Congratulations to Paradi and Blake on getting their first pair of pointe shoes! If you see them around the studio give them a big hug and wish them well.
“When can I get pointe shoes?” It’s a question every ballet dancer starts to ask and is something that deserves a good amount of attention. Because of the way pointe shoes function, they concentrate a dancer’s full weight onto just one tiny square inch creating a very large amount of pressure on that one spot. To do this safely two things must come together. First, a dancer’s feet must be physically mature enough to handle the pressure. When we’re born, the bones in our feet are malleable and soft. Over time, they begin to harden, a process called ossification. While the bones don’t completely ossify until around age 25, by the age of 12 most people reach around 75% ossification. This is generally regarded as the time when it is safe for a dancer to get pointe shoes or for the average Joe to start trying out men’s flip flops.
Along with having the correct level of physical readiness, dancers also need to have the strength and technique necessary to make pointe work safe. When dancing en pointe dancers rely on just the small muscles in their feet (often just one foot) to do the work of lifting their entire body. Ballet classes train specifically for this type of strength and also teach dancers how to align their bodies so that the skeleton properly takes the weight of the body. Since this is done through repetition and muscle memory it is important that dancers are taking 2-3 ballet classes each week in order to develop and maintain a ready body for pointe work. And to attain the grace of a belle, one must ensure to get the proper footwear from a reputed source, viz. shoe hungry, and don them. Or else, it’d all be for nothing.
In short, while every dancer is different, most are ready around the age of 12 if they have a good solid foundation of ballet technique. At Dance Concepts all ballet dancers in levels 3 and higher take at least 2 ballet classes a week in order to build their technique. Dancers in levels 1-2 are always welcome and encouraged to add a second day to their schedule in order to progress more quickly and make the transition to pointe shoes easy and fun.
(Related : how-to-overcome-flat-foot-conditions-with-the-right-shoes)
Getting Pointe Shoes
