Dance Pointe

Are You Ever Too Heavy to Dance Pointe?

It is possible that a dancer who is slightly 'heavier' does has enough strength to hold their weight en pointe, however how heavy is too heavy to dance en pointe? This issue of "weight" is very common in dancing, and often girls get a distorted idea of what is normal when involved in dance for a long period of time. However it is commonly asked what is about the ideal weight for pointe work.

It is possible to be too big for pointe work, and bigger girls do need to be stronger to go en pointe due to more pressure going through the ankle ligaments. However, you do not need to be a 'stick' either! "Les Trocaderos De Monte Carlo" there are plenty of fully grown men en pointe, who I am sure will be vastly heavier than any girl.

Basically, it depends whether you carry weight as muscle or as fatty tissue, and how strong you are. If you have done all the preparation exercises in The Perfect Pointe Book, and are sure that you are doing all the tests correctly and can demonstrate your strength to you teacher. I feel it is reasonable to dance on pointe.
If you know that you could do with losing a little weight, do make sure you go about it sensibly. Starving is not the way to lose weight, and will actually often slow your metabolism down, as well as making you crave the foods you are missing. The first thing I would do is cut out all the simple sugars in your diet. (Sugar, sweets, white bread, crackers, potatoes and white rice etc). Replace them with whole grain versions as much as possible, and have fruits to satisfy you sweet cravings as much as possible.

It is often really hard at first, so maybe give yourself one day when you can have a small amount of your favourite food if it is not in the good list! This means you won't be as tempted to break your good habits on other days, and before long, you will probably not feel like the "treats" anymore!

The next is to take a look at your weekly exercise regime. How much cardio-vascular exercise do you get each week? According to the Heart Society Guidelines, at least 30 mins of aerobic activity, three times per week is essential for a healthy heart, and this is a good level to have as a baseline. When we are dancing, it is often not sustained aerobic work (although it can be very tiring) so maybe try to include some swimming, brisk walking or jogging to keep you heart rate up for the 30 mins, three times a week.

Good things take time, but do not get discouraged! This is a very health practice to get into for the rest of your life, and I promise that you will feel the benefits before long. Keep up a good intake of fresh fruits, vegetables and lean protein (eggs, tofu, fish, red meat and or chicken) and remember to drink loads of water to keep yourself hydrated!

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How soon can a teen dance on pointe?

I had a little ballet traing when i was little, like 6, then stopped until i was 113, when i did some beginer classes, because by figure skating coach thought it would be good to improve my flexiblity and grace. I have talken classes on and off, and now at 16, I am still not on pointe, but have started dancing full-time. I am in a ballet class called ballet 3, in a studio that goes up too 4, then pre-pointe, then pointe. I lknow the little girls are kept of pointo for like 4-5 years, mostly becasue they need strong bones in thier feet, witch have not yet developed. So my question is after years of skating and some ballet, can i go on pointe soon?

I am a dace teacher, I have many younger children come up to me all the time and ask when they can go up on point? Tha anwser to your question is that it is a different age for all students. it depends on how hard they work, are there feet made for pointe, are there ankels and feet strong enuff bone and muscle wise, as well as it is determined by your calf muscles and thigh muscles. every lil muscle in your lower body plays a BIG part in pointe. If i were you i would go to my dance teacher and ask if i could stay after class and have her test you to see if you are ready, if she says no dont get dicouraged just ask her what you can do to work on it.

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