe makers only made one kind of shoe. If it didn’t fit your foot properly, it was just bad luck, you had to make the best of it. That’s why so many retired ballerinas have horrible misshapen feet!
These days when you buy your pointe shoes, the fitter will have lots of different shoes to choose from, and she should be able to find a shoe that’s designed specially for your kind of foot.
You might be interested in this explanation of foot shape:
http://pointeshoesonline.com/3354/foot-shape/
Oh… Ok thank you! That link helped a lot. My mom told me just a couple of days ago that if I’m good she might get me a pair of pointe shoes! YAY!! I can’t wait!