Pointe shoes, Preparing & Progressing

There is no doubt that dancing in pointe shoes for the first time is pretty exciting (if not a little bit painful!) but there is a whole load of work that goes on behind the scenes before a dancer can experience the wonderful world of pointe.

Basic ballet exercises which help to strengthen the sole of the foot and increase awareness of postural alignment are key when preparing for pointe work. Rises on one leg, taking plié in an aeroplane balance (this involves standing on one leg with the other leg extended behind and the arms stretched out to look like an aeroplane) and sitting on the floor practicing going through the feet into a fully stretched foot.

Something which compliments pointe preparation brilliantly is the progressing ballet technique programme. All of my students who are preparing for pointe are currently undertaking progressing ballet technique classes. This is an innovative body strengthening programme that is specially designed to enhance muscle memory and ultimately improve classical ballet technique. Many of the exercises on the programme use a Pilates ball which carefully guides students into creating correct posture and weight placement- clever eh! I love this programme because you can physically see the students getting better and better week by week. If everyone keeps working hard we should hopefully be seeing some shiny, pretty pointe shoes appear by Christmas!