Pointe Readiness

Alice Nemecek
Director, Ballet Enchanté

Within the American dance community, there are so many different approaches to dance education (i.e. recreational to intensive, pre-professional dance training, to those dance programs whose intents, goals and purposes encompass everything between the extremes on this continuum), numerous ways through which dance students can develop an appreciation for dance, and a countless number of dance educators who themselves come from varying cultural backgrounds, and their own dance traditions.

Understandably then, there tends to be a shifting “standard” when it comes to declaring a ballet student eligible or ready for pointe work.

A. The Basic Issues of Contention

There are two fundamental differences of opinion concerning criteria that dance educators use when deciding upon ballet students’ eligibility for pointe work.

First, some teachers automatically exclude the study of pointe from ballet students’ education until they have reached puberty/adolescence, regardless of technical proficiency or the number of ballet classes that the student takes on a weekly basis.

The mentality behind such an approach is that children’s bodies are too inadequately developed physically (in terms of muscular development, bone density, and maturity of cartilage in the metatarsals and toes) to manage the demands of pointe, considering that a force of up to 12 times the dancer’s body weight is exerted upon her feet (The Harkness Center for Dance Education). Therefore, this typically means that students should not go up en pointe until about age 13.

There have been instances (I speak now from personal experience) in which those students within a particular dance class who begin the process of physical maturation considerably later than their peers must obtain a medical assessment from a pediatrician accompanied by the doctor’s written permission that she may begin pointe work. (This in and of itself is a source of debate, as there are some pediatricians and adolescent health specialists who insist that such physical work specifically ought not to begin before menarche.)

The second approach is more deeply rooted in ballet pedagogy, and not in pediatrics. Dance educators who use this method of approach when assessing whether or not a ballet student is ready for pointe tend to look for indicators that reflect the student’s proficiency in ballet technique. Such teachers do not have any hesitations placing 9 and 10 yr. old ballet students en pointe, provided that their technical skill and proficiency are up to par.

These technique indicators generally are:

the student’s ability to maintain work on a well-elevated ¾ relevé;
correct use of the feet in tendus and degagés;
strength in the student’s legs and ankles proportionate to her body weight;
correct weight placement on 2 legs, and on 1 leg;
strong, controlled placement of the torso; and,
regular attendance in at least 2 ballet classes per week.

B. One Dance Teacher’s Perspective

Below is a list of the requirements that I, as an independent dance educator, consider important prerequisites for beginning pointe study:

3 solid hours of ballet technique training/wk (while I have worked at dance studios that only require half as much training and commitment to ballet, and no unpleasant consequences have occurred, I am personally of the opinion that such a training regimen is necessary in order to fulfill the various technical requirements delineated below);
correct physical demonstration of posture and body alignment, with an emphasis on “squareness” of the dancer’s torso in relationship to the appropriate wall or corner in front of her; correct relationship of the activity between the ribs, lumbar spine, abdominal muscles, and the pelvis; and, the ability to maneuver the legs in linear and circular motions both à tèrre and en l’air without the expense of upper body displacement or misalignment;
demonstrated comprehension of correct weight placement of the torso over the legs and feet;
precisely correct use of the feet, with a specific emphasis on the appropriate shape of the foot in the coupé and passé positions, and the tendu, degagé, fondu, and developé movements – students whose feet tend to supinate (roll outwards towards the fourth and fifth toes) or pronate (roll inwards towards the first toe and the entire inside of the foot) will experience considerable difficulty en pointe, as these deficiencies are not only magnified when en pointe, but are potentially exacerbated;
coordination of fundamental approaches to movement, with a specific emphasis on the various approaches to the relevé stance: from plié, through piqué, and as a press from a straight supporting leg.

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Pointe Readiness

Alice Nemecek Director, Ballet Enchanté

A. The Basic Issues of Contention

B. One Dance Teacher’s Perspective

Alice Nemecek
Director, Ballet Enchanté