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Pointing toes in ballet


aisha

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Hello all, 

I am aged 21 and new to ballet classes, I have been going to an adult ballet for 5 weeks nows and seem to struggle when it comes to pointing toes.

The yeacher now has me going barefoot so she can see properly where I am going wrong. I much prefer keeping my ballet pumps on but also want to learn as much as I can.

Does this come natural or is it just practice.

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Firstly, welcome to the forum.

 

I think it is partly practice and partly natural ability. For me, the hardest part about pointing the feet is to do so without sickleing. After 24 years of regular lessons, I can't feel if my foot is sickled - I have to look in the mirror. I think that pointing becomes better with as the feet grow stronger, which they will do if you carry on with lessons. You can also strengthen the feet with exercises. While you are watching TV, pick up buttons or pencils with the feet. Another is to stand on a step with just your toes on the step and your heels hanging over the edge. Lower your heels as much as you can and then rise to tip toes - one of the best ankle exercises there is (IMO).

 

Practice pointing when you can. A teacher once told me to imagine laser beams coming from your toes. I can't say that this helped me, bit it might help you.

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pointing your toes isn't just about your toes  or  even your feet  you have to imagine  that  the aforementioned laser bears   actually begin somewhere  in the  top of your calf...  toes, feet, ankles, lower leg all working  together. 

doing barre  exercises  barefooted or  in socks  is something that  is entirely normal ...  as an aside what  type of  shoes  have you  been wearing ?  leather or canvas ?  full or split soles?
 

much as turnout  begins in the hips and  the muscles of the thigh.

 @trog is right about  exercises to  strengthen  the foot , if you  feel that your foot is weak  then  exercises can help -  the ones Trog mentions are ones that  many  people  who  take ballet class do  either because they have been told they  need to strengthen their feet or because their all ready  reasonable feet  need to be further strengthened   to start pointe class etc. 

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Thanks for replies. I think I concentrate on other parts of ballet so much that i forget to point toes. I reallly dislike being the only one barefoot though but the teacher said she and myself can see toes pointing much better that way.

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Five weeks is no time at all: if you haven't been using your feet much other than as things to put in shoes and stand on they'll be stiff and you'll have limited feeling in them. Exercises as above, and lots of slow tendus in the mirror once you have a good idea what you should be doing - very easy to learn the wrong thing. Maybe massage your feet occasionally so you increase the sensitivity and your sense of where they are. 

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Try to think about the line you are making from the top of your leg right down to the tips of your toes.

if you’re feet are not stretched ( pointed) then you will create a ‘ broken line’ which is not aesthetically pleasing. Much of ballet is about creating beautiful lines and making the limbs look as long as stretchy as possible. Perhaps you could look on the internet and find photos where the feet arch and extend the line. All the exercises given above will help to engage your feet but when you think of the bigger picture you are creating,  you are halfway there!

It is very usual for teachers to want to see what the feet are doing without shoes as shoes can hide a multiple faults.

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Teachers all have their own methods, usually completely individual to the student. All the above suggestions are great, maybe also look at exercises you can do with a theraband. Most beginners find pointing on the floor easy enough to remember the trouble seems to come when they leave the floor as there is so much more to think about. Practicing pony trots around the house you feel daft but it gets the feet working at the speed they need to when you start allegro. 

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Ha ha yes I did practice pony trots at home which is strange at first. And yes it is the moment my feet leave the floor that I forget and as my feet leave the floor alot it is then i make the mistake of not pointing. We have an open day in our city centre next week so hoping I can sort it out with pactice.

Going to ask teacher if i can keep on my socks rather than barefeet as she should still see my toes pointing.

 

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21 minutes ago, aisha said:

Going to ask teacher if i can keep on my socks rather than barefeet as she should still see my toes pointing.

 

Socks could be a slip hazard... maybe your teacher would let you try yoga socks (with the little rubber grippy bits on the soles?)

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Ballet movement has to become part of your natural movement memory for you to always remember to do the correct technique.   Look how long it takes children to learn. It takes several years until they do things automatically!   Even for adults you have to acquire the skills you need. If you've only been dancing ballet for a few weeks you won't remember automatically to point your feet yet, so don't feel badly about it!   The most important part of pointing the feet is the flexibility of the ankle, much more than the toes. If I ask someone to point their feet who doesn't dance, the thing that stops them is the stiffness of the ankle.  Work on flexing and pointing the feet to loosen the ankle.  Then work on going through the feet - through the balls of the feet, pushing out the instep.  When dancers jump we push off against the floor going through the feet and landing the opposite way.  Non-dancers don't have that flexibility in their feet.  I remember gojng to a physio after I broke my ankle.  I said to him that I couldn't point properly with that foot and he asked me to show him my point.  He was quite impressed with it - didn't see anything wrong!  So I pointed my other foot........... enuff  said!

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Thanks, 

My sister thinks I try too hard to correct what I do wrong, and to relax more.

So between that and the fact that i so dislike being barefooted for the class I suppose my sister is right. I just so much want to learn to do it right that i get uptight. 

 

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44 minutes ago, Dance*is*life said:

Non-dancers don't have that flexibility in their feet.

 

It's not even just flexibility - it's the proprioception as well. If you wear shoes all the time - especially if you're sensitive about being barefoot - your sense of what your feet are doing and can do will be underdeveloped. I remember utterly freaking out a tai chi class once when our teacher decided to work on foot sensitivity and flexibility by being able to move toes and flex my feet. This was before I started ballet: I fear they'd run screaming faced with even my stumpy and inflexible proto-dancer feet. Normal modern humans don't use their feet at all, apparently. 

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14 minutes ago, aisha said:

So between that and the fact that i so dislike being barefooted for the class I suppose my sister is right. I just so much want to learn to do it right that i get uptight. 

 

 

Just relax and enjoy. Five weeks isn't even past the "feeling like a total idiot" phase of learning. I'm four or five years in and I'm just beginning to get a handle on a few things. Ballet is hard.

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15 minutes ago, Colman said:

 

It's not even just flexibility - it's the proprioception as well. If you wear shoes all the time - especially if you're sensitive about being barefoot - your sense of what your feet are doing and can do will be underdeveloped. I remember utterly freaking out a tai chi class once when our teacher decided to work on foot sensitivity and flexibility by being able to move toes and flex my feet. This was before I started ballet: I fear they'd run screaming faced with even my stumpy and inflexible proto-dancer feet. Normal modern humans don't use their feet at all, apparently. 

I always get told i have nice feet so they dont look horrible, i just dislike being the only one barefoot i suppose plus people in class who look at my feet when we stop and the teacher talks. I need to try and forget and get over it.

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4 hours ago, RuthE said:

 

Socks could be a slip hazard... maybe your teacher would let you try yoga socks (with the little rubber grippy bits on the soles?)

Good thought but text the teacher to ask her and she said that my toes would not be seen properly in socks plus as you say i may slip. I got class this evening and have been practicing pointing my toes all week so I should not have to do any more classes barefoot.

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4 hours ago, aisha said:

I always get told i have nice feet so they dont look horrible, i

 

Its not that my feet looked horrible - though they did turn down stunt jobs in the Hobbit movies to pursue other artistic opportunities  - simply that they were mobile in ways that the normal people in the class found disturbing. People can be weird about feet.

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Ha ha i bet they not that bad. I would probably be more okay going barefoot if i was not the only one as it seems to draw more attention to me.

 I started the class 3 weeks later than the others as was on holidays so that is why i am a bit behind. 

I had a class this evening and thought i was doing fine until we raised the feet and I knew straight away where i went wrong, i pointed the toes then let myself relax and when i looked at the others who were all doing it well i knew more practice would be needed. I got the benefit of doubt from the teacher that time but slipped up again so was told to take pumps and socks off for rest of the class. When i get told to go barefoot i always seem to do it right as i can watch my toes and feet but with pumps i tend to forget sometimes so i can see what the teacher is telling me. 

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11 hours ago, aisha said:

Ha ha i bet they not that bad. I would probably be more okay going barefoot if i was not the only one as it seems to draw more attention to me.

 I started the class 3 weeks later than the others as was on holidays so that is why i am a bit behind. 

I had a class this evening and thought i was doing fine until we raised the feet and I knew straight away where i went wrong, i pointed the toes then let myself relax and when i looked at the others who were all doing it well i knew more practice would be needed. I got the benefit of doubt from the teacher that time but slipped up again so was told to take pumps and socks off for rest of the class. When i get told to go barefoot i always seem to do it right as i can watch my toes and feet but with pumps i tend to forget sometimes so i can see what the teacher is telling me. 

 

In the nicest way possible, I think you’re worrying too much.  As others have said, ballet is HARD.  If a little girl said that she was still finding it hard to point her toes after only 5 weeks, I bet you’d reassure her and say you weren’t surprised as there’s so much to think about! 

 

The other thing to try to see as a positive is that a teacher corrects you and pays attention to you because she is interested in you and thinks you are worth correcting.  That’s great!  She can tell that you’re interested in learning and are trying to improve.  So try to see this as a positive thing.  Believe me, once you’ve got the muscle memory firmly in your feet, there’ll be something else to concentrate on.  A ballet dancer never stops learning.  ☺️

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Corrections are a gift  from the teacher. 

 

If you  read around the site  you will find concerns expressed  at all levels  about teachers not  correcting,  not  giving their time in class  to all the students and in some cases  you'll hear concerns that this still applies in vocational training / education and companies .

some of the very  best teachers   can give a class that is accessible  for  all ( or  most -  except the very beginner beginner  who needs  loads of input on the very basic stuff -  but  even then   stick them on a barre  between two technically  good dancers  of whatever level  and  they will get benefit  )  yet  tweak  the exercises and  their  corrections / expectations  that   such that a barely improver  and a  near pro can both come out of the that  same class having felt they  were worked to  their current comfort limits ... 

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Hi Aisha, 

Not been on here for a bit. When i first started dancing again I also went barefoot for a while as there was a mix up with getting the wrong size pumps.

It sounds that you are a bit worried before the class starts as you are a few weeks behind. Remember a dance class is fun, i used to worry too when i first went back to dance again.

When as you say it comes to raising foot and pointing toes you possibly try too hard or are you worried about having to go barefooted again. Give it a few weeks!and i am sure you will be fine .

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Hi Maria.

I did relax much more for the class last night and the teacher was pleased with the progress made. I did try too hard when raising the foot then pointing the toes but i realised my mistake straight away. Yes i do dislike it when i need to go barefoot as normally we do toe pointing in the first 15 minutes so if i am asked to take pumps and socks off then i am barefooted for the rest of the class as we do toe pointing near the end too so the teacher says just to continue barefoot. The thing is i always do it properly when i am in my barefeet which is weird and frustrating as i hardly have my ballet pumps on for a class anymore.

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Ahhh okay, if you know the teacher is watching you at a particular time as when you lift your foot to point toes then without realising it, you will probably try too hard. She will be watching the whole class remember, not just one person so let it come natural. If you can do it while practising at home or when in barefeet then you can do it in pumps at the class. At least when you are barefooted at the class you know you are doing it right so you know you can do it. Maybe after the first toe pointing part is over you could ask her if you can get pumps back on if you really dislike doing the class in barefeet. Is it the floor that you dont like being barefoot on or is the floor cold. I know some floors can collect up dust sometimes 

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I have to say I'm not really sure why your  teacher is asking you to do SO much of the class in bare feet! Maybe for certain exercises to be sure.....but the entire hour? 

It may feel like you are being singled out as I'm sure not everyone else  in your class ...if you are all beginners ...will have perfectly pointed feet!! 

Have you spoken to the teacher about it? She may not realise that you feel so self conscious about it and may be able to limit the time you have to spend with no shoes on. 

Some steps in ballet are really very hard to do in bare feet in fact and can actually hurt the sole of the foot....though this may depend on the floor surface in the studio etc. 

Im just trying to imagine the situation! As presumably you have been told when your foot is in at least a good enough position for a pointed foot as it were ....when you have no shoes on ....so both you and the teacher know what this looks like for your foot and you are beginning to get a feel for when it is correct for you and when you are NOT doing it.

So ....my point is ....if you have your shoes on both you and your teacher can still see when you are not pointing your feet ....so a reminder from the teacher about this should prompt you to do so......whether your shoes are on or not .....especially after so many classes barefoot!! 

I can see in certain classes when people are not pointing their feet .....or doing so incorrectly eg: say, curling up the toes instead of stretching them out and stretching across the top of the foot ....or sickling  the foot so the heel is not uppermost etc and this is when they have their shoes on!! 

Personally speaking I would have thought that you would only need a few weeks having to do the whole class with no shoes on at all but of course I'm not your teacher and why she feels she needs you to do this. 

You may just have to "grin and bare it" but certainly if you are experiencing any other physical problems from being barefoot then have a word with the teacher.

 

 

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8 hours ago, LinMM said:

I have to say I'm not really sure why your  teacher is asking you to do SO much of the class in bare feet! Maybe for certain exercises to be sure.....but the entire hour? 

It may feel like you are being singled out as I'm sure not everyone else  in your class ...if you are all beginners ...will have perfectly pointed feet!! 

Have you spoken to the teacher about it? She may not realise that you feel so self conscious about it and may be able to limit the time you have to spend with no shoes on. 

Some steps in ballet are really very hard to do in bare feet in fact and can actually hurt the sole of the foot....though this may depend on the floor surface in the studio etc. 

Im just trying to imagine the situation! As presumably you have been told when your foot is in at least a good enough position for a pointed foot as it were ....when you have no shoes on ....so both you and the teacher know what this looks like for your foot and you are beginning to get a feel for when it is correct for you and when you are NOT doing it.

So ....my point is ....if you have your shoes on both you and your teacher can still see when you are not pointing your feet ....so a reminder from the teacher about this should prompt you to do so......whether your shoes are on or not .....especially after so many classes barefoot!! 

I can see in certain classes when people are not pointing their feet .....or doing so incorrectly eg: say, curling up the toes instead of stretching them out and stretching across the top of the foot ....or sickling  the foot so the heel is not uppermost etc and this is when they have their shoes on!! 

Personally speaking I would have thought that you would only need a few weeks having to do the whole class with no shoes on at all but of course I'm not your teacher and why she feels she needs you to do this. 

You may just have to "grin and bare it" but certainly if you are experiencing any other physical problems from being barefoot then have a word with the teacher.

 

 

Thanks for replying. I mentioned it to my friend last night who also does the class and she reckons the teacher thinks I prefer going barefoot as after one of the first classes i said something like " wow i always point my toes better in barefeet and that i practiced barefoot at home which i did say but never meant it to mean i prefer doing class barefoot. My friend also thought i liked going barefoot as well so i can maybe mention to the teacher when i am at the centre on Tuesday that i want to keep pumps on to get used to them without making it a big deal.

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Also, sometimes people mistake scrunching up their toes for 'pointing' their toes - bare feet will help your teacher see if you're making that basic mistake. Focus on stretching your ankles, and trying to keep that line straight through your foot, and your toes spread out and long. 

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I'm sure you can come to some agreement which suits both yourself and your teacher Aisha.....most teachers are very understanding....its just I've never seen this myself before for such a long period anyway. Occasionally people may be asked to take shoes off briefly to demonstrate something or for a couple of exercises etc but not for entire classes......though I can imagine a teacher making EVERYBODY go barefoot for a particular class occasionally. 

Let us know what happens and how you get on with your ballet.....there are so many things to learn!!! 

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I spoke to my friend who also goes to the class about it and she reckons the teacher thinks i prefer going barefoot as the first time i was asked to take off my pumps and socks to show my toes pointing the teacher only meant for a small period of the class time but i went over to the changing room  once i had removed them and left them there as i thought that was best and carried on barefoot after toe pointing thinking the teacher would tell me if she wanted me to put them back on. While i was in the changing room my friend said the teacher smiled and said i dont think Aisha wants to put her pumps back on after toe pointing. Apparently in the opening 2 weeks a couple of other girls removed pumps to show there toes pointing but kept there pumps beside them and put them back on after. Looking back i also said 'wow i always point my toes better when in barefeet' so my friend thinks the teacher took this to mean i never wanted to wear ballet pumps. As it is not a serious class and we are not doing competitions  my friend says the teacher likes to keep it relaxed. I must say the teacher is always nice and patient so if i mention that i prefer keeping pumps on after toe pointing without making a deal out of it then hopefully that should work. 

I cannot believe i went and put my pumps in the changing room when it was only for five minutes toe pointing, my friend said she thought the teacher was going to burst out laughing. So this is why the teacher probably says to keep my pumps off. Without knowing knowing i think i got myself to blame a bit.

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