Many young dancers dream of the day that they can finally buy their first pair of pointe shoes and go up on pointe. And while it is a very exciting moment in any dancer's life, going on pointe is not something that can be rushed into. It takes strength, placement and technique that is vital to a dancer's future and well-being.
Here is an account from a former California Dance Arts mother, who helped her daughter understand the "pointe" of waiting for pointe shoes!
When Can I Go On Pointe?
by Marti Marshall My daughter really wants to be a Classical Ballerina. She used to pester me about going on pointe. I started receiving opinions from other mothers who's children were already on Pointe, one such parent from a different dance school had an 8 year old daughter who was already on pointe. This was contrary to all I had been told so far, so I decided to do some research into what it would take for my daughter to be able to achieve this dream, yet not injure her body.
While I was in Florida at the beginning of 1995, I read several books about ballet to find out how I could best help my daughter achieve her goals. A friend of mine, who had been a ballerina, had received the "New Edition Dancing; the all-in-one guide for dancers, teachers and parents," by Ellen Jacob, and she recommended it to me. So I picked up a copy and devoured it. Here is a quote on the subject of when to allow a child to go on pointe: "One of the worst things you can do is allow a little girl to dance on her toes before she is ready. A child who is too young simply does not have sufficient muscular development or training to withstand the rigors of pointe work. Children's eagerness to perform tricks on their toes, backed up by incompetent teachers, unfortunately makes premature pointe work all too common. Under these circumstances toe dancing can be awfully risky. The strain on the body can damage the soft tissue around the bones of the feet and knees, resulting in painfully enlarged joints, or it can cause injury to the lower spine. To make matters worse, the stiffened blocks and large supporting boxes of modern-day pointe shoes enable virtually anyone to stand on her toes. In the past it was the dancer, and not the shoe, that had to do it. The dancer ought to be able to lift her body out of the pointe shoes by the use of strong stomach, groin, leg and foot muscles; she shouldn't be leaning on them for support .... To discourage the practice of putting little girls on toe too early, Capezio Ballet Makers and other shoe manufacturers have stopped making children's pointe shoes under size thirteen. It is generally agreed that toe dancing should begin no earlier than the age of ten, and only after two full years of prior daily training. Children new to pointe work should be carefully supervised, and they should hold on to the barre for support for at least a year." Well, this was very good technical data, but I wanted more. While at the bookstore, my daughter found another book that gave me more data. The book is "The Pointe Book; Shoes, Training & Technique" by Janice Barringer and Sarah Schlesinger. This book gets into how pointe shoes are made and the structure of the foot and more. There is also more information about our topic. "It is entirely possible that some students may never 'be ready' to go on pointe. If a teacher takes the course of least resistance and allows such a student to go on pointe, using the excuse that she will only find another teacher who will put her 'up,' that teacher is overlooking his or her responsibility for the student's current and future physical health. For this reason, it is important for teachers to develop strong rapport with parents. Once parents have confidence in a teacher's judgment, they are more likely to understand a thoroughly explained and scientifically supported discussion of why their child should not be placed on pointe." With this information and many talks with my daughters ballet teacher at California DanceArts, my daughter decided to wait for a while and just continue doing what she was doing, which is getting her basics in and her technique down. At California DanceArts there are several teen age girls beginning pointe training and some who are quite accomplished and have been on pointe for several years. Erin gives her students special strengthening exercises for the feet and legs that gear dancers up for pointe work beginning in Level 3. Consideration of pointe work is given in Level 4. Students are placed on pointe only after careful qualifications of strength and flexibility have been achieved.
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