Moving on to pointe

[Flosmom]

Flo has suddenly taken a huge leap forward with her dance, which she is enjoying immensely. Back in September she moved into a grade 5 ballet class, which we knew would be a stretch for her, but it fitted with her new school schedule, and the principal has been very supportive, so she is blossoming.

She is with dancers who are older and more experienced than she is, who are moving on to pointe. I can't imagine that Flo is anywhere near ready for that yet, and neither does she, but I feel totally ignorant of the whole thing. So (prompted by a post elsewhere) I thought I'd put out a cry for help and see whether anyone who has 'been there, done that' has any words of education, advice and caution for both of us?

To be honest, I find it rather scary.

Oh, and if it's already been covered elsewhere, feel free to pointe me in the right direction! (see what I did there? )

Deb x

[islandofsodor]

Readiness for pointe depends on lots of factors.

It's not necessarily what grade a child has reached as pointe isn't needed for graded exams at all, only the vocational grades. Some dance schools will allow children who are serious to start Inter Foundation at different stages but most commonly it's around Grades 4-6 & between the age of 11-14

Foot strength is very important. Dd is 12 & doing inter foundation at vocational school
But hasn't been put en pointe yet due to hyperflexibility which means she has a greater range if movement in her ankles so there is a danger she could go right over. So she has been doing lots of strengthening excercises both in class & with the physio.

However her school are very cautious. There are children who entered the school already been pointe but were taken off again.

Also a child doing ballet classes every day is likely to be ready sooner than a once a week child.

[woody]

Flosmom, you've not mentioned your dd's age?

Generally speaking it is fairly unusual in the UK for girls to start on pointe before the age of 12 or 13. By that age they would probably need to be doing several ballet classes a week, and to start with they might only spend 5 minutes or so at the end of class once a week in their pointe shoes, doing a few simple exercises at the barre.

Teachers may also give strengthening exercises to do at home before going on pointe, and this can be started when they are younger - perhaps you could ask your dd's teacher for advice on this?

Pointework needs a lot of strength in the feet and ankles, and technique also needs to be very secure too. Quite often there will be some students in a class who are ready and some who need to wait a while to develop physically, before the teacher says ok.

Everyone is different. There isn't a 'magic' age or grade I'm afraid!!!

[suzysue]

My dd had her first lesson on pointe yesterday! So I am no expert but qualify for done that! She is 11 and has passed G5. Five girls have started pointe work together, they are between 11 and 13. Apparently dd has quite strong feet so her shoes have quite a hard shank which is apparently not that common for first pointe shoes. I say apparently as I personally have no idea! She did 30 minutes of barre work mainly rising up onto pointe and down. She says yesterday was the best day of her life!

[Pearl]

My dd was 12 and at the time the teacher put about half the class onto pointe and the other half of the class were not ready. She is now 14 and there are still a few girls in her class who are still not on pointe. The teacher should know who is ready and don't feel there is any rush to get up there.
It is hard work and damage can be done to the feet and ankles if they go on pointe too soon.

[Flosmom]

That's so helpful....thanks!

Flo is 11 going on 12 ( year 7). She is not very strong and we have a tendency to hypermobility. Flo isn't unduly affected but I am nervous of anything that makes demands of her ankle and knee joints, so I'm mighty relieved to hear that strengthening comes before pointing!

She has never been serious about dance - it's always been a third string and quite a long way back from singing and acting, which is just as well since we're not wired for grace and elegance. But since Cats came along, she is a dancer transformed.

But, despite her new enthusiasm (and much improved skill/technique) I will be happy to stick with my instincts and encourage sloooooow progress!

Thanks again for your generosity. This is such an awesome site and you are all awesome and kind people.

Deb x

[Katymac]

DD didn't go up until she had just turned 15

We were mis-sold the wrong shoes for her first pair & I would suggest being very careful where you buy from. Her second pair were from Just Ballet in Southend and they are amazing!

A year after she started she is only just coming to terms with dancing in them

[2dancersmum]

My DDs both went on pointe aged 12 but as other posters have said age is not the main factor to consider here. Technique must be secure and the feet and ankles strong enough. Our teacher likes them to be doing several ballet classes a week and has her students doing 6 months of demi point work before assessing them individually for readiness for pointe work. With RAD, there is no pointe work in the standard grades. It is introduced in the vocational grades. Some schools start vocational grades after grade 5, others offer them alongside grades 4-5. The RAD have minimum ages for taking their exams - 11 for interfoundation.

When your teacher has confirmed that your DD is ready to go on pointe. Ask for a recommendation from her for a pointe shoe fitter. You often need to make an appointment. Be prepared for the fitting to take a while as DD tries on numerous pairs. When you have bought shoes, don't sew ribbons on or darn before showing your teacher. It is a complicated business and it can take a while to find the right shoes.