I am about to go en pointe...?

Question:I was wondering what i need to know

Any tips? and what is the best cushioning for you?

and all the other good stuff i need to know (and bad i guess)

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I was wondering what i need to know

Any tips? and what is the best cushioning for you?

and all the other good stuff i need to know (and bad i guess)

congradulations!

well...toe tap will become your new best friend...and pedicures will become your enemy.

i get blisters a lot. plus i just got new shoes so it hurts my feet since i got used to the old ones being broken in. so this is when toe tape comes in handy and lambs wool. or bandaids too actually. but also some toes "push" into the other so toe tape can keep from getting blisters or cuts in this area.

gel pads are great, they really help the impact thing of the toes on the shoe

defenitally go easy on your toes at first, you want them to get used to being on the very tips so defenitally DONT attempt pirouettes or anything until you've gotten used to the feeling and can pop on to point easily.

i use "easily" loosly though its defnenitally not..haha

but it's very fun and after you get used to it a little less painful then when you start. and when your shoes are semi broken in it will help you a lot.

when buying your first pair, be sure it fits perfectly, not to tight or not to loose. this will hurt your ankle if it doesn't support properly. and remeber to a little experimenting. but you might just end up with the shoe you began with because it's so familiar. but you might not like it. i kno i didn't like min :/ so never settle on the shoes, make sure you kno what works best for you.

good luck and congradulations!

I've been on pointe for a year now. But, when I was going en pointe...

First I got pointe shoes that fit properly of course, shouldn't be too loose or too tight. You have to sew on your laces properly, make sure they are as far down as they can go. You may need to get elastics (You put them on like a regular ballet shoe). If you have a space between your first toe and second toe you need at toe spacer. Make sure you get some toe tape for a forming blister or to prevent any hurting. Also, lambs wool works quite well. A good tip is to pull it apart and then put it in your shoe or wherever needed. Gel cushioning works quite well. Pointe is quite hard work, and I hope your ankles are strong enough. It'll probably hurt for the first week or month. It might hurt or it may not.

congrats!

basically just be sure to listen to your teacher and take it easy on your body the first couple of times up. be sure to always pull up and straighten your knees. also, try to press into your big toes in your shoes.

different people have different preferences for toe pads. as a beginner, you may want a little bit of cushion but you should still be able to feel the floor. i use gelpillows and they are really nice, just the right amount of cushion.

also, after a class or two, if you feel like any part of your foot is rubbing, consider taping it or protecting it so you don't get blisters because blisters can get nasty and painful fast. if you are having a lot of trouble with blisters, talk to your instructor and they may recommend remodies, technique to help, or a new brand of shoe to try.

the first few classes of pointe may be hard and feel funny, but if you work hard you should feel comfortable in your shoes in no time!

remember if you have any questions regarding technique or your shoes or pain in your feet or whatever always ask the teacher. its better to ask than to hurt your feet or practice and create bad habits technique wise.

congrats and good luck!

I had done releves on demi-pointe, so I can help you.

You may have done a lot of barre work doing "releves" and you started to do "piles" on pointe. But I assume that you are trying to be on "pleine pointe"---fully on toes.

Only go on full pointe when you have a few years of training to strenghthen your foot and leg muscles, and your barre work in ballet class and training will probably suffice.

Yes, being on pointe is beautiful for a ballerina. But there are a few risks with it.

If you do pointe wrong, especially in technique, there is a rare chance that the ankles could fail under the stress of being on full pointe...and you will end up with a stress fracture on your ankle or even your toe.

Often, on plein pointe, you will likely do the famous traveling steps called "pas couru" (running steps), while you are on full pointe. You better get your technique at your best when you do that "pas couru", or you will end up with a sprained foot or a little worse.

Getting back to possible fractures....

The way to prevent those stress fractures in most cases is to follow a good diet. Get a lot of calcium and vitamin D to strenghten your bones so they have a much less chance of breakage.

Also, stationary ballet moves that require you to be on full pointe are chancy. Especially when you doing these moves:

Leaning arabesque (arabesque penchee)
Arabesque in attitude position
Arabesque with free leg back
Leaning arabesque to the left or to the right
Passe
Attitude en avant
Attitude en avant---cambre

Best to transfer the stress from the feet to the upper body so you create less stress on the foot; that is, think "looking up" and stretching the upper body so the force or stress of being on full pointe can be distributed and hence you free up some of the tremendous force on your toes.

Hope all of this helps.

for ur toes ouch pouches are the best to cushion ur toes you can get them from bloch