Ballet Pointe Shoes - Do You Think I am Ready?

by Tabitha keep
(Dorset, Ohio USA)

Can you please help me when i lived in Oklahoma. I took ballet for 4 years and we just moved to Ohio and i lived at my grandmas for a year and now we live in our own house and i just started ballet again. At the end of my class i saw some of the dancers put on pointe shoes i thought they looked so beautiful i have seen them a few times before and i thought maybe i was ready i am 11 years old and i know that pointe can hurt but i think i'm ready can you please help me to tell if i'm ready or help me ask my teacher i'm just really nervous about asking her. Please help!

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Reply by Odette
To:- Ballet Pointe Shoes - Do You Think I am Ready?


Remember, just like I did before I went en pointe, ballet students MUST take responsibility for their own strengthening prior to beginning pointe work.
Australian dancer, Lisa Howell has made a video which explains how pre-point strengthening works.
Don't leave it to your teacher!
You can watch this pre-pointe video
yourself here (just wait for the page to load up then the video is on the top right of the page).

Hello Tabitha,
Thank you for your message, it is great to hear from you. I have lots of young dancers in exactly the same position as you and feeling just the same. You can see all stories of these girls on my ballet pointe shoes page, if you scroll to the bottom you will discover all the burning questions which are very similar to yours.

You are still very young at aged 11, so there is no rush and you have time to get onto pointe. I started at aged 12 and under the guidance of my ballet teacher, she gave me permission to get my first pair of pointe shoes.

I know your teacher must seem scary or not approachable to talk to, but she is there to help you progress. You can pluck up the courage to talk to her and ask her advice. What's the worst that could happen?!

Just find a time before or after your ballet class to ask her guidance. You can ask whether you are ready to begin pointe, or what you can work on until you can be ready to start.

Also, take a look at the pre-pointe video above. If you want to find out yourself first whether you are ready, then this ebook will give you the key advice to prepare you for pointe.

Best wishes,
Odette