DD and pointe shoes

My daughter went on pointe when she was almost 12 and started ballet at baby ballet when she was 3. Her dance school does a 2 hour ballet class each week and she does an additional 2 hour class at a satellite conservatoire thing on top of that. The conservatoire moved her up to pointe first and she was the only one in her other class up for a year or so. There are now a handful of them in her half hour pointe class after the other class. She does other classes as well each week and is in their competition team.

She’s doing the RAD syllabus and just had her grade 4 exam but I think she’s on a slower pace than typical as her school isn’t competitive. The girls in her conservatoire class are 1-2 grades ahead of her (she’s the youngest too).

I would be cautious about this too. My daughter worked on this for years and had special exercises to do for months before being approved. They check specific things and it’s a serious decision. I’d be concerned as well. Even with all the prep and years of training my daughter has ripped her feet up a bit getting them used to it - there’s various adjustments she’s made but some of it is just working through what works for her feet.

How many classes/hours per week does she attend in total?

I think the fact that she is doing a range of other dance classes muddies the water a bit. How many hours dance is she doing a week?

What? Sorry, but I don't quite understand what you're saying here. Ballet is just part of what class? The one-hour class a week?

Is it BTDA? If so they offer a range of regulated & non regulated including vocational exams in a variety of genres. You need to actual name of the exam & the genre.

Has she not been offered pre pointe classes ?

What is the name of the exam. Primary is for 5 -6 year olds & is skipping & pretending to hold a basket of flowers type stuff.

Same I did ballet for an hour and pointe for 30/45 after. Once a week from about 13/14

and it was purely recreational or extra curricular. I had no intention to study dance long term. I did it until I finished university

we’d all been doing ballet for nearly a decade at that point.

My daughter does ballet 3x week (and other dance on all the other days!)... At her dance school they have to go to the extra pre pointe classes and have done 2 years in ore-pointe shoes before their teacher would even think about pointe shoes.

I am reluctant to let my daughter do pointe at all but I find it reassuring that her teacher won't rush it

Which exam though? Is it RAD?

My DD went to full time dance school and she is a teacher now.
13 would generally be considered a safe age to start pointe work, in purely developmental terms. It's certainly not "early". But there's a lot more to it than age, or indeed how many lessons a girl does and how long she has been dancing. Some people will never be pointe ready no matter how much they practice and some will develop the neccessary physical attributes and technique sooner.
Going on both how my DD was taught and how she now teaches I would say that it is an individual decision but I would expect a teacher to assess each pupil for pointe readiness, do some pre pointe preparation classes and discuss the issue with the parent, not just send a child home with the news that they can get pointe shoes. I'd expect the teacher to at least give some advice on purchase if not to attend the fitting.
I'm a bit worried by your use of the word "they" too. Are you using it instead if she - you really meant "my DD has been told she can get pointe shoes" or is it "they" as in the teacher has said the same to the whole class? If the latter, I'd be worried. It's hugely unlikely that every pupil in the same class at a recreational dance school would be pointe ready at the same time. I do know of teachers who seem to view it as a rite of passage that occurs at a particular age or when a class has passed a given grade, but it really shouldn't be. Certainly in RAD ballet you don't have to do any pointework unless you do the vocational grades. Girls who cannot or don't want to dance en pointe can still complete the graded exams up to grade 8. It isnot a mandatory thing for a recreational dancer.
In all honesty, whilst I understand how much girls who do ballet want to go en pointe it has no real benefit many and it can certainly be damaging if not handled carefully. I get lots of ballet class videos popping up on my facebook and my heart sinks at a lot of the pointework shown, both in children's and adult classes. There often seems to be a rush to pointe when dancers just don't have the strength, either in physical or technique terms. I'd much rather see good technique in flat shoes than poor pointe work.
Nobody can say for sure of course but from a few things you've said I think your concerns may be valid. At the very least I would be speaking to the teacher and asking what assessment she has done to determine whether she is ready to go en pointe. If she says all her pupils do at 13 I would probably start looking for a new teacher.

What do you mean by the first exam? Pre Primary would be the first exam but it’s meant for 4 year olds.

is she doing other forms of dance? If she’s doing jazz or modern for example there might be strength work in that.

pointe should be introduced gradually with 11/12 being the youngest age & should start as a few minutes at the end of class.

I did ballet once a week and started en pointe around that age. Initially just for 5 minutes at the end of each lesson, and gradually building it up.

Our 12 yo has danced ballet since she was 5 yo.

She does 1.5 hour normal class and then 0.5 hour class with pointe shoes.
She was allowed pointe shoes at 11 yo.

I would talk to the teacher also because they are crazy expensive shoes.

Hi @CianOFountain what grade is your dd in? Pointework is usually introduced slowly and to start with is a few minutes at the very end of class.

You're right to be concerned, it could injure her if not done properly. Probably best to contact the teacher.

For pointe prep you need to be doing 3-5 hours a week (and have been doing 2-4hours classical training a week before that).

11-12 is the youngest they should be thinking about pointe work. Before graduating to full (hard block) pointe shoes she needs Demi-pointe shoes (soft block) to train in for at least a year. Have they had Demi-pointe lessons? They need them to help build foot and strength and flexibility.

I’d be concerned about this teacher. 1 hour if ballet a week is purely recreational and nowhere near sufficient for pointe work. What grade/syllabus is your daughter and what has she been getting in exams?

Try contacting RAD or the Roysl Ballet School for advice - they msy say it’s up to the individual teacher, but hopefully they can send you some guidance.

if not, this from an Australian physio might help yoy
https://www.theballetblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/TPPS-Manual-EBook.pdf

Mine was almost 13 when she got her pointe shoes her teacher decides when they are ready, she was one of the last out of her age group. Then when I booked her in at the dance shop for her fitting the owner of the shop checked she was ready too.

My daughter dances in a professional ballet company and moving onto pointe doing just an hour of ballet once a week is definitely concerning but sadly it does happen. You are right to be concerned. A reputable teacher will work slowly and stay at the barre once they go en pointe only moving away when they are ready.

My experience with dance teachers have been that some can be very unreceptive to being questioned but a good teacher will be happy to answer any questions you have and put your mind at ease.

Strange phrasing that the class have said pointe shoes are allowed, rather than they will be starting pointe work? Will they be staying pointe work?

When I started pointe my parent had to attend a talk (about where to get fitted and not to let us mess about at home!) and my time at ballet lessons increased 75%. One lesson a week sounds minimal. Could other girls be taking more classes at a different dance school?