Can I go on Pointe with no training?

Question:My friend is on Pointe but she has been doing ballet for like 10 years. Both of us are 13 and I have really wanted to try but I don't have time to do ballet. I did ballet from when I was 4-10, but even though I might not still have the strength, I have been taking Jazz dance at a dance studio for about 7 years. I really want to just go out and buy Pointe shoes and do some balletish stuff. It looks really fun. Will I injure myself though?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: My friend is on Pointe but she has been doing ballet for like 10 years. Both of us are 13 and I have really wanted to try but I don't have time to do ballet. I did ballet from when I was 4-10, but even though I might not still have the strength, I have been taking Jazz dance at a dance studio for about 7 years. I really want to just go out and buy Pointe shoes and do some balletish stuff. It looks really fun. Will I injure myself though?

Young girls usually start dancing en pointe between the ages of nine and fifteen years; they are not considered ready for pointe work unless they have been studying classical ballet for three or more years, with a frequency of two or more classes per week. They should also be in an intermediate or advanced level of ballet and be able to hold their turnout from the hips while performing center combinations. All of this requires careful evaluation on the part of the teacher. In the more serious dance academies, a professional's advice is required to make sure the dancers' feet have ossified sufficiently; serious foot deformities can result from starting pointe too early. Students must not dance en pointe until the bones of their feet are fully developed and the muscles in the arches, ankles, legs, pelvic area and abdominals are strong enough to hold your weight and bear the stress that is put upon them.; injuries, such as breaking the ankle, can occur because of young, weak, and untrained bones and muscles. She must make sure her feet are calloused enough so that the pain of dancing on pointe is numbed. Pedicures are not a good idea for pointe dancers and pointe dancers must always make sure that they cut their toenails at least a day before dance class or concerts because it is really painful if one does not give her toes enough time to adjust to the new length of the nails. Layers and layers of dead skin, callouses, etc. on the feet are helpful, like insulation against the strain of the shoe. Things like blisters, boils, athlete's foot, cuts of the feet, and even bleeding are to be expected. Some girl's feet have more arch than others and are therefore weaker and the dancer will need to work harder to strengthen her feet.

Yes, you will.

Pointe shoes, to what I understand, are worse than the highest high-heeled shoes. I've never worn any, but I've stood on my toes before inside my shoes and you need a good ankle to keep you from hurting yourself.

You are EXTREMLY likely to hurt yourself and cause life long damage to your feet ankles and knees. Even with 10 tens of ballet training leading up to pointe a dancer would still need training before doing any pointe work. Please DO NOT try pointe without training. You could possibly damage not only your jazz dancing but also your day to day walking and movement. Keep Dancing!

No! You should NEVER! start pointe with out training. If you are not properly trained you could seriously damage your feet! I have a friend who started pointe too early and she has permently damaged feet. If you go to a pointe shoe store they probaly won't even sell you shoes. Yes, pointe is very beautiful looking and it seems fun but, it is alot of hard work. Many ballet dancers have to quit because of pointe shoe trobles. Please take my advice and do not start.

Pointe work is taken very seriously for a reason: you can SEVERELY injure yourself without proper ballet-NOT jazz-training. Girls are observed very carefully for proper technique and strength before their teacher considers putting them en pointe. They aren't even allowed to practice at home for the first several months because the teacher needs to make sure they are doing everything correctly. Also, if you go onto the dance store to buy pointe shoes, you will most likely be asked where you take ballet, how many years, etc. Well, that's what my experience was. Pointe looks fun, but it's very painful, not to mention EXPENSIVE. the shoes are $70-$80 and the toe pads are $20. You probably have no idea how to care for pointe shoes how to break them in, or even how to put them on and tie them, let alone any steps to do in them. Pointe is not a fun thing that anyone can do. It is painful and takes a lot of work to do.

NO! You can not go on pointe without ballet experience! You will defintely injure yourself. And if your studio was even considering putting you on pointe with no ballet, then it should be shut down!

Start taking ballet, then go on pointe after a few years.

You really don't learn enough ballet when you are really young to go on Pointe. It is really a bad idea to go on pointe with no training, you could really injure yourself. Most studios will have you take a flat ballet class first, but some studios will allow you to go on pointe, especially you have danced recently. Whatever you do, DON'T JUST GO OUT AND BUY STUFF,you need training, you could really injure yourself(even if you think you are doing it right, you could not be). It takes years for dancers to go on pointe don't rush it!

YES YOU WILL INJURY YOURSELF DONT DO IT!!

in my area they wont even sell pointe shoes to anyone in less they are taking pointe at a local studeo (the teacher gives all the students a note) if you want to do pointe drop jazz and take it then!

You need to take a pre pointe class, don't risk injuring yourself. Talk to the ballet teacher at your studio.

YES! you need training, or you will badly injure youself. but you will get used to it

I wouldnt try it without a dance teacher...you could really injure your feet

You will probably injure yourself. If you could fit in ballet for a year, with your previous background and age, you might get on pointe or pre-pointe in a year. BTW, it's not fun at first. It hurts. If you do not have a strong foot, you cannot be properly fitted for shoes, and pointe will hurt more, and possibly injure your feet, if your shoes fit improperly. Proper fit is VERY important.

NO. it is very likely that you will injure yourself. you wouldn't have kept the muscle that you would've needed, and even if you did it wouldnt have been enough. not only is it just the strength, but also the technique. you don't really know what to do...
i'm sorry, i know it sucks. if you really want to though, start ballet now and stay on flat for a couple years.