Dancing on your toes

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Pointe work: dancing on the toes, literally. Beautiful pink satin slippers with satin ribbons, longed for by every child ballerina until the day she is ready to put a pair on. The epitome of technique, a badge of strength. The ballet student's last fronteir.                                  - Jane Robbins

While I believe a student should not start pointe until she is at least eleven, many others believe otherwise.  A dancer must have very strong ankles and needs to have already mastered all technique on flat before moving on to toe.  Also, the dancer's foot needs to have almost completely stopped growing or it may cause foot deformities later on.  I began pointe when I was eleven, but many studios start girls on pointe when they are only nine, and I find it sad to see young girls struggling to stay up on top of the pointe.  However, when a girl is ready, the experience of rising to your toes and floating through the air is exhilarating.

Buying shoes is the first hurdle to pass.  Most studios require the students wear a certain type of shoe when they start out, and the teacher will order them for you.  If this is not available, check your listings for dance stores.  If there are none in a convenient distance, you can order catalogs.  Although trying on the shoe is better, there is often more variety in a catalog.  My favorite catalog is Dance Distributors and you can order it for free by calling 1-800-33-Dance.  You can also look at Discount Dance.  You will notice there are a wide variety of shoes made for different types of feet.  If you are unsure which you should wear, talk to your instructor.  For your first pair of toe shoes, I would personally recommend the Pavlova made by Capezio.  This is a very good starting shoe, but again, talk with your instructor about what is best for you or your child.  As you advance, you may move on to a more difficult shoe.  I recommend either Serenade for wider or average width feet, or Seprima for narrower feet; both made by Bloch.  Click here for more information on buying pointe shoes.

Pointe shoes do not come with the ribbons and elastic attached. You may need to order these also because they are not included in the price either. The elastic should be attached from one side of the shoe over the top of the foot to the other side. The ribbons when purchased are usually one long ribbon. Cut the ribbon into four equal lengths and attach one to each side of each shoe. The placement of the ribbons is mostly preference. When tied, they should criss-cross over the top of the foot to the other side. When tied, they should criss-cross over the top of the foot and wrapped around the ankle.  Tie a knot or bow and tuck in!  No bows should show.

Another big difficulty for many students and their parents is making pointe shoes last as long as possible.  Toe shoes are not cheap, so we're always working on ways to get one pair of shoes to last as long as possible.  The easiest way is to buy stronger shoes designed to last longer.  After they have "died" (become too soft to dance comfortably), there are several ways to revive them.  I personally spray a spray starch over the box of the shoe.  Then I bake them at 200 degrees for 15 min.  This usually toughens them up for one of two more wearings.  One of my friends puts them in the sun for a few hours.  Another friend sticks them in the freezer over night before a big rehearsal or performance.  I have not tried either of these but I'm sure they work just as well.      However, if you shoe is broken (the arch and box of the shoe have become so stressed that they crack), the procedures to return them to a wearable state is complicated and does not last long.  Breaking shoes is not uncommon, but dancers who have unusually strong arches tend to be the ones to break their shoes.  The best prevention for breaking shoes is to  simply buy a stronger shoe.

If dance were easy, they'd call it football!

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