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The Preparation for Pointe
Preparing for pointe is not just developing your feet. It is also about strengthening your legs too. All the way from the ankles to the hips, they should be developed for the rigors of ballet. You will also need good balance and good turnout before you proceed to the highest level of ballet.
It is dangerous to practice pointe at home because you would be doing it without the close supervision of your dance teacher. However, there are many exercises that can help condition for pointe work which you can do at home and at school. Don’t forget to consult your teacher on the pre-pointe exercises before trying on them.
It is important that you do the pre-pointe exercises with a ‘perfect form’. That means you should do the exercises very precisely. Otherwise, they won’t help you at all.
For your own safety, there are a few things you need to achieve before you are allowed to dance on toes. Why so? Dancers who are not ready for pointe tend to experience serious injuries. You don’t want to hamper your dancing career with injuries, right? You could be ending it before it has even begun.
· A good turnout in motion – It is not easy to turn out en pointe. If you cannot hold your turnout while dancing, you would not be able to hold it en pointe.
· No sickling allowed – if you have sickled foot/feet, you should fix it. If not, you will never be able to dance on toes. If your foot/feet tend to sickle inwards, your weight will be on the little toe, instead of the big one. This will affect your balance, cause you injuries or strain and make you fall off your toes.
· Good posture – A good posture is essential to help you achieve balance while dancing on does. If you have postural problems like arching on your back or sticking your butt, you won’t be able to balance on toes.
· Pointed feet – Some dancers are blessed with straight pointed feet, and some can properly point their feet without much effort. However, there are dancers who don’t have pointed feet or point it but curl some or all their toes under. You cannot dance on curled toes. There are simple exercises to help you point your foot but I will explain that in future articles.
· Good balance with one leg on demi-pointe (half pointe) – You should be comfortable to balance on one leg in passé while on demi-pointe without sickling or wobbling.
These pre-requisites are important, and you should achieve them before proceeding to dance on toes. This is essential ballet injury prevention. Dancing on toes when not done properly can injure your permanently.
For more tips to help you dance on toes, further educate yourself by reading ballet articles and resources like the Perfect Pointe Book.
