Starting pointe at 9yo

[Raquelle]

5 hours ago, Pas de Quatre said:

Raquelle - I am not talking about well trained young dancers who have the talent to be Associates (of a reputable institution) and gain a place at Vocational school.  I am talking about dancers who only have one ballet class a week and then their school puts them on pointe!

Yes I agree.....this is totally irresponsible x 

[Balletbuds80]

On 02/03/2022 at 20:55, Aurora3 said:

NEVER found a criterium like that! It is not necessary to already have your period for doing pointework. Also take into consideration that girls in pre-puberty are lighter and better coordinated than girls who already have their periods!

 

Some done start until 15!

[Pas de Quatre]

I wouldn't base starting pointe on whether a girl has begun her periods, but it is an important landmark medically. Naturally there is a wide variation in age, but they only start when a certain level of fat, which carries the hormones is achieved. These hormones are also involved in laying down bone mass. The density of bone is determined during the teen years, so very late or absent periods can be a danger signal for osteoporosis in later life.

[Balletmummy18]

I found this topic quite interesting as my dd was told to start pointe at 9 - horrified , I changed dance schools for her … only to be approached by her associate teacher of a very well known respected programme ,demanding to know why she wasn’t on pointe yet! She went on pointe at just 10….
That was 6 years ago …( btw my dd wasn’t some kind of dancing prodigy just a typical associate) . 
 

[Kerfuffle]

I guess it depends on the child but I would have thought a 10 year old would have the same potential problems as a 9 year old. My daughter was just under 12 when she started but was very ready for it - she was able to do centre work and even managed pirouettes soon after. She was generally quite mature - had done a lot of her growing by then which helped. I’m pleased she waited until then, I don’t understand the rush. 

[DancePhysioUK]

On 31/12/2021 at 16:44, glowlight said:

Interestingly - I have found it difficult to find what type of injury might happen if a girl goes on pointe too young.  I was trying to find out as part of research for a novel, but really didn't get very far.  If anyone knows specifics I would be really interested to hear.

Mostly, disregarding anything else to do with technique and strength as that's another matter, it's because of the growth of bones and the overpressure on ligaments. 

 

When a child isn't fully developed, extra pressure on these growth plates can cause abnormal bone growth and most of all pain. Kind of like an 'osgood schlatters' that often young footballers get but in the heal instead of the knee. This can also cause growth plate fractures.

 

Pressure on ligaments in adolescents can cause laxity in joints. Unlike muscles, once a ligament is stretched you can't often reverse this process (or it takes years and years) and ligaments are what keep our joints steady. Younger or growing kids are more prone to this as our body grows.

 

 

[Blue Box Ballet]

I’ve shared this before but I’ll add it here as it gives some very clear information. 
 

https://iadms.org/media/5779/iadms-resource-paper-guidelines-for-initiating-pointe-training.pdf

[Aurora3]

On 04/03/2022 at 19:19, DancePhysioUK said:

Mostly, disregarding anything else to do with technique and strength as that's another matter, it's because of the growth of bones and the overpressure on ligaments. 

 

When a child isn't fully developed, extra pressure on these growth plates can cause abnormal bone growth and most of all pain. Kind of like an 'osgood schlatters' that often young footballers get but in the heal instead of the knee. This can also cause growth plate fractures.

 

Pressure on ligaments in adolescents can cause laxity in joints. Unlike muscles, once a ligament is stretched you can't often reverse this process (or it takes years and years) and ligaments are what keep our joints steady. Younger or growing kids are more prone to this as our body grows.

 

 

In fact, there is only ONE case known in science where the damage of the growth plates actually happened!

Please take into consideration that technique and strength contribute to easing the pressure on the joints (and of course the lighter weight of the younger girls)! Thus, the level of training is very important indeed!
 

[DancePhysioUK]

17 hours ago, Aurora3 said:

In fact, there is only ONE case known in science where the damage of the growth plates actually happened!

Please take into consideration that technique and strength contribute to easing the pressure on the joints (and of course the lighter weight of the younger girls)! Thus, the level of training is very important indeed!
 

Yes 100% agree that technique and strength are the most important factor (and most interesting)!!  This reply was just an example of some of the injuries that could potentially occur for the person who was asking. 

 

We could talk for hours about the screening process regarding strength and technique however that wasn't the point of my reply. Thanks for bringing up though.

[Danceforfun]

I have just seen a recent post on a high profile social media savvy dance school with a post of pupils en pointe as young as year 4, so only 8 or 9 years old, so irresponsible of the teachers, there is no hurry at all to start en pointe.