Hi there,
A few days ago, I wrote “Pointe shoe tips for beginners: Part 1”. I hope you found that helpful. Because I couldn’t fit all the tips in one blog post I have made a part 2. Part 2 is more useful for people who are en pointe but are not too experienced. Though, you may find this helpful if you are about to go en pointe too. I hope you enjoy!
Watch out:
It is important to watch out when you have only been en pointe for months. I know you want to try new stuff and start doing stuff like variations en pointe but just stick with simple exercises for the first six months. You want to make sure you have the best start to pointe as possible and jumping too far ahead at the early stages is not such a good idea. Pointe work can be really fun, but also quite dangerous when in the wrong hands. Take care of your feet. Especially at the beginning. Even I, who have only been en pointe for nearly two years, wants to do complicated stuff like professional ballerinas would. But I have to remind myself that I only have one pair of feet in my life time, and that I need to take one step at a time.
Strengthen:
Before you go en pointe, dancers should strengthen their feet. However, if you haven’t, it’s important you strengthen your feet even if you’re already en pointe. There is a variety of strengthening exercises you can do. Some require gear, although some of the best strengthening exercises tend to cost the least. For example, simple exercises like naughty toes, good toes can actually be very beneficial. Another beneficial exercises can be used with a Thera. Rap the Thera band around the mind part of your foot (the arch). Then slowly pointe. You should push through the residence. You can also perform this exercise without a Thera band and just slowly pointe your feet. There are many other useful exercises! I might wright a blog post about strengthening exercices in more detail.
Experiment:
Like I said in part 1, “Many young dancers don’t find their perfect shoe until around the 4TH pair.” Experiment! Commonly, your first pair will not work for your feet. I have had three pairs so far and all of them have been different makes! This has been very helpful to me, as I now know exactly what I want and don’t want from my pointe shoes. I have also experimented with varies different padding and protection. It’s good to experiment and don’t be afraid to, in case it’s “worse.” When you are fitted your never 100 percent sure that you’re going to definitely love your shoes and the padding given, the better and more experienced the fitter though, the more likely the shoe will be right for you.
I hope you found part 2 of this blog post helpful!
Thanks
FH xxxxx
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