Ballet Pointe Shoes - Too Late Starting?

by Remy
(California)

Ballet Pointe Shoes - Too Late Starting?

Hi, I'm Remy and im almost 12 years old. I just started ballet this year in september and my ballet teacher said i can go on pointe next year. I really want to be a professional ballet dancer and i was wondering if im too late starting.


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Reply by Odette

To:- Ballet Pointe Shoes - Too Late Starting?


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 Remy,

Thank you for contacting me, it is lovely to hear from you.

You are at an age where most dancers just start to begin training to become a professional. At a vocational dance school students can start training from the early age of 11 right up until they are 18. So, you are definitely not too late to begin training to become a professional ballet dancer.

Do not feel you should rush into pointe work, it is crucial to be ready. Take a look at, Pointe Ballet Shoes - Are You Ready?, which will give you some extra tips on being ready for pointe.

You are at a safe age to begin pointe, but you have to study ballet for a long enough time to become secure within the technique to enable you to start pointe.

It won't affect dancers if they start wearing pointe shoes a bit later than everyone else. But it will affect dancers if they start too early, if they have no knowledge of how to prepare.

For extra guidance to get you prepared for pointe work, the video above is very useful. In this video, Australian dancer, Lisa Howell has made a video which explains how pre-point strengthening works.

All the best,

Odette