DD and pointe shoes

[CianOFountain]

My daughter is 13 and attends a dance school. They do alot of different classes and my dd came home today saying that they are now allowed to have pointe shoes. I was a little shocked at this as they do a ballet session once a week for an hour and I'll admit I'm not a professional but surely they should do more ballet that that!
What do I say to the teacher without causing offence? Or am I wrong to question it and I should trust that they know what they are doing
Googling only supports my feelings but I'm hoping someone here is actually knowledgeable about this
Thanks!

Don’t understand your issue here. Pointe shoes are hideously expensive but that doesn’t seem to be your concern. She’s old enough developmentally and if does a lot of dance and ballet once a week and has been for a while … and her teacher says she is ready ….??? What is your question/ concern?

I never did ballet so I don’t really know but I think it sounds unusual. My daughter’s ballet school wouldn’t let a dancer who only goes once a week do pointe. They have to do pre-pointe classes in addition to their normal classes from 11 onwards if they want to be considered for pointe from 13. We were told their ankles and legs won’t be strong enough if they have only been dancing an hour a week. They might just be having us on to pay for more classes though!

Well the cost does play a part but I'm more concerned about damage done to her feet or body.
Happy to be told I'm wrong

I did ballet for 25 years, only went to class once a week and danced en pointe. An hour ballet class followed by half hour pointe class. I did all my grades and adult exams and performed on stage too.

Anyone serious about ballet will be working at home several nights a week. I only had money/time for one class a week but I was always doing strengthening exercises at home and doing plies and port de bras in the kitchen, as were the other girls.

Could you not just check with her teacher of this is indeed the case and if so could they recommend where to get them. She will need to be fitted properly, especially as it is her first pair. I can't see what the problem is, even if she's only doing one class a week.

Same, although for less years.

The dance school my dds attended would have expected them to be doing at least one grade glass and one vocational class to start pointe and would then have expected them to pick up a second vocational class before being considered for the first exam.

one lesson a week doesn’t seem like a lot but if she does a lot of other styles of dance then her ankles and feet may well be strong enough. Her teacher obviously thinks so. I’d be more concerned if she was 10 and only doing an hour a week and being told she could start pointe.

Wow ok.. I though that you had to do alot of hours to be able to dance on pointe

Agree My dd is 11 and doing pre pointe. 1 hour of ballet. Plus 30 minutes of pre pointe in demi pointe shoes. Teacher has made it clear it will take a long time if ever to reach pointe unless she does two pre pointe lessons a week in addition to ballet.

Fucking up her feet matters to me. I would be wary of any class going straight to pointe missing pre pointe. Unless I'm reassured she is strong enough at a more suitable age than 11 I'd not want her to be on her toes. It's pretty brutal

I did ballet from the age of 3, but only one hour a week. I started dancing en pointe at 12. Perfectly normal (and my feet are fine!)

Dd2 went up en pointe when she was 12.5 after 11 years on and off of ballet. I pulled her out of Italia Conti (that’s a while other thread) and moved her to an independent school. Her dance teacher accompanied us to the shoe fitting and oversaw everything. IIRC the criteria to be ready for pointe amongst other things is being able to ‘get over the box’ look it up on YouTube or tiktok there are loads of videos. If your dd can’t do that she’s not ready - at least this is how my dd explains it.
if this was my decision all over again it would be down to how much I trust the ballet teachers expertise and experience.

hope this helps

I think you are right to be wary OP, i would not be comfortable with that. Perhaps consider asking on a more specialised forum ?

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?

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

She's done the first exam only..

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.

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.

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.

Primary then? She has done one exam only so far
She does alot of modern/contemporary/ lyrical/commercial/acro and tumbling
Ballet is just part of the class and it's not something that will be focused on
Just part of the entire range of dances

Thank you for this reply