Nick Polajenko asked:


The question comes up, “ When can my child go on pointe?” Sometimes difficult to answer.

“Is there a child beginner pointe shoe?” Is there such a shoe? Yes and No.
There are toe shoe manufacturers that do not make pointe shoes for children
under a certain shoe size. Then there are some who do. The ballet teacher who
knows her student will say when she should go on pointe.

These questions are asked by parents who do not know much about ballet, the training
that goes into ballet, how many classes should the child take per week, when should
she go on pointe.

Take this into consideration. When the child starts ballet at age 7 or 8 by the time she
is 11 or 12 year old, she would have had about 480 ballet classes during a 4 year period.
This is based on 48 weeks per year, if this were at all possible. If by chance she is sick, holidays, vacation time, unforeseen circumstances crop up, she will have missed more
classes during that time. All classes missed are very hard to make up and catch up, with other students in the classroom, especially since it involves physical strength and a very good “body-movement-memory”.

While she is growing in stature, hopefully not putting on too much weight before reaching age 11 or 12, she MAY be starting pointe work in her ballet school.
(You will find interesting information on nutrition for ballet dancers at
www.ballet-feetfirst.com/Pointeshoe-Nutrition.html )

I say she MAY be starting on pointe only when her ballet teacher evaluates the progress of her training. Her ballet teacher will decide when she is to go on pointe and not before 4 years of good , consistent ballet training.

Ballet teachers have their own guidelines of which some can be given here; the child’s
physical strength, her height, body weight and the strength of her feet, toes, arch. Oh yes,
the desire to dance and become a ballerina.

For questions you would like to ask please go to http://www.ballet-feetfirst.com/pointe-shoes.html fill out the form and we will be glad to answer them.

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Nick Polajenko asked:


Before doing anything. How old is the child? How many years of ballet
training has she done? How many times per week is she taking or has taken
ballet classes? How is her body weight, thin, skinny, chubby, slightly
over weight or a lot?

INFORMATION INFORMATION INFORMATION

The following, as you can see, is for information purposes only. What you
are about to read will give you some idea of what Ballet Pointe Shoes
is all about.

These questions should be taken into consideration before trying on
pointe shoes for your little girl. Oh yes. there are other questions
that have to be answered before going on pointe.

Her ballet teacher should be the judge of when she should go on pointe.
It will also depend on how many years of ballet she has had, what
dance level she is in and how old she is before going on pointe.

“My Way or Their Way”, you as a parent may ask. If you were to ask 2 ballet
teachers when should my child go on pointe, you will receive, but not in
writing, 2 different answers. Change Ballet Schools or move to another city
and you will have different answers. So what do I DO?

First and foremost, find out how many children and at what age do they
go on pointe in the school your child is enrolled. Ask questions of other
mothers. Observe other children when they are taking point class. Look
at them and think about your little girl, will she be able to do what
the other girls are doing? How long have they been taking pointe class
and what age are they now?

Please remember to ASK questions. If you don’t know which ones to ask just
go to her teacher and say, “My little girl wants to go on pointe, is she
ready?” Her teacher should be able to give you the information needed to
make a decision.

If her teacher says she is ready to go on pointe then it is the time
to fit her first pair of pointe shoes. This is going to be the
most difficult choice to make. More questions.

Where to buy the pointe shoes? Which style (many to choose from), size (correct
fitting is a MUST), which width B,C,D E (narrow, medium, large etc.) Many
things to consider. Such as the Shank, Box, Vamp. If you go to
www.ballet-feetfirst.com you will find the answers.

Having purchased the pointe shoes, were you surprised how expensive they are?
Do you know how to take care of them, sew ribbons to the pointe shoes as
well as elastics?

If you need more information go to FAQ at http://www.ballet-feetfirst.com/pointe-shoes.html

Please do not forget to ask questions. It is very IMPORTANT to know as
much as possible before having your child go on pointe and buying pointe shoes.

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