Age is not the only indicator as to when a dancer is ready for pointe. However, sadly a lot of young dancers get put on pointe as young as 10 and 11 years old.
That is simply too young as the bones have not matured enough and we know that the growth plates in the feet are the last to close and they don’t fully close until the dancer is 15 or 16 years old.
We can’t wait until the dancer’s bones have fully matured, but we can perform individual Assessments of the dancer to establish the risk involved, based on how the dancer performs with our tests. These tests will give us an indication of how ready or when the dancer is ready
NO, holding back a dancer on pointe has never been a problem, but going on pointe too young, not strong enough, well assessed or with the correctly fitting pointe shoes is a problem. Progressing well trained feet, ankles, and legs into Demi-Point shoes and from there to Pointe is by far the best option for any dancer to start pointe work!
Work on your own strength placement and balance. Tape your feet for every ballet class and when you can do 25 single leg rises you will be ready for your Demi-Pointe shoes.
A Demi-Pointe shoe is an in-between shoe and from the outside it looks like a pointe shoe. This shoe has a proper pointe box in it but it does not have a strong enough shank to support your foot on pointe. However, your feet learn to balance on the narrow shank, learn to work in a confined space and your feet learn how to break in a Pointe shoe as well as how the toes will be able to engage the shank properly.
Once you can do your entire ballet class in Demi-Pointe shoes you are getting ready for your pointe shoes.
You can learn and dance all your pointe exercises on demi-pointe in these shoes. Once you have mastered this, going on pointe is easy and natural.
This is a very important question. The life of a pointe shoe is about 8 hours of dancing. So, if you only do 10 minutes a week, they will last you 48 weeks and the likelihood is that you will grow out of them before they are dead. If you are doing a lot more pointe work, like 30 minutes twice a week, the shoes will only last 8 weeks.
In our Grishko shoes it is very rare that the shank will break, instead the support through the Metatarsal heads is gradually lost and the forefoot slips to the bottom of the box. At this point your feet can become painful and you will no longer get fully over the platform because it hurts too much.
So, when the support is lost through the Metatarsal heads and the foot starts to slip down, the shoe must be replaced.
If you are doing a lot of pointe work, it might pay to have two pairs on the go. Change your shoes after 30 minutes for a dry pair and hang the wet pair up to dry.
It is of paramount importance to fit each foot individually and sometime a dancer will require two pairs of shoes.
However, that is not a problem, because pointe shoes do not have a right or left foot. So, it means that you will have two shoes which you will only wear on the right foot and two shoes which you will only wear on the left foot. Mark both shoes as R or L and split them into your special pair. Now mark the pairs as 1 and 2. When you first start with pointe work your feet might change shape, therefore it is really important that you wear both pairs equally, and rotate the pairs with each class. This means all the shoes change shape at the same time and follow the progress of your feet equally.
If they are not on your feet they should be hung up to dry. When you take them off in class, tie the ribbons together and hang them up on the barre. In the changing room hang them on a hook while you get changed. When you leave the studio, sling them over your shoulder like a handbag and when you get home hang them up to dry, ready for the next class.
If you live in warm and humid conditions, it might pay to make light cotton gauze bags, fill them with rice and place them in your shoes. The rice will absorb the moisture quickly and easily.
Please never do this! The shoes will be an exact copy of your individual foot and just as you would not swap your street shoes the wrong way round it would equally not make sense to do that with your pointe shoes.
Sew on the ribbons as instructed, have your feet taped and wear your ballet tights. Place the seams of your ballet tights under your toes, not along the top of your toes as they can dig in.
Enter the shoe holding on to the binding with both hands and guide your 2nd toe to the centre of the platform. Now follow the binding to the back of the heel and ease the heel into the heel cap. Make sure that the centre of the V in the box lines up with the centre of your ankle.
Tie the ribbons as instructed. Always start with the inside ribbon as it will help to keep the heel of the pointe shoe in the correct place.
Now place woolly socks over the pointe shoes to help melt and soften the boxes. Keep them on your feet for as long as you can and then simply walk around in them. As the shoes start to stretch you can start to find the Demi-Pointe position just by rolling through your feet as you walk normally. Do this, two or three times more, and then the shoes should be ready for breaking in.
Let the shoes soften with the warmth of your feet and then you need to be shown how to break in your shoes. We can arrange a zoom session for you to learn how to do this safely.
Our shoes do not need any treatment other than the warmth of your feet and the gentle moulding them in with your feet – not your hands or any other implements.
These shoes have been carefully crafted and do not leave the factory unless they have a perfect platform to balance on. So please treat the shoes with the respect they deserve and not let anyone touch them or do anything to them.
Look after your shoes and they will look after you!
Yes, you should do that, and again, we are learning this in the Mentoring program. It is very important to release the stress in your feet and toes after pointe work, especially if your feet are still growing.
Again, we can arrange a zoom lesson to teach you how to do this!
Zoom workshops can now be delivered just about anywhere in the world.
Free Mini presentation to explain what our work is about in a bit more detail.
Courses:
- Workshops for Schools and colleges
- CPD courses for Teacher
- Mentoring Programs for teachers and or students on a one-to-one basis
- Assessment of your pointe shoes
- Taping of the feet and exploring how to work without an ouch pouch
- Breaking in of Demi-and Pointe shoes
- Individual sessions for advice
- Becoming a fully qualified pointe shoe fitter with Juon Pointe
Cost involved:
Currently all the above offers are based on a charge of NZ$ 60.00 an hour.