Standing on toes..How? Ballerinas?

Question:

Standing on toes..How? Ballerinas?

I really want to be able to stand on the very tips of my toes..
any useful foot stretches? tips? general help?
any helpful ballerinas out there? thanks

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Standing on toes or dancing en pointe is a type of dance that takes years of practice to work up to. The pointe shoe has a flat hard bottom called a box and a stiff panel down the bottom called a shank. Usually when the shank breaks its time to buy new shoes. You wear toe pads on your toes to protect them. Usually the toe pads are cloth with a thin layer of gell in them. Sometimes they are just gell and sometimes they are lambskin. I prefer the the cloth with the gell because it helps me "feel the floor" There are lots of different kinds of pointe shoes such as Russian Pointe, Bloch, Gaynor Minden, and Premier Softe. I've been using Gaynor Minden but I don't recommend them as the box is too short. Also they claim the shank is unbreakable but mine just broke so... My teacher recommends Russian Pointe. Dancing en pointe is painful but it is so rewarding. And yes, it does leave your toes and ankles sore, but it's worth it. It's best not to try it before your dance teacher says you are ready because it is easy to seriously injure yourself if you go at it alone. Releves are good for strengthening the the ankles and calves. If you want to dance en pointe do fifty of those every night. That's what my teacher recommends to the younger girls who want to start. Another good exercise is to plie, then while still in plie, releve, then come out of the plie before putting your heels on the floor. Good Luck with your dancing! ballerinas have a toe block in their slippers and that is how they do that . it is not good for other ppl to do though cause you can cause your calf muscles to ache and be sore . good luck . You need pointe shoes to do that hun. And you have to take years of ballet to be able to get on pointe. Don't try it without pointe shoes, or with pointe shoes without the proper training. You will break an ankle.

Releves are good for strengthening your ankles. ballerinas have special shoes that are flat at the toes so they can do that. Also be aware that ballerinas break toes all the time. It is not uncommon for them to have broken toes or bleeding feet after practice. It's a painful thing. Pushing yourself onto your toes if your feet and ankles aren't strong enough can cause PERMANENT damage! If you want to learn to dance en pointe, take ballet classes and understand that it will take YEARS of work and exercise and training before you are ready to do so safely. we wear special shoes for that.... they are hard from the metatarsals to the toes... and not only does that help support the foot but also along the length of the shoe there is what is called a "shank" that is a hardened strip of leather that gives alot of support. the shoes help distribute our weight evenly along our toes.... its kind of not really possible to be able to do that without these shoes... you need pointe shoes to do it....i would suggest ballet trainging before pointe...... so you dont hurt your ancles