Pointe...

[*loves2dance*]

I'm wondering....
if there are any ballet freaks out there (i'm one of them!!!!) How long did it take you to get onto pointe? i just recently started training again after about a year or two and was almost on pointe before i was forced to quit....ugh!!...so, how long did it take for you? :artsy:

[Kuriin]

I don't do pointe because, obviously, I'm a guy. But, I do train on it some to work my ankles and just in case I have to teach pointe in ballet. Always nice to have, just in case, yes? :)

By the way, I love ballet. :)

[Twilight_Elena]

I don't do pointe because, obviously, I'm a guy. But, I do train on it some to work my ankles and just in case I have to teach pointe in ballet. Always nice to have, just in case, yes? :)

By the way, I love ballet. :)

:shock: A guy who does ballet! We've got a Billy Elliot in our ranks! Amazing! :D :D
A friend of mine started ballet around 5-6 years old, and she was told to go to pointe level classes when she was 12 or 13. She didn't go because she didn't want to wreck her feet, but it took her a good 6 or 7 years to do pointe. I'm surprised that it only took you 2 years! Or did you mean something else?

Twilight Elena

[*loves2dance*]

LOL....oh yeah, it took me at least 5 years to go onto pointe initially, i had to take a year or two off for my own reasons.... any ways, i was just wondering really how long it would take me to get back on pointe. I just read my post and it was so confusing!!!!! sorry about that.
I'm so excited right now. Advc. dance tryouts are tomorrow for my school.....big deal baby! :raisebro:

[ReneeJoan]

I've only been studying ballet for a year and a half, but my observation is that it takes at least three years of intense training before you have the strength for pointe work. Longer if you only train a few times a week. Really, it isn't about years. It's about strength and control. Can you stay on high half-toe with perfect balance and control, in first, second, fourth, and fifth positions, without even the slightest wavering in your feet and ankles, or having to go "tippy tippy tippy" because you can't stay perfectly still in one place? And can you stay there forever (or at least for a couple of minutes) without moving even the slightest little bit? And most importantly, can you go onto high half-toe without losing even a tenth of a degree of your turnout? Because if you start in fifth position, and roll up on pointe, and your heels shift around even the slightest fraction of an angle away from that firm fifth position, then you still do not have strength or control for pointe work. This is what I've observed in watching Stefan give girls their first pointe lesson -- invariably, their hips rotate back to "normal" instead of maintaining the turnout as they go up on pointe. And Stefan always gets after them about that. If after a few tries they still can't hold the turnout, he tells them to wait for a few months and work on their strength and control of their turnout in fifth position before trying again. This is just what I've observed.

[*loves2dance*]

thanks so much. I'd write more but i g2g

[Medira]

I started ballet at the age of 2 and began pointe work when I was 14. I had the strength to do it before then, but because I was still growing, my instructor didn't want to try before then and potentially disrupt my growth patterns. I think, if you're dedicated, you can probably get back en pointe within a year or two (depending on how quickly you pick it up again) ...I'd say 8 months if you constantly work at it.

[LauraB]

I started ballet at four, and went en pointe at 13. For an older person beginning ballet, it shouldn't take that long because your feet have stopped growing, and you don't have to worry about damaging the bones so much. You need excellent technique, and lots of strength. Good luck!

[spatten]

Just to quash the idea that men cannot/do not dance on pointe, watch a bit of Georgian folk dance. Both the men and women dance on their toes for certain dances such as Khonga. Granted it may not have the same tradition as French Ballet.

[chachagirlie]

spatten wrote:Just to quash the idea that men cannot/do not dance on pointe, watch a bit of Georgian folk dance. Both the men and women dance on their toes for certain dances such as Khonga. Granted it may not have the same tradition as French Ballet.

I have six words...

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo

:lol:

[ReneeJoan]

I've seen some of the professional men in my ballet class work on pointe. It is the most fascinating thing in the world to see. And yet, they still look just as powerful and masculine as when on demi-pointe. They're doing the same work as the girls, and yet it doesn't look "girlie" at all. It just looks strong and powerful and . . . WOW.

[breathedance]

I started ballet at 13 and went on pointe at 16. Then quit for a while. Then started serious ballet again at 23 and went on pointe after a year of 2-3 classes per week. It was hard because I had to make myself go slow at first even though I remember being able to do a lot more on pointe when I was younger. Pique turns were a lot harder than I remembered!

As for men on pointe, I saw ABT do A Midsummer Night's Dream on PBS, and they had a man playing the donkey on pointe - and he was amazing! He was bounding and jumping around and landing on pointe!

[Kuriin]

Pique turns are only difficult if you have to go around in a circle while doing them, in my opinion. Ugh. x_x They're good movement steps that include the pas de valse.

Right now, I've been really working on my entrechats, royales, and changement battus. They are tough. :|

[Snuggles]

hey there...im a ballroom dancer, but also i am a ballet dancer, i started ballet at three. It took me a few years to get to pointe because i was really small.

My ballroom partner is also my ballet partner, half of our week is ballet and the other half is ballroom... he started ballet when he was 5. he went to a class with his sister and then joined, his sister got angry when all the attention was on him, so she quit, lol.

I LOVE BALLET TOO, well WE do!!!