Beginning Pointe - tips

[Loubylou]

Hi, hope you don't mind me starting a new topic, am sure it's been talked about many times before but thought there's bound to be people needing advice all the time really.

 

Am loving reading this forum, don't post very often, once I get my new phone will hopefully do so more often. You all gave me loads of help and encouragement when I was going for my first pair of pointe shoes at the ripe old age of 40 in December! Am loving doing pointe work tho progress is slow - tho I don't know what normal speed is so maybe it is ok!

 

Doing pointe I can really feel a weakness in my left foot, I would say ankle but really it's between my ankle and top of my foot if that makes sense, the bones?

 

teacher has advised rises and theraband, wondering what else may help and not really sure how much of the theraband I should be doing. Have also posted on wobble board thread for same advice.

 

But please feel free to enter on here any thoughts on pointe work at all :-)

 

Thanks!

[Anjuli_Bai]

Hi, hope you don't mind me starting a new topic, am sure it's been talked about many times before but thought there's bound to be people needing advice all the time really.

 

Am loving reading this forum, don't post very often, once I get my new phone will hopefully do so more often. You all gave me loads of help and encouragement when I was going for my first pair of pointe shoes at the ripe old age of 40 in December! Am loving doing pointe work tho progress is slow - tho I don't know what normal speed is so maybe it is ok!

 

Doing pointe I can really feel a weakness in my left foot, I would say ankle but really it's between my ankle and top of my foot if that makes sense, the bones?

 

teacher has advised rises and theraband, wondering what else may help and not really sure how much of the theraband I should be doing. Have also posted on wobble board thread for same advice.

 

But please feel free to enter on here any thoughts on pointe work at all :-)

 

Thanks!

 

With only 3 months of pointe work - you are surely still at the beginning of the journey.

 

Your teacher's suggestion of rising through the foot is always a good idea.  Stand facing the barre in first position and using both feet - rise to dem-pointe and without stopping continue onto pointe.  Be sure that your hands are lightly on the barre and that you are not using the barre to pull yourself up.  Also be sure the body is aligned forward.  Gradually use your hands less and less  - until just one finger of each hand and then one finger of one hand.  This takes time.

 

When you see some success with this,  repeat using one foot with the other tucked in behind at the ankle.  Two hands - then gradually to one hand on the barre.  Some people can get up to pointe on one foot without using the barre at all.  You will always find one foot stronger than the other - in everything.

 

As for a theraband - I personally preferred working the foot through tendu - using the floor as an isometric exercise.  I preferred this because I found it more useful since it is inherent in the ballet vocabulary and I could work on it in just about everything.  But a theraband does no harm if it (like everything else) isn't overdone.

 

Be patient with yourself.  This is a slow and careful process.  It's almost like starting over - well, it often feels like that anyway.

 

I hope I've said something here which helps.

[Loubylou]

That's great, thanks Anjuli. You've helped put it in perspective as well...I did sound very impatient in that first post didn't I?! My teacher is pushing me I think as she knows/thinks I am pretty strong with all the other exercise and other types of dancing I do; haven't gone back to yoga yet this year but I will do so soon and I did ice skating every week for a while a couple of years ago (will go back to that too one day). Having said that, she was trying to get me to jump onto one foot (pointe) a couple of weeks ago but that was a tad ambitious!

 

Also saw on another topic about the stronger foot breaking in its shoe first - that is definitely what has happened with me, as my right shoe is more broken in than left so I tried swopping thinking it would feel really weird but it was ok. Not in class just to practice in and wear.

 

Think I'm going to try a few reps in the gym of the leg press where you have your legs in front of you just doing the ankles - but as you say, on a very small weight and only a few reps.

 

I will follow your suggestions about hands off barre etc; I rise then take hands off but that's more for balance than strength isn't it. I do think about lifting upwards through the body and have felt a pull in my stomach muscles a couple times so that must be a good sign?? :-)

 

Thankyou!

[Anjuli_Bai]

It sounds to me like you have a good understanding of the concepts involved.

 

Lots of luck!

[Loubylou]

:-) x