Strengthening Exercises for Pointe Work
Here are some of the videos which you can follow through to help improve the strength of your feet to prepare yourself for pointe work. These pointe exercises videos were done by a dance physiotherapist in Australia. She is experienced in dealing with dancers with dance injuries and knows the importance of making sure that your feet are strong enough before they’re put en pointe.
To prevent yourself from getting injuries while doing pointe work, you should be responsible for making sure that you have done the necessary exercises to strengthen your feet before attempting pointe work.
Very often a lot of girls will find it harder to do rises on one leg compared to rising with both legs. This is due to lack of strength in the foot and calf muscles. This exercise will help you find your balance from two feet onto one foot. It also works the correct muscles required for pointe work, and strengthens your ability to do rises and balances on one foot.
You girls should be very familiar with this “pointing through” exercise. You will probably remember them from your pre-primary and primary’s “exercise for feet”. This exercise will also improve your ability to pointe through the balls of your feet during exercises like tendus and glisses which I’ve always been emphasizing on. This exercise further reinforces the concept of using the correct mucles and ligaments required for pointe work.
We will be doing these exercises during your regular classes to help you prepare for pointe work. It will be a lot more efficient if you can practise them at home as well.
~ Jo Wang
