Primaballerina1 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 My DD is 12 and is very determined in terms of ballet!! She is in grade 4 and 5 ISTD and she does her foot exercises to strengthen her feet for pointe every night! When she was 9 she had a dropped instep but it was all sorted out before she turned 11. Should she be on pointe yet if she would like to make it far in terms of ballet? Or is it normal for he not to be on pointe?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Children should be put on pointe when they are ready - as decided by their teacher(s). What does your dd's teacher say? If it helps, my dd started pointe just before her 12th birthday, along with the rest of her Associate class. For the first 3 months or so the pointework consisted of 15 minutes max at the end of class - just rises and relevés at the barre. You could perhaps ask your dd's teacher if and when she might consider pointe shoes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chloe123 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 My daughter has just turned 12 and her dance teacher says she is likely to be ready in the next 6 months. She is very excited about it. When she recently did English youth ballet one of the teachers there said it is not something to be rushed and 13 or 14 is completely normal and nothing to worry about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primaballerina1 Posted July 21, 2015 Author Share Posted July 21, 2015 Chloe123 yes my daughters teacher says she will most likely get pointe shoes after her next exam- which should b in about 6 months (9 at the most). I am glad to hear that 13-14 is not late, thanks 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primaballerina1 Posted July 21, 2015 Author Share Posted July 21, 2015 (edited) Anna C. DD's teacher says she has strong feet and she can tell she works for them as they were very weak and have improved a lot recently. She says she should be getting them in 6-9 months so hopefully DD is ready and will benefit from having her pointe shoes soon!! Edited July 21, 2015 by Primaballerina1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chloe123 Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 My daughter has been desperate to start for the last 12 months or so but has had to wait (not very patiently!). We have a dance school local to us who often start children at around 10 years of age so unfortunately my daughter has seen this and felt quite upset by it. (I realise some children are ready earlier but it seems to be the norm for this particular school rather than the exception). I've explained to her that her dance teacher is being responsible by waiting until she is ready rather than being swayed by insistent children - and sometimes pushy mums ;-) Your daughter's teacher sounds the same. I think if we are happy with the teacher and the quality of teaching then we should trust their judgment on this. 6 months isn't that long really x 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t_rose Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 My DD was 13 when she got her pointe shoes last year. Her dance school they are usually 12+ and dependant on teacher determining when ready. A year on and she's at the same level as girls that started earlier than her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Usually 12+ at ours as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate_N Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 (edited) I didn't go on pointe till I was about 13 or so. I was very strong and worked away from the barre almost immediately. I think seeing not-strong enough young girls wobbling about on pointe (for example, not being able to straighten their knees) looks a bit painful (and pointe does hurt at first!) . If they wait a little and are stronger, they catch up, so don't worry. And far better to wait and be healthy: your DD will need her feet for her whole life. Even if she is one of the 1% or so who goes on to have a professional career, she'll "retire" at 40 or so (or even earlier) and will need healthy feet for another 40 or 50 years. Edited July 22, 2015 by Kate_N 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primaballerina1 Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 Thank you for a the relpies- Before these posts I seemed to think that as most vocational girls start pointe in y7 others who would wish to go there later on would have to be! But now that I know that this is not true I feel better that my dd isn't on pointe yet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anondancer_15 Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 I didn't start pointe until I was about 14 in grade 8 and basically had to beg my teacher aha! DDs teacher will put her on when she's ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Thank you for a the relpies- Before these posts I seemed to think that as most vocational girls start pointe in y7 others who would wish to go there later on would have to be! But now that I know that this is not true I feel better that my dd isn't on pointe yet! Generally speaking, if they are in full-time training at a vocational school, then yes they probably would be doing some pointe in Y7, but obviously they would have already had their feet checked and their suitability for pointework thoroughly assessed as part of the selection process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primaballerina1 Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 Yes taxi4ballet I guess they would be checking that at the audition! DD would like to be prepared though - as in she doesn't want to get left behind for pointe work and decrease her chances even more for getting into a vocational school in Y9 or even Y10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 You mentioned on another thread that your dd does tap. I'm far from being an expert on these matters (!) but from what we've learned, (and also advised by a physio) doing tap can be counter-productive when strengthening ankles in readiness for pointe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primaballerina1 Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 Thank you taxi4ballet! Your comment has helped a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Dd goes to vocational school & in year 7 she & another girl (both of whom had less previous experience) were delayed going on pointe. The other girl went on at the very end of year 7 & dd went on at year 8. She tells me there was a girl who entered at year 9 having not previously been on pointe (they were put on pretty much straight away) Is your dd turned 12 this year or about to turn 13? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annaliesey Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 My DD went on pointe aged 10 and 9 months. Someone shared a paper with me around that time that I found very useful so I thought I'd share it here too http://allaboutpointe.weebly.com/uploads/4/7/0/3/470325/perfectpointeparentsmanual.pdf I haven't heard the comment before about tap so that's interesting as my daughter did tap and still does and I haven't heard anything like that before Our Teacher has always said it's very relevant how many classes and hours a week a student does and how strong they are I remember her being given lots of different things to work on for ages leading up to pointe such as core strength, showing she could apply corrections quickly and foot and ankle strength Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Thank you taxi4ballet! Your comment has helped a lot! In a TV programme,Darcey Bussell said at White Lodge they were absolutely forbidden to do tap. Must be to do with the ankles needing to be very flexible in tap.[i`d imagine.] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 DD saw a physio recently and she asked if dd did tap. When we said no the reply was "Good!". I've no real idea why though, other than maybe as Lisa says it is something to do with needing flexibility in the ankles for tap but not for pointe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primaballerina1 Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 That's very interesting actually as I guess it is correct as in tap you have to do pull backs etc which do stretch your ankles!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primaballerina1 Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 (edited) My DD went on pointe aged 10 and 9 months. Someone shared a paper with me around that time that I found very useful so I thought I'd share it here too http://allaboutpointe.weebly.com/uploads/4/7/0/3/470325/perfectpointeparentsmanual.pdf I haven't heard the comment before about tap so that's interesting as my daughter did tap and still does and I haven't heard anything like that before Our Teacher has always said it's very relevant how many classes and hours a week a student does and how strong they are I remember her being given lots of different things to work on for ages leading up to pointe such as core strength, showing she could apply corrections quickly and foot and ankle strength Thanks for replying to my comment, i guess it's good that my DD only does 45 mins of tap each week!! Edited July 22, 2015 by Primaballerina1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primaballerina1 Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 Dd goes to vocational school & in year 7 she & another girl (both of whom had less previous experience) were delayed going on pointe. The other girl went on at the very end of year 7 & dd went on at year 8. She tells me there was a girl who entered at year 9 having not previously been on pointe (they were put on pretty much straight away) Is your dd turned 12 this year or about to turn 13? Thanks for replying, your comment gave me less reason to why DD should be en pointe so early!! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RachelC Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Most points have been covered already but I just wanted to reiterate the fact that starting pointework later doesn't mean your daughter will behind as she will progress much faster. I started at 15 so was strong and generally well co-ordinated as I was past my growth spurt. This made me a lot more fearless than my class mates as I had never experienced weak ankles or wobbling, so I had the confidence to go for double pirouettes or fouettes or hops on one leg or whatever new thing the others were worried about. I have to say though I've always been more of an ox than a swan! I think the issue with tap is that you need very relaxed ankles to get the movements fast and fluid enough, whereas with pointework they need to be fully stretched and braced. I wrote my undergrad dissertation on starting pointework so it's my particular 'nerd subject' 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Hello RachelC and welcome out of the lurking shadows! Now that you have broken the posting ice, I do hope you will continue to join in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Welcome from me too,RachelC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Going on pointe is being treated much more responsibly by teachers these days. If you are with a reputable school the teacher will have a good idea when that should be for individual children though usually point work is introduced roundabout Grade 6 RAD or BBO level. Obviously children at Vocational School are for the most part doing a lot more classes so may be ready a bit earlier though I think 12-13 ish is about right as a general rule ......unless the child really has only just started ballet when of course it would be wiser to wait a few years. Sorry if some have read this before but I was learning ballet in the 1950's as a child and was on pointe at 10. Looking back now it was too young for me personally as although I started ballet at 7 I just wasn't strong enough for pointe work at 10 And it did certainly ruin the look of my feet as I developed a terrible bunion which went I corrected. However surprisingly Physios and Osteos tell me now that I have very good movement in the big toe joint inspire of the angle of my bunion!! But I can never do pointe work again or wear very fashionable shoes as that definitely sets them off!! I'm so glad there is so much more advice around these days and much more variety of pointe shoes to choose from to get a correct fit etc Going on pointe is always very exciting .....at whatever age ....so no wonder children and adults alike are impatient to get there!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now