Should I wear my pointes also at the barre?

[Claude_Catastrophique]

I take 7 ballet classes a week (plus 7 classes modern/contemporary) and no extra pointe classes. Pointe shoes are worn in the normal ballet classes, usually for the whole lesson. I have been wearing them just for centre work in five of the seven classes. Nearly all the other students wear their pointes for the whole class, also at the barre. Basically the teacher lets us choose as long as we wear them sometimes.

 

I wear mine just for centre work in five of the seven classes because I know that I have lazy feet when I wear pointes and I like my pointes really hard (because I have a high arch and a high instep and super flexible feet so that I easily twist my ankles when dancing in too soft shoes). Therefore I do not articulate my feet as much as I should and I do in flats.

 

Now I am wondering if I should give it a try to wear my pointes also at the barre and I am looking now for pros and cons.

 

Well, one pro would be that my feet would get stronger but since I already have very strong feet I do not think it is necessary. I mean, I do not want to become a ballerina dancing on stage where I would need the stamina to survive for a whole evening in pointes and usually when I do ¾ of an hour in the centre with pointes my feet do not feel exhausted at all (sometimes I have a little pain on my second toe because it is the longest one but usually I have neither bruises nor blisters or anything else from pointe).

 

A con would be that I strengthen my feet already enough by working them properly in flats (there I articulate my feet pretty well as several teachers have told me and since I started to wear split sole flats I articulate them even better).

Another con would be money because my pointes are really expensive and when I wear them less, they last longer…

 

Other than that I do not think that I need some extra work on balancing by wearing pointes at the barre. Balance is my strong point and although the weight is distributed differently on pointe I do not feel any big differences balancing on pointe and balancing in flats on demi-pointe.

When it comes to pirouettes I have consistent doubles on pointe and in flats, on good days triples in flats but not on pointe but I guess that’s because I am afraid of that extra turn when in pointes…

 

Gosh, I am writing too much. Thanks for reading and thanks for answering.

[Victoria Leigh]

Claude, I moved this topic because it is about classes, not about shoes.

 

In my opinion, your cons outweigh the pros, however, I happen to be a teacher who does not want barre work done in pointe shoes. Of course I also prefer separate pointe classes, however, since you do not have them, then taking center in pointe shoes in some of your classes will have to done.

[Claude_Catastrophique]

Oh sorry, I did not realize that!

Thanks for your answer. I do not like pointe at the barre either and so I will stick to it!

[dancepig]

The only time I wear my pointes at the barre is if I'm taking a very beginning class, and only with pre-approval from the teacher.