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

Criteria for Pointe Work

1.The student must be 10 1/2 years or older.

 2.The student must have at least 2 years of training.

3.The student must be taking a minimum of 3 classes a week

consistently (for a total of 4.5 hours weekly).

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The student must have sufficient strength to do the following:

1)Be able to hold their turnout while dancing.

The most basic concept of ballet is turnout. It makes it possible to

do certain steps that could not otherwise be done. Holding turnout

while dancing is a good sign of strength. If the student does not

have the strength to maintain their turnout, they are not strong

enough for pointe, since it is much more difficult to hold turnout

en pointe.

2)Have a strong, straight back while dancing, especially

the lower back.

Pointe work requires that the student use the muscles in her legs

and feet to stand en pointe and not use the pointe shoes as a

crutch. A weak back will throw the student off balance while en

pointe and will make it difficult to do ballet steps. A straight

back is also essential for pirouettes.

3)Keep the heels forward toward the big toe (no

sickling).

The most stable position for pointe work is to have the weight

slightly forward over the big toe. If the weight is over the little

toe, it is more difficult to stay up en pointe, and will increase

the chances of strain and injury.

  4)Use plie while dancing.

Students must use their plie while dancing because this is how they

get up en pointe. If they don't use their plie, they will have to

bend their leg incorrectly in order to get en pointe. Plie should

be done with the knees pointing straight over their toes and with

the heels down.

  5)Point their feet while dancing.

Students must point their feet while dancing in order to strengthen

the muscles that pointe-work requires. These muscles need to be

strong enough to support their body weight on the ends of their

toes. If the student is not in the habit of using these foot muscles

then they will not be able to support themselves en pointe and will

probably knuckle over on their toes, thereby increasing their

chances for injury.

6)Pique passe with straight leg.

Student should have enough strength to push themselves onto half-

pointe. This step is harder to do en pointe and a bent leg is

usually a sign of weakness or improper step preparation.

7)Be able to do 16 releve in the center without

stopping.

Strength for pointe work is achieved by repeating exercises. Releve

are excellent for building up calf muscle strength, which is vital

for pointe work. This exercise is more difficult to do en pointe

because of the extra height, so strong releve on half-pointe is a

good sign of strength. The student must also go up as high on half-

pointe as she can, since pointe work demands this ability. A student

who keeps her heels very low to the ground is not preparing her calf

muscles adequately, and will not have the strength for pointe work.

 8) Be able to hold a passe balance on half-pointe.

9)The student should be well-placed (hips square, back straight, legs

turned-out), and have the strength to balance on half-pointe. This

pose is more difficult to correct en pointe, as the surface area for

balancing is smaller and the strength requirements are greater.

10)The student must be well-groomed, with her hair out of her face and

in a bun. Ponytails are not acceptable! Short hair must be held back

from the face with a wide band.

11)The student must be responsible enough to bring all the ballet

equipment she will need to class. Pointe shoes require extra care

and accessories.

12)The student must be in good health and able to take a whole class.

If the student frequently needs to rest because of illness or

injury, she is not strong enough for the extra demands that pointe

work requires.

13)The student must pay attention in class and must work well. Going en

pointe is a big step and requires commitment on the part of the

student.

 14)The student must be of normal weight.

Please eat appropriately. Although being over weight will cause excessive

stress on the ankles, being anorexic is also not acceptable as a student needs

all the energy she can attain from food to dance. It is important that you ensure that

you have a balanced diet from your meals everyday.

15)Student must have enough of an arched instep to stand on pointe

11th CSTD Summer School 2007

Summer School Scholarship and Medal Winners:

Left most: Elyn See (Level 1TP medal winner)

Left most: Nicole Ong (Level 2MP medal winner)

Loo Ying Ern (Level 2C Scholar)

Left most: Geraldine Tng (Level 3E Scholar)

Germaine & Geraldine after the night’s performance

10th CSTD Summer School 2006

Summer School Scholarship & Medal Winners:

L-R: Hannah Wong (Level 1a Honorable Mention), Nicole Ong (Level 1E Scholar), Claudia Lee (Level 1E Honorable Mention)

L-R: Rachel Eliza Ng (Level 2 Honorable Mention), Geraldine Tng (Level 2 Scholar), Kelly Tan (Level 2 Honorable mention), Rachel Lim – absent from photo taking (Level 2 Honorable mention)

Lena Lee (Level 3 Scholar)

Germaine Tng (Level 4 Scholar)

9 Scholars and medalist altogether, Rachel Lim was absent on photo taking day.