Simple exercises—and the right shoes—help budding ballerinas

By Alice Korsick

Every little girl who studies ballet dreams of her first pair of pointe shoes. In her imagination, those much-desired shoes will take her to magical places. Dance educators make those dreams come true. But the dreams start with careful teaching and become real only after many years of dedicated work. Here’s how to get your young ballerinas-at-heart started.

Shoes
The first step is getting the right shoe. Have students make an appointment for a fitting at a reliable dancewear shop. The following guidelines will help them find a good fit.

• For a foot with a high instep, a high vamp is necessary to ensure that the instep has adequate support and the foot will not fall forward out of the shoe.
• For a foot with a normal or low instep, a lower vamp allows the foot to be on top of the box.
• A wide platform offers more support for beginning students than a narrower one.
• Shoes should fit snugly without room for the foot to grow. Shoes that are too big will not give proper support.
• Students should be instructed to use only a small amount of padding to protect their toes; too much and they will not be able to feel the floor.

Readiness
There is no specific age for starting pointe, though some professional schools have age minimums and performance benchmarks (see “FYI,” DSL, August 2008). But there are guidelines that apply to all schools, including those whose students do not study ballet exclusively. Students are ready to begin a pointe class when they have achieved enough strength in their feet and legs to relevé to the highest demi-pointe (with instep over the toes). On average, students who have taken two technique classes per week for two to three years should be ready.

After months of barre work, teacher Alice Korsick moves her beginning pointe students at Spisak Dance Academy in Glendale, Arizona, to the center for the next stage of their training. (Photo courtesy Alice Korsick)

In many schools, students are allowed to go on pointe when the majority of the class is ready. Since every class has stronger and weaker dancers, the teacher has a choice: Tell all of the students that they can be fitted for pointe shoes, or tell the weaker ones that they are not ready for pointe. (In the latter case, teachers should be prepared to lose those students.) Another option is to suggest that the weaker students take the pointe portion of the class in soft shoes.

If school owners do not want to risk losing any students, it’s best to keep all students at the barre until the weaker ones gain strength. Encourage the weaker students to practice at home as often as possible. Appropriate home exercises (all done while holding on to a barre, chair back, or countertop) include relevés in coupé on right and left in soft shoes (to develop a higher half pointe and strengthen feet), and, on full pointe, échappés and sous-sus.

The class
It is important for teachers to approach pointe training with an eye for detail so that the students learn good habits. That foundation is crucial to their development.

A beginning pointe class should be held twice a week for 1/2 hour. It should immediately follow a technique class so that the students are properly warmed up. All beginning pointe work should be done only at the barre; barre work will strengthen all students, including those who are not quite ready.

All beginning pointe work should be done only at the barre; barre work will strengthen all students, including those who are not quite ready.

All exercises should be performed with weight on two feet at all times. As the students gain strength, increase the number of repetitions of each exercise and add new one.

Beginning exercises
For all exercises, take the time to give individual attention to make sure that all students are working correctly.

1. Walking on half pointe and full pointe: This exercise will strengthen the legs and feet. Facing the barre in parallel position, have the students walk in place, first on half pointe for 8 counts and then on full pointe for 8 counts. Repeat as needed. At first some students will not be able to get on full pointe (or even half pointe), but they will as they gain strength.

Pay attention to the following (and point these details out to your students):

• The knees should be straight for both half and full pointe.

• All toes should receive an even amount of weight.
• The ankles should be directly over the front of the shoes.

2. Demi-plié in first position: Facing the barre in first position, students should perform a demi-plié, keeping the heels on the floor. They repeat the demi-plié and then with straight legs, rise to half pointe, lifting through the thighs. From half pointe they should then relevé to full pointe and balance, holding the barre, for a few counts. Finally they roll down through half pointe with straight knees, returning to first position flat. Repeat as needed.

Pay attention to the following:

• Instruct the students to feel the pulling up in the thighs as they straighten their knees (never snapping the knees back).
• Encourage turnout by instructing the students to bring their heels forward as they come down from half pointe.
• Look for straight knees on full pointe, with as much turnout as possible, and make sure that the students are working to be on top of the box. This may not happen at first, but show them where they should be on the box.
• Watch for students who put too much weight on their little toes on full pointe; this will sickle the foot and lead to ankle injuries.

3. Demi-plié in second position: Facing the barre in second position, repeat exercise 2.

Pay attention to the following:

• The normal width of second position on flat in soft shoes is not the same as on flat in pointe shoes. The feet should be closer together so that when the dancer is on full pointe, the legs are not too wide apart. Demonstrate how the feet would be too wide apart on full-pointe relevé by starting the plié in a normal flat second position.

4. Grand plié: Facing the barre in first position, do a grand plié making sure that the body is held straight all the way down and all the way up. Roll through half pointe to full pointe as in exercise 2. Repeat in small second and fifth positions. In fifth position, both feet should spring up (sous-sus) and legs and feet are locked together.

Pay attention to the following:

• Make sure that in full grand plié the feet are not pushing over the box; the foot should be right on top of the box with ankles straight.
• Repeat grand plié in all positions, this time springing up to full pointe from demi-plié. This is achieved by a quick action of the feet and ankles while simultaneously straightening the legs. The student should end up on full pointe with the shoe’s box at the point on the floor where the middle of the foot had been on flat.
• Explain the difference between rolling up through half pointe and springing up to full pointe. Each is used for a different purpose. Here’s an example of an exercise (for a more advanced dancer) that will demonstrate the difference: Roll up through half pointe to full pointe into a relevé arabasque, then lower the heel and relevé again in that same arabesque. The dancer cannot roll up; she must spring up from demi-plié.

5. Sous-sus: Facing the barre in fifth flat position, spring up to full pointe with legs and feet locked together. Come down to fifth flat in demi-plié. Repeat 8 times with the right foot front, then repeat with the left foot front. This is a good strengthening exercise.

Pay attention to the following:

• The knees should be straight on full pointe and on top of the box.
• In demi-plié fifth flat, the heels must be down every time.
• Students must adjust their fifth position coming off pointe because if they come straight down, the front foot will cross over the flat fifth position. The back foot must come down slightly before the front foot, allowing the front foot to complete the fifth position.

6. Échappés: This is one of the most important exercises for strengthening the feet and legs. Facing the barre with feet flat in fifth position, spring up to second position on full pointe with straight knees. Return to fifth position flat in demi-plié, with heels down, changing feet with each échappé. Repeat 8 to 16 times, first with the right leg in front, then with the left.

Pay attention to the following:

• Legs and ankles should straighten in one motion to reach second position on full pointe. Watch that ankles do not wobble.

7. Bourrée: Facing the barre, bourrée in place. Start in fifth position flat in demi-plié and snap up to full pointe in fifth position. Move the feet in place quickly, alternating right, left, right, left with a fluttering motion. Start with 8 counts of bourrée with the right leg front; then while still on pointe, change to left leg front for 8 counts.

Pay attention to the following:

• Both knees must flex in bourrée.

More barre and center work
The above exercises can be combined into longer combinations as the students grow stronger. The next part of the process is to add steps that are executed on one leg, such as piqué-passé, relevé in passé, and pas de bourrée. These should be introduced only when the teacher decides that the students are ready. The same holds true for center work.

Beginning center work is an extension of most barre exercises. Laying a strong foundation at the barre with good work habits will make that time come sooner rather than later. In preparation, have the students try letting go of the barre for brief periods.

There is no magic moment when the class will be ready for center work. However, generally, students are ready when their knees are straight in échappés and sous-sus and they are working on full pointe and on top of their box. If some students are ready for center work and some are not, have them work in two groups, giving both the same exercises. As those at the barre get stronger, they will be able to join their classmates in the center.

Teaching beginning pointe is rewarding and inspiring, as you watch your students grow in strength from their first sous-sus to more difficult steps. And isn’t that what dance education is all about?

4 Responses to “Ballet Scene | Beginning Pointe Basics”