Tips for a Pointe Beginner?

Question

Anything you can suggest?

Breaking in of the shoe...

Ribbon Tying..

How to keep the shoes fairly comfortable...

etc.

Thanks! =)

Answer 1

Breaking in the shoe:  beat the part under the box (where the whispers are) with a hammer, or on the ground.  Beat it until the sound goes from high pitched to low.  Make sure and bend your pointe-shoe arch with your hands so you don't have to apply to much force with your arches at first.

Ribbon Tying:  wrap one ribbon completely around your ankle first, then do the second ribbon (one at a time!!!)  then  tie them in a not on the inside of your ankle.  Make sure and tuck them under the wrapped ribbon.

Comfortable:  Use comfortable toe pads,  I suggest the gelly ones.  That's about all there is to it :)

Answer 2

dont break the shoe using force!! it can literally BREAK the shoe!! lol. they'll break on their own after being worn a few times. just walk around in the on demi pointe for a while and do a couple of rises to make them break.

the other people have already answered the ribbon tying problem so i don't need to repeat it. but the ribbon always comes undone and its a pain so to keep the tucked in after you have done them up, just spray the with hair spray!

and use toe padding. i use the jelly ones and it makes a huge difference. but the best thing to keep them comfortable is to do the ribbon up fairly tight because it keeps your foot in place.

good job on making pointe!!! i was sooo excited when i got my pointe shoes!!

Answer 3

Good job for making it to the pointe level! That takes a lot of strength! : )

Breaking in the shoe:

I get gaynor minden's. They are pretty broken in to begin with. But if they're not good enough for me I just take the shoe and start to point/bend it a little bit in both directions (but not so hard that it will break..lol). Or I put them on and go up in releve a bunch of times.

Ribbon tying:

Criss cross your ribbons in front of your ankle then wrap them around in opposite directions from eachother until you have about 2 inches of ribbon left that you can tie in a knot and tuck under the wrapped ribbon.

To keep the ends of the ribbon from fraying:

For a while I was sewing the ends of the ribbon but that didn't work out too well for me. So now what I do is just put clear nailpolish on the tips and it works great!

Keeping the shoes comfortable?

hmm...well pointe is never very comfortable no matter what you do the shoes. To keep your feet as comfy as possible, make sure you're toe nails are kept cut (but not too short).

Also...you could consider purchasing gel pads or ouch pouches (something of that sort) to protect your toes better. They also carry toe spacers if you need them. Athletic tape is good for preventing blisters and sores. Place it over the areas of your foot where the shoes rubs up against the most. I don't use it...but most dancers in my studio do as far as I know.