Always dreamed of pointe shoes?

The ethereal beauty pointework brings to the stage is unlike any other style of dance, mesmerizing audiences since it was first introduced in the early 1800s.

Getting your first pair of pointe shoes is such an exciting day! But, if you’ve never been up on pointe before, you probably have a lot of questions!

• Can adults go on pointe, even if they didn’t start as a child?

• How long does it take?

• What should I be working on to get ready for pointe?

• Does it hurt and gnarl a dancer’s feet?

• Can men get en pointe?

The Broche Ballet Journey to Pointe will guide you every step of the way from your first day of ballet class to your first pair of pointe shoes.

Yes, Adults can go En Pointe

There is currently a growing community of adults who are joining the ballet world starting in their adult years. Back even twenty-five years ago, it was the common belief that unless you started dancing young, the reality of getting to dance on pointe, let alone professionally, was not a reality to be achieved.

Even today, there are still many dance studios and professional schools that do not focus on beginning adult dancers, and would still answer no to beginning adult dancers ever being on pointe.

And, many dance studios do not have the resources or number of adults to be able to financially provide a pointe program, so pointe shoes often feel unattainable to adult ballet dancers.

But, here at Broche Ballet, we believe that pointework is achievable at any age with hard work and dedication. In some cases with serious injuries or medical issues, pointe may not be advisable, but most adults can safely get en pointe.

You do not need to have started ballet or pointe as a child in order to get en pointe as an adult.

There is no age limit for pointework, only strength and mobility requirements that adults of any age can achieve.

How Pointe Shoes Work

Pointe shoes have changed significantly over the years. If you did pointework as a young child 30 or 40 years ago and you remember the pain and the blood, the pointe shoes today are so different.

The first pointe shoes were little more than flat slippers with light darning around the toes. This offered incredibly little support and only a small amount of time could actually be spent up on the toes.

Over the course of two centuries, modern technology has come a long way since the first ballerinas danced on their toes, making pointe both safer and more accessible.

Unlike the original pointe shoes that had very little support, pointe shoes today are constructed with the latest technology, keeping the safety of the dancer in mind. Pointe shoes can be broken up into these main components: the box, the shank, and the ribbon and elastics.

1. The Box

(No, there isn’t wood in the tip of the shoe!)

The part of the shoe surrounding your toes is called the box and is made of many layers of canvas and glue-like paper mache. Inside the box, the dancer’s toes should extend all the way to the tip of the shoes rather than curled under. The toes should remain in a lengthened position even when you stand over the box on the tips of your toes. The box is designed to support the toes while helping hold the foot up.

2. The Shank

The shank is the brown leather part of the pointe shoe that hugs underneath your arch while providing additional support through the heel so that the dancer is not simply standing on their toes. The shank is also designed to mold to the shape of the dancer’s foot, hugging the arch to show off the shape of the foot.

3. Ribbons & Elastics

Finally, having ribbon and elastic is an important finish to the pointe shoe. Both help keep the shoe on the foot while adding extra support for the heel and the ankle. Many pointe shoes will also have a drawstring that can be tightened and adjusted to help prevent the heel of the shoe from slipping off when rolling on and off of the pointe.

Do pointe shoes hurt?

The answer is both yes and no.

As previously mentioned, pointe shoes are designed to distribute your weight around the foot, not just all concentrated on your toes. The feeling can be best described as pressure on your feet and toes, including the sides of your toe joints and maybe even your ankles depending on your ankle range.

While pointe shoes definitely do not feel like traditional ballet slippers, do not expect to be in excruciating pain. Pointe work may be far from comfortable, but you want it to be manageable.

Like any new physical activity, the body will often experience some initial discomfort, fatigue, and soreness until it has had time to adapt.

Will pointe shoes damage my feet?

Pointe shoe technology has come a long way even in the last 10 years. Pointe shoe crafters today are making pointe shoes that are safer and more accessible to a wider variety of feet.

The perfect pointe shoe should provide the right amount of support for the dancer while simultaneously allowing the amount of mobility needed to articulate the feet inside the shoe.

Gone are the days where pain and deformity were considered to be an inevitable part of dancing on pointe. There is no reason to fear that your toes will become gnarled or deformed due to the new modern pointe shoe technology.

Dancers who wear pointe shoes up to 8 hours per day can often expect calluses to form and for the feet to toughen up to the demands of the shoes, but for the average adult dancer who only spends one or two hours in their shoes a week, this is a more rare occurrence.