Ready for Pointe?

[basmith]

Hello,

I am the mother of an 11 year old girl who has been taking dance since 3 years old. Her dance teacher just advised me that she wants to give my daughter a letter for Christmas congratulating her on getting Pointe shoes. My problem is that I am not sure she is ready. My daughter is very petite. She is 4 ½ feet tall and is 65 lbs. We recently were at an orthopedist for a broken elbow (non dance related) and I asked her about when she thought my daughter should wear pointe shoes. She said not until her growth plate in her feet is closed – probably by age 13. My daughter just turned 11 in August. I am worried that she will not do well in pointe shoes. She has a street shoe size of 3 at best and has a very narrow foot. Please give me your expert advise.

[Mel Johnson]

You are indeed wise to hold off on pointe until the growth plate closes over. Your consult with the orthopedist is a blessing in disguise (why do they always have to be so damn well disguised?). Her input makes any technical explanation from this end superfluous.

[Victoria Leigh]

Hello basmith, welcome to Ballet Talk for Dancers

 

I agree with Mr. Johnson that it is best to wait in this case, as she is so small. Give her a chance to grow up a bit and get stronger physically and technically, and then pointe will be so much easier for her.

[basmith]

Thank you so much for your responses. I've decided to tell her instructor that we will wait on pointe shoes until next year. I am going to add prepointe class to her curriculum in January. That added with summer intensive classes, she may be ready by this time next year when she is 12. Since my daughter didn't know about the letter, I don't think she'll be disappointed. I've talked to her about it (without letting her know about the letter) and she agrees that she should wait as well.

 

Thank you again!