Every year we are happy to invite our hardest working dancers to begin training en pointe. Dancing en pointe is an exciting, beautiful, and very challenging development in Ballet technique. To dance en pointe requires rigorous training and can be a stressful activity on joints and muscles.
The recommendation to commence this training comes from the collective opinion of Adagio faculty when a dancer has demonstrated sufficient strength, flexibility, and technique. In addition, due to the physically demanding nature of this technique, we require a professional and formal recommendation to ensure each dancer is fully prepared to move forward with the Pointe I coursework. You may visit your dancer’s pediatrician to receive this approval, but we prefer the opinion of a specialist, such as an orthopedic doctor with a dance background.
New this year, Adagio arranges for a professional Physical Therapist, specialized in dance, to come to the studio and conduct assessments with each prospective pointe student. As a contribution to our students’ success, we are happy to cover half of the cost of this service!
The emphasis of this program is prevention, with the goal of educating young performing artists regarding injury prevention tools and techniques, as well as providing avenues for early intervention and care when injuries do occur to keep the performing artist in training healthy and in the studio and on the stage!
Purpose: to assess the readiness of students as they advance into pointe technique. This information is designed to give:
1. Objective clearance for a student’s achievement of the requirements of pointe work.
2. Identify and address any technical or physical issues that may affect pointe readiness.
3. Provide exercises for students to build strength and agility specific to the needs of ballet and pointe work.
4. Educate students in pointe shoe fitting and maintenance based on individual bone structures.
The Pointe readiness assessment includes:
• Foot alignment assessment, strength and technique.
• Follow-up time scheduled to discuss results of screening.
• Dancer education on ways to improve, as well as pointe shoe fitting guidance.
