Adult ballet - being allowed en pointe too soon!

[balletfliss]

I've noticed some really poor technique in adult pointe classes over the past few years, but never as bad as the past year. I don't know why that could be.

It's actually dangerous in that it risks injury, their turnout is wrong or non existent, and placement poor. Chatting before and after classes I'm not surprised to hear that most of these women have never done pointe before, even as children. They've been allowed to buy pointe shoes and join the pointe class after only one or two years as adult ballet beginners at the school.

One woman had done a year in grade four as a complete beginner and just been fitted for her pointe shoes. Ridiculous! I'd seen her in the grade 4 class and she couldn't manage all of the steps in flat shoes, or very well.

I wonder if anyone has found the same? I haven't been back to those classes as it doesn't inspire trust in the teachers involved. I also worried for them, injury-wise. Fortunately I've found somewhere where they're quite strict with entry criteria and care about the dancers.

I started ballet in my mid 20s having never done it as a child. I had the opportunity to learn to dance en pointe after about 8 years of learning. I found it extremely hard and quite painful and never really let go of the barre! Shortly after starting to learn I got pregnant so stopped going en pointe. I still do ballet now after 20 years but have never been en pointe again. No teacher has ever encouraged it and I have seen very few adult dancers going en pointe. Only those who trained thoroughly as children and have kept up their skills. I'm really surprised to hear that adults with such little experience are being encouraged to go en pointe as I have never seen that in any of the classes I have taken.

Xrays reveal that most of the dancer’s weight is going through the 1st metatarsal (big toe) into the block, with some contribution from the other toes, depending on how the foot and shoe are formed. The scrunched toe thing is in rhythmic gymnastics and very much frowned upon in ballet. I used to enjoy practicing this!

Yes. The younger dancers usually have put many years of hard work into their training before they're ready for pointe. You hear of dance prodigies going en pointe only a short time after beginning ballet (Misty Copeland for instance) but these are adult beginners or returners and not prodigies who can bypass basic training.

I have trouble with my toes so I only do pointe around twice a month now. I've been gradually doing less.

I think financial reasons must be involved as I thought it was shoddy really to let them do it with poor, uncorrected technique.

Eight years is fair enough! I have found pointe more painful as an adult actually.

We used to get told off if we were caught doing this in ballet 😀 I think we were desperate to go en pointe like the older girls.

What are the injuries you can cause? Are they dreadful and debilitating for normal life or do they just stop you doing ballet for a while? Like running and picking up a achilles issue or planter fascitis?

It might have been the shoes, quite possibly. We were told by fitters that it was to be expected that they might be uncomfortable but should never be painful.

Not relevant to your original point, but just wondered about adult ballet classes. Are they just for people who have danced as children? I've no dance experience whatsoever, would it be a waste of time to take up an adult ballet class?

You don’t have to be tiny, friends daughter is a young adult and quite big (tall but also a 12/14 ish size). She has been having lessons for a long time and she finds pointe easy. She isn’t ever going to be pro but is a very good amateur.

She’s obviously strong enough and good enough for it.

I’m glad I didn’t get that far though myself as it transpires as an adult that I have some fairly significant hip and knee issues (genetic) that give me enough gip, if I’d have pushed myself then I’d be buggered now. And I was very petite then.

I was en pointe at 14.

I now do ballet after quite the hiatus, but would run for the hills if it was suggested to me now. I’m just glad to still have a vaguely good postural stability and non-knackered feet.

Nearly a decade ago I took up ballet again as an adult. I'd done ballet from the age of 3 right through to 21 (I studied at uni) with 9 years of pointe work. I was about 33 when I took it up again. After about a year they started a pointe class which I joined but there were only 4 of us. I really enjoyed the class but there was a lot about strengthening and we did lots of basic exercises, not just going straight to dancing in the centre. I think if anyone had tried to join who didn't have the technique, the teacher would have said something. She was quite exacting towards us!

I bought a wonderful pair of Gaynor Mindens and wish I'd had them as a child as they are the most comfortable I've ever worn!

I think done correctly, there's no reason adults can't do pointe classes but it should absolutely be based on a qualified ballet teacher's accurate assessment rather than any adult who wants to being able to.

For the pp who wanted to know - you can absolutely get a dance teacher's qualification and if you want to start lessons you need someone who is part of an organisation such as the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance.

Would you advise reporting? I wonder if they would take it seriously as it's adults not children at risk of injury? I would hope so. I wouldn't need to prove it as it was stated in the class description on their school page. I will consider.

I only do minimal pointe. I was saying to a pp that I only do a couple of classes a month. The teachers themselves, even if teaching pointe, don't really wear pointe shoes. I know an ex professional, in her 40s, and she doesn't go en pointe at all (though her technique is amazing).

I agree that an adult who has never done pointe or ballet before (or possibly even if they have, depending) cannot possibly reach the necessary standard and strength needed for pointe.

I bought a wonderful pair of Gaynor Mindens and wish I'd had them as a child as they are the most comfortable I've ever worn

They are extremely comfortable! The fitter said people don't want to wear anything else once they have had them. Last ages too if you wear them a lot.

I would also say that dancing through 3-21 you probably more likely to have a solid base technique!

Not at all 😊 I started adult beginners ballet in my mid 20s with no experience at all and am still going to classes 20 years later 😊

While this is a good explanation of the technique, I suspect it won't be a lot of help to a non-dancer.

@Thepeopleversuswork no scrunching - you are indeed on the very tips of your toes, not on bent-over ones. A well-fitted shoe spreads the weight a bit up the foot, so it's not really possible to do it (properly) without that support - and therefore quite hard to visualise.

My DD1 began lesson at age 4. She took lessons twice a week, went to summer dance camp, joined a junior company that performed publicly, but was not allowed on point until she was 13 years old. All of her teachers said that the feet must be fully developed before pointe not still growing, because pointe could cause malformations.

don't know how I marked out half the comment. Sorry.

DH started aged 35 (and he is very uncoordinated, and has left/right dyspraxia). He loves it. He’ll never be a pro, obviously, but loves the classes.

I danced as a child but then switched to gymnastics and had a long break before going back in my 20s - adult classes are so much more fun than as a child! Less pressure, more about enjoyment than relentless drilling. I also found I really enjoyed contemporary classes, which I’d never really been exposed to before.

Ballet isn't generally considered a dangerous sport though 😀

I can assure I'm not trying to 'gate-keep' as everyone should try ballet, at any age.

Why the rush for people who have never been en pointe before, or never done ballet, to go en pointe. Is it impatience to do 'proper' ballet 'like the ballerinas?'.

Do ballet properly rather than bypass the basic training needed to do pointe work safely and correctly. Beginner adults going en pointe after one year or two - not good really. I've seen the results of that, hence the thread.

Did it as a kid but never get to pointe level as I gave up in my early teens. Went back for adult classes for a good few years which I really enjoyed. No one ever suggested going en pointe, didn't really think it would be a thing unless super experienced

I always wondered how en pointe works. This explains it and shows some ouchy-looking feet!

Pain, satin and paper towels: What it takes for ballerinas to dance on their toes – The Durango Herald

Ah, a professional! I don't think I would like to use just paper towels, though as a girl I'd use lambs wool as that's all we were allowed, and we weren't allowed elastics just ribbons (I think that's still how it works at RBS, possibly).

Nowadays, for minimal pointe, I use protective gel pouches and elastics!

I'd love to try adult ballet, not en pointe though. The you tube videos showing how to customise a ballet shoe fascinate me.

Definitely try adult ballet. I'd recommend it to anyone. There's people of all ages in the classes.

The individual customising is fascinating. The glue I've never used for myself, but you can buy it from most ballet shops. I've used it for my DD's shoes in the past though.

My DD did ballet from 4 to 18 at a very well respected ballet school and loved it. She had pointe shoes at 16, but the amount of pointe work she did was minimal. But what got me most about the pointe shoes was that they were very expensive, and I still had to embroider the ends and sew on the ribbons!