Pointe Shoes....

jojo13 · Joined: 22 Feb 2008 Posts: 3

Hey everybody, this is my first ever post :D so please bear with me. I'm 23, and after 8 years, of being away from Ballet, i'm finally came back to finish the RAD Grade 8...which i did, however my teacher wants me to give the Intermediate Foundation syllabus a go and try for the exams in August, i'm not exactly of the traditional ideal body shape for dance, i am cury with a little bit of a tummy too :D and therefore am not going for with the intentions to be a professional dancer...so i'm really afraid of going into the exam with all these ideal body shapes making me look like a sack of potatoes. ANYWAY....

When i go on pointe, i get such pain in my big toes, that i can't stand on for long. my echappe's to second don't look like they are in second..the pain is just pretty overwhelming, and although i know grin and bear, but it really hurts, that i can't grin and bear even if i wanted too. does anyone have any advice on how to overcome the pain? it never hurt this bad when i did pointe work at 16.

thank you so much!!

primaballerina175 · Joined: 10 Sep 2006 Posts: 589 Location: On stage.

Hey Jojo.
Your leags may not be that strong after eight years of absence from ballet. I would suggest talking to your teacher about what you can do. But best of luck.

santafejoe · Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:41 am Post subject:

Hi jojo13 Welcome to Dance Forums :) BTW if it makes you feel any better i :lol: :lol: to am not the :shock: :lol: :lol: ideal body shape for a dancer i dont let that stop me from learning Ballet. Your going to do great and dont worry about those ideal dancer bodies that will be there. Your doing this exam for your self because you want to. All of us here will be pulling for you. :D :)

Pointe Dancer · Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 6:07 pm Post subject:

Hey jojo13! Welcome to the dance forums!!!!! :D :D :D :D About your pointe shoe problem, maybe you just need to tape some part of your foot to dull the pain. (You can buy medical tape really really cheap at drugstores) If that doesn't help, then primaballerina 175 might be right that your legs are not strong enough yet. If that is the case, then you might want to do minnie dance classes at your house. A good exercise for you to do is do 16 releves (I spelled it wrong...) in first position, then 8 on your right and 8 on your left. I hope that helps! :D

jojo13 · Joined: 22 Feb 2008 Posts: 3

thank you soooooo much everyone for the replies!!! i really really appreciate it heaps!!!!! :D :D :D :D

Pointe Dancer · Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 3:54 am Post subject:

Oh... I forgot, remember to keep us updated on how you are doing! :D

kirin · Joined: 02 Dec 2007 Posts: 56 Location: mexico

for my expirience when you start it hurts a lot!!! but your feet start to get strong and your skin too so it hurts a lot less ....

bluedancingdog · Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 3 Location: Ottawa

Ya I'm new here too. I've been doing pointe for about 2 years on and off now, but keep stopping because I just can't seem to get it. I need to know how to make my shoes bend still because they're still pretty stiff, and my pinky toes on my feet always feel like the muscle is cracking or something. My ankles are pretty weak too so I need any info to get those stronger. I've talked to my teacher but she hasn't helped much.

Advice is greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

kirin · Joined: 02 Dec 2007 Posts: 56 Location: mexico

for your stiff shoes you can try doing rises and try to do them slowly and pasing through every step to get on point, and with use they are suposed to get less stiffer though if your getting on wrong then they would never get less stiff.

When i went to gimnast my teacher made us jump in one feet, and one day i asked why?.. so he told me it was to make our ankles harder and stronger but we did lots of jums zigzags in one foot, jumping in our place, moving, racing... it was realy hard but i think it helpt maybe you should try it... :D