Pegasus Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 DD11 has been taking dance lessons for the past 4 years (ballet, tap, jazz, and modern). This is an activity that she pursues for enjoyment and exercise, not pre-professionally. She was invited to take a pre-pointe class this past year and declined. She's just not interested in pointe. So, my question is, can she continue taking regular ballet lessons and just never do pointe? Or, at some point, do they assume anyone continuing in ballet will progress to pointe? I know that I should address this question to her dance director but I thought I'd get opinions/experience here first. :D Thank you, Pegasus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 She can continue to take a regular technique class if she chooses. Pointe is sometimes held at the end of technique class in certain studios, so she could sit out for that portion of the class. In other studios, it is a 25-30 minute separate class right after a regular technique class and she could just take technique and skip out of the pointe class entirely. Your studio director would be the person to ask, however. Most will be fine with it. Some will give her a hard time for not wanting to "progress". Is there a reason why she doesn't want to try it? Even if she's not serious about dance, pointe is fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawana Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 At the studio dd danced with, pointe was mandatory past a certain age/level. Dd is a large girl, Type 1 diabetic (only relevant with foot issues down the road), with a strong family history of bunnions and other foot issues- she didn't need to put her feet at risk. That policy, combined with a sprained knee (ortho said she shouldn't do splits any more) prompted us to remove dd from dance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula in PA Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 At my dd's dance studio, pointe is a separate class and completely optional. There were a number of older girls doing ballet but not pointe at their spring recital. I think it will just depend on the studio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 At my dd's dance studio, pointe is a separate class and completely optional. There were a number of older girls doing ballet but not pointe at their spring recital. I think it will just depend on the studio. I've seen this at 3 dance studios.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilliant Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 My dd started pointe but after a year or two decided she wasn't interested in pursuing it. I think if she'd stayed in the pre-pro track (Ballet I/II/III etc) it might have been a problem, but she was almost 14 so she started attending an intermediate teen/adult class in which some dancers wore pointe shoes but most did not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 Thank you, everyone. It's good to hear that it is not unusual for dancers to continue ballet while forgoing pointe. As an aside, this same DD has turned done invitations to try out for this dance studio's competition team. While she really enjoys her classes and the annual recital, she doesn't want dance to consume all her time. Pegasus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Yes, definitely! Unless your studio has a different policy, of course. My girls are both dancers, but they don't do pointe. While I really like our studio, it isn't pre-pro, and they really aren't experts in pointe. After observing a few classes, it's no surprise to me that so many of the girls have foot ankle, and back problems. If we had a good ballet school locally, I would have let my girls take pointe, but no way would I let them take it with our current teaching staff. Here's a good article about starting pointe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 Thanks for the article, Perry. It answered a lot of questions that I had and gives me confidence that we are making the right decision. Pegasus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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