What pointe exercises can I do?

Question:I've been learning pointe for a year but still can't dance on pointe. It's not that I'm not ready and can't dance but we have been having 2 minute pointe classes every month or two, even though we're supposed to have 15 minutes at the end of each class. I was supposed to dance en pointe at the end of year production this year but we (my class and I) aren't good enough. I can't even couru on pointe yet. We tried for the first time last week. My first pair of pointe shoes in my opinion have been a waste of money. I'm growing out of them fast and I still haven't danced in them. I would really like to be able to dance en pointe and I need some safe exercises to do at home. It's holidays now so I have about 6 weeks before ballet and it would be really awesome to surprise my teacher and be able to dance on pointe.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I've been learning pointe for a year but still can't dance on pointe. It's not that I'm not ready and can't dance but we have been having 2 minute pointe classes every month or two, even though we're supposed to have 15 minutes at the end of each class. I was supposed to dance en pointe at the end of year production this year but we (my class and I) aren't good enough. I can't even couru on pointe yet. We tried for the first time last week. My first pair of pointe shoes in my opinion have been a waste of money. I'm growing out of them fast and I still haven't danced in them. I would really like to be able to dance en pointe and I need some safe exercises to do at home. It's holidays now so I have about 6 weeks before ballet and it would be really awesome to surprise my teacher and be able to dance on pointe.

First of all, I admire your proactivity and responsibility in, when taking this issue home, you checked first which excersizes were safe. I want to congratulate you for that because that has the makings of a very good dancer.

Slip on your shoes and start breaking them in before you try to excersize. There are different methods of breaking different shoes. For Russian pointes such as Grishko, Russian Pointes, and Boylekskys, you want to stay en flat first and just do some tondues to mold the shoes to your arch. Then you can go up and start doing some thorough roll throughs to break in the shank. Next, go en pointe and arch your feet into a sickle so that your ankles are almost touching. This should break in the box so that when you are up in the show, you'll stay on your big toe in the box rather than on all five toes. This is a dangerous excersize. I am giving it to you because you are a ballerina and therefore the strongest type of dancer. Your ankles are strong, so you won't fall. Please be careful. For English brands, such as Capezios and Sophias, start en pointe and simply do the reverse of the Russian break-in method. For American brands, such as Sanshas or Dancerpointes, start en flat, then take them off your feet and break the shank in by hand.

Once your shoes are broken in enough to demi releve, do a tondue to the front. Now push over your box as much as you dare. Don't hurt yourself. This is another excersize I am only telling you because you are a ballerina. Slowly bring your weight back to your supporting leg while staying on or over your box. Start to straighten your leg. If you experience severe pain in your hips or knees, STOP. You should, however, feel a little discomfort around your ankles. This is normal. Next go al acegone, and do the same. Keep your turnout. If you cannot, move your leg forward a couple inches and try again. Next, when you go derriere, press down on the edge of your box. Be careful.

Killers are the most effective way to strenghthen core essential muscles for en pointe dancing. Killers, if you don't know, can be two things. They can be many small releves or many sotees en fasse. You usually do the releves at the barre. Usually you can start out with about 75 and work your way up. Killers en centre, or sotees en fasse, should be around 64, rest, 64, rest, and then stretch to cool down. After killers at the barre always stretch your calves out by doing runner stretches. sotees en fasse should always follow with stretching.

These excersizes should be done daily and you will begin to feel yourself core strenghthening. Once you feel comfortable, do some plies, petite jetes, or other barre excersizes en centre to increase your balance. Try pirrouettes. Those are hard, and you can get injured. be careful.

I would reccomend no toepads for your first few pairs. You can't feel the floor as well with them. You can fall and seriously injure yourself if you can't feel the floor properly. If you can't handle the pain, use paper towels or lamb's wool. After your first few pairs, putting in toepads is probably okay. What I find, though, is that you don't need them anymore.

Kudos,
Good Luck,
Hope I helped,
E

First of all, it would help if I knew how old are you and how many years you take ballet lessons. If you are younger than 12 then your teacher is doing the right thing by not letting you practising much on pointe. The reason is that you must have very strong ankles and needs to have already mastered all technique on flat before moving on to toe. I wouldn’t recommend to get practice by yourself because it’s much risky. For your first steps you need a bar support and an expert eye on you to prevent any damage on you foot. I know that it’s not exactly what you are asking but this is my opinion. My first pointe shoes looks as new as the first day I bought them :) Don’t forget that you have to be very patient if you want to be a good dancer :)

Ok, pointe can be very difficult without proper training. Here's some exercises you can try on your own to increase ankle strength and balance:
~Start with your feet together and parallel. Place your hands on a chair or barre or counter for balance. Do a demi plie, roll onto the box of your shoes, straighten your legs, and roll down. repeat 4 times then turn out to first position and repeat and then second position and repeat.
~Start in first position. Roll onto the boxes of your shoes so that you are standing on releve and come down. Do this for 4 counts, repeat 4 times. Then practice fast releves by, instead of rolling up to pointe, spring up. Your legs should remain straight and your box should replace where your arches were when flat. Do this for 2 counts (up, down) and repeat 4 times. Repeat all in each position.
~Practice, either at the barre or center, echappes
When doing all, make sure you engage your core and are trying to balance. The goal is to be able to do all exercises without the bar. Also remember that pointe can be dangerous, so have your teacher watch you do the exercises first and correct you on placement and technique before attempting on your own. If you don't do things correctly now you could injure yourself or cause problems for later in your dance career. I hope I helped ( :