The Ballet Bible
Discover the Secrets to Conquering Some of The Most Common Pitfalls You Face When Learning Ballet
i want it so badIm 14 and have just started ballet . My teacher put me into grade 4 an i really enjoy it but i dnt feel asthough I am as good as the others in my class.I’m desperate to be en pointe and my ankles are very strong as I have been dancing since I was eight but I dont want to be the one of the girls who goes on pointe really late. If my birthday is in October do you reckon i will be en ponte by the time Im 15? I’m also very small im only 4’9 ish but I weigh about 8 stone, will this stop me from going en pointe ? February 3, 2007 | In Questions | 10 Comments10 Comments »RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI Leave a comment |
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Without seeing you dance it is really hard to tell, ask your teacher what she thinks. But it is very doubtable that you will be on pointe any time soon if you only just started.
Comment by Ashley — February 3, 2007 #
I cannot say this enough. Listen to your teacher. He or she is there to guide you. They have the experience and the knowedge to help you. If you have questions or problems ASK them. If they do not want to put you on pointe yet, listen to them. Strong ankles are not the only criterion to be on pointe. Good, solid technique is. Pointe is not an automatic reward for taking lessons for a year or so, and it is not a barrel of laughs once you get on pointe, even when your technique is good. If you are on the heavy side, for your own sake, lose a bit of weight. Eight stone is about 111 pounds, which is not bad in general for 4’9. But the important thing is how much muscle weight versus how much fat weight do you have, not just an arbitrary “I weigh so many pounds.” Also if you feel you are not as good as the others in your class why are you in such a rush to get onto pointe? Doing so too early will only hold you back in the long run.
Comment by Zoe — February 4, 2007 #
I am 20yrs old and at a full time privet dance school in england. I am in my 2nd year and next yr I have to find a job. i have also been doing classes since i was 2-3yrs old. so because of my experiance i hope you will listen to my advice.
point work is a very dangerous thing and untill you are 100% ready to be put on point you should not rush things. please do not worry about falling behind in your class, if you really want it you’ll catch up. And most of the time the people who do the best are normaly the weeker people as they have to work harder. And while the naturals are comfortely ploding along, the weeker ones over take. Can i also reasure you that your body sise has nothing to do with going onto point. my weight has been up and down since i was thirteen and it has not effected my dancing what so ever.
keep your chin up!! your time will come!
Comment by Chloe — February 8, 2007 #
hi
everybodys dream is to be up on pointe and i bet you will be but the teacher has to see that you ankles are strong enough or you will hurt yourself!
Comment by sophie — February 17, 2007 #
hii… why dont you try buyin pointe shoes, and go against the wall and go on pointe, this helps to strenghten you ankles, dont try and walk in them through as you are not on pointe yet.. take small paces to becoming on pointe, you will get there and this way you will have even stronger ankles when your class is on pointe..
good luck..*X*XNatnatX*X*
Comment by Natalie — February 26, 2007 #
without seeing you dance I can’t tell you how soon you could be ready to be on pointe. the best advice I can give you is practice often and take as many classes as you can, including private lessons, your teacher will be able to notice things one-on-one that they may not in a large, or even small, class. absolutely do not go on pointe without the supervision of your teacher. doing so you can teach yourself wrong and end up doing alot more damage than good.
Comment by Marissa — February 26, 2007 #
It is best that you wait until you’re definitely ready for pointe rather than to risking permanent damage to your body. Does your teacher know that you are keen to go on pointe? He/she could give you strength building exercises and so on to help prepare you for pointe. Also try doing pointe exercises on demi pointe so that when you do make the transition from soft shoes to pointe shoes, you will find it easier and quite possibly master the basics much quicker than the people who went on pointe sooner. Please remember there is no shame in going on pointe at a later age, there are quite a few professional dancers who did not go on pointe until their late teens! So don’t worry and good luck
Comment by Karen — March 4, 2007 #
HI im geane i was kinda similar to u 2 although im 12 i started ballet when i was 11 at grade 2 this was rediculous i had one half an hour class a week it was sooo easy i got so fed up she wouldnt put me up a grade so i left im now 12 and i do grade 5 twice a week i love ballet if you do to you need to go some where else more [pro you could easily do grade 5 you cant go frm grade 4 to pointe so you need to go to another studio before the train leaves if you really love ballet
Comment by geane — March 10, 2007 #
hi,
im 11 and i started ballet when i was 2
i am on point and i know what it is like when you cant wait to go on point
but dont rush
im not supoed 2 be doing point but the teacher thinks that i am very talented
so i went on
if the teacher says u can do it do it
but till then wait
beacause it hurts alot and im not as good as the others because my time isnt right
itss really horrible
so before u ask
do loads of turn out exercises and be careful it is dangeareous
Comment by grace — March 11, 2007 #
first of all, dont do what natalie suggested. thats very dangerous. if you just started, then wait a bit. ive been dancing since i was 2 and im now thirteen. i still didnt start pointe and my teacher informed me that if i dont do something about my ankles, then i may never be able to go on pointe until later. ift no one in your class is going on pointe yet, you dont have to rush. my irish dance teacher started pointe when she was 16, and she started when she was 8.
Comment by balletgrl — November 12, 2010 #