Pointe Tips
So you've been fitted for your pointe shoes, have broken them in, and you're all set to take the audience's breath in your new pointes! Here are some tips I can share with you, but remember, there's nothing like experience, and each person's preferences vary.
- Keep your shoes clean because once they are dirty, they are dirty
- DON'T show off or try to do things on pointe shoes before your teacher has made sure you are ready for them and that they fit you correctly.
- If you have to go onstage in a couple of minutes en pointe, try wearing wool socks over your shoes while you warm up to speed up the 'warm' part.
- Before you sew your ribbons, pin them and assure that you've placed them in the correct areas.
- You can use superglue (or special glue made for this purpose) to reinforce your tips and box after they've worn out a bit.
- Don't be afraid of turns... once I just DID them they weren't so hard. Just keep your knees straight and body pulled up.
- POINT YOUR FEET! Otherwise your feet look huge and out of place
- Learn how to walk correctly in your pointe shoes, either on demi pointe, bouree's, or the whole ballet-walk you do in flat technique shoes. Otherwise you walk like you have flippers on. :P
- Rosin seems to be really cool to new pointe students.. I'm not sure why, it is just powder that smells like Christmas trees :) - but just use what you need, a small amount on the tips, or if your floor is super slippery a bit more.
- Take corrections to heart. Pointe technique isn't only about aesthetics, it's also about safety, and staying injury-free.
- Toe pads - gel, lambs wool, paper towels.. starting out it seems like the more the better (!) but use as little as you can get away with. Once you get some callouses on your feet it (a) isn't so bad and (b) is easier to go w/less padding. I actually didn't use any toe pads my first year and a half, but we can't all by martyrs *grin*
- Prevent and protect blisters, they are not fun.
- Cut Your Toenails! My hair and nails both grow realllly fast so I have to cut my toes twice a week or else I get a bruised nailbed from dancing en pointe.
- When tying your shoes: take the inside ribbon and cross it over your ankle to the outside, around the back, and to the front, then reverse it for the outside (you may have to cross one of the ribbons around back more than once) Then tie in a little knot above that 'ball' bone on your ankle, the inside. Tuck the ribbon in. You can cut your ribbons so they meet on the side.
- It is handy to sew a loop of elastic from the heel, and you slip your foot through this before tying the ribbons, to keep the heel of the shoe from slipping during echapees.
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