Should you wear pointe shoes in class? Mandatory or a choice?

[@judegarcia6657]

I just watched the Dutch National Ballet world ballet day class and Olga was not on pointe though most everyone else was. Staying true to her training.

[@balletwithisabella]

Knew she would be 😉

[@Madeline96]

I agree that it depends on the dancer and can be an option to discuss with the teacher, especially in training. I did the Cechetti syllabus and we reeaallly took our time with warming up and technique class on flat. This was perfect for forcing me to work on my very low arch, inflexible feet and tiny calves 😭 Pointe was almost a cop out as it didnt matter if I wore a hard or extra soft shank, my foot was stable. Plus I have large quads and glutes which could hoist me up in my shoes when my calves couldn't 🙃 Also I hope you had a wonderful experience in NZ! Was lovely to meet you at Christchurch airport even though I was a tired, coffee breath mess 😅

[@balletwithisabella]

So great to meet you!

[@divab63]

By a certain level, if we didn’t wear pointe shoes, we wore pointe shoes with shanks ripped out. Part of that was to learn to balance on the shoes. The soles are so different between soft shoes and pointe shoes, that we gained much more control.

[@balletwithisabella]

Great point! Pointe shoes really do help to build up the strength 💪

[@anneharrison1849]

There is a video somewhere on the internet that’s fairly recent (post pandemic) that’s a discussion about pointe shoes in preprofessional class. I think it was three Americans, or at least three teachers in American schools, definitely one was SAB where they do everything on pointe, another was from the perspective of always doing bar on flat, centre on pointe and another was very flexible, we should consider what they are doing the rest of the day, what we are work on etc. they considered things like do we need to jump in pointe shoes to practice being quiet etc. I’ve definitely noticed from following dancers on KZbin that there are a number who aren’t quite as comfortable as they should be at 18 and entering a company and at the same time there are professionals who are giving advice to young dancers and you hear “be comfortable in your pointe shoes, be ready for a day of rehearsals”, no one is saying hold back, be careful, don’t do too much, other than in the context of listening to your body and preventing injury. Professionals should be able to do whatever they want, just as you allow someone doing the lead in a full length ballet in the evening to do only what they need that morning and whatever they need for recovery the next morning, you should also allow them to manage their body day to day. The exception might be at the apprentice/2nd company level where you have a specific goal for the dancers over the course of 1-2 years, but it still needs to be individualised, the dancer who isn’t really comfortable on point will need exercises and increased class time, the super comfortable pointe dancer might need more time working on their flat technique, especially if they’ve been to a heavily Balanchine school and that isn’t where they’ve ended up.

[@Vale-kg3vd]

Interesting. I have a student that is not totally straightening her working leg knie when closing from batt. Tendu, but she can do it when she is on point. So I insist she works flat till she gets it

[@balletwithisabella]

Yeh totally - I don’t think she’s connecting with her deep rotators and inner thighs - it’s actually the like from heel up the inseam. That inner thigh connection is critical. On pointe your foot is literally pointed so it’s not as obvious x

[@msbeejones]

your hair looks lovely.

[@balletwithisabella]

I had got it done that day!! Thanks for noticing ❤

[@zsuzsannamolnar5599]

I also thought you had just head your hair cut!

[@balletwithisabella]

You’re so sweet! And thanks 🙏

[@samanthagismo1]

I've been wearing pointe shoes every class but I almost feel in some ways it made me lazy because its harder to go through the feet if your pointes are new. So I think best is starting on flat building a nice foundation at the barre then switching to pointe near the end of barre or for center \:D/ Super interesting to her your perspectives though ♥

[@viv2607]

hi Isabella, love your videos. I was wondering if you could talk about how it was going into Vaganova not speaking Russian? How easy was it to learn/did you have Russian language classes? Thanks!

[@balletwithisabella]

Great suggestion!❤

[@brendastevens9077]

When I was on Pointe at my school. I had regular ballet classes on flat. Then Pointe Class. I'm training now again. My teacher is in a Company. I will ask her what she does. I know during Nutcracker Rehearsals the Professionals were in their Pointe Shoes the entire time. I feel it should be up to the dancer. Listening to their body is the best way to go in my opinion.😊❤❤

[@balletwithisabella]

In rehearsals yeh we have to wear pointe shoes the whole time but class itself should be a choice really I think

[@brendastevens9077]

@@balletwithisabella Yes I totally agree.😊❤️

[@anneharrison1849]

I think people only rehearse not en pointe if there is a very specific reason, possibly recovering from injury, I’ve seen the odd video with an experienced corps dancer in trainers and sports gear filling in their spot but only marking the steps. I imagine they are a little less strict off video, but other than rare exceptions it will still be point shoes on. Most ballet mistresses are pretty clear on when you need to do it full out and it’s their job to produce a corps that hits on stage, which they can’t do if everyone works individually.

[@milaburrow5710]

Hello! Thank you so so much for this amazing video! At my studio we wear pointe shoes in the middle of barre through center and for rehearsals... And this summer I went to a summer intensive where we wear flat shoes for barre and center and I had started getting foot, ankle, and calf tightness and little injuries. After going to PT they told me I'm not using my big toe enough and my ankles are weak... and I bet that's because with pointe shoes everyday through year round training I use my feet but not engaging all the muscles I could be if I was on flat? What do you think? :)

[@balletwithisabella]

That’s so interesting. I think it’s very possible your shoes to some extent had been doing some of the work for you. Flat shoes you have to really articulate and work you feet in a different way which is why I think it’s super important to do both especially if it’s obvious you’ve got some weaknesses. It’s like cross training! You need to have a a balance of the two

[@gonefishing167]

Thank you both, very interesting. 🩰🩰🩰🩰🩰👵🇦🇺

[@balletwithisabella]

Our pleasure!

[@K_ballet]

So interesting. I always thought that pointe shoes in center was a must. 🤔

[@CorinnePina]

How would you proceed if you just started out on pointe

[@balletwithisabella]

Start really slow and just do pointe specific exercises rather than normal class on pointe. I see a few people attempting to do class on pointe when clearly lacking in strength and experience, and it’s not a good plan. Start very slow! Try my Pointe course for beginners on my platform. It will help you gain a lot of strength 😊

[@rita6276]

Do you recommend doing barre en pointe every once in a while?

[@Madeline96]

From personal experience, I would say yes. It's always good to check if your technique stays consistent between soft shoes and pointe.

[@kritee]

⁠@@Madeline96i agree, and also it’s a good way to break in new pointe shoes, or do some extra work in dead shoes (safer because the barre is there)

[@balletwithisabella]

Yes I find it’s a good way to gain strength in your feet legs and body! I wouldn’t do all the time but it’s super useful to do

[@Madeline96]

@@kritee yeees it's good to get your moneys worth from dead shoes!

[@seashelllune1076]

I feel frustrated as an adult dancer going back k to consistent classes and not able to wear my shoes because the teacher told me to take them off😢 and i’m not terrible.. makes sense to me to be able to put the pointes on for center. Oh well.

[@balletwithisabella]

Feel free to try my pointe course on my platform - build up some strength. As well as maybe do barre ok pointe with your teachers so you get used to your shoes again 😊

[@anneharrison1849]

I’ve noticed in adult ballet classes the use of pointe shoes is often the opposite, often some will do barre in pointe shoes and take them off for centre. As an adult there is a delicate balance between I can do this is I want to vs. the teacher not wanting anyone to get injured on their watch. Probably best to actually talk to them.

[@seashelllune1076]

@@anneharrison1849 I’ve been putting off talking to them. My pointe shoes are gathering dust. I actually got fitted a year or two ago now and fell in love with the fit but i do realize there’s drawbacks to starting or restarting pointe as an adult. I’ll just see wheee it takes me.

[@seashelllune1076]

I’ll check out the class 🥰

[@luciamartinez229]

Hi Isabella! I watch almost every single video you upload, and I have a question that I’ve never thought of before and I’m just very very curious. For all my life I thought there were like one class classical exam at vaganova, and then character exam, pas exam… but I was wondering if there are different exams within classical ballet? Like is it only the class graduation exam, or there is also an specific pointe exam, specific jumping exam or adagio exam… for example. Or what are the exams that you have to take to pass the grade? I was wondering this after watching some videos and got kinds confused

[@balletwithisabella]

No there's only one ballet exam with everything in it appropriate to each year.