Expert: Dianne M. Buxton - 3/28/2008

Question
I took ballet for eight years and got to intermediate foundation (Vocational
equivalent of Grade 6). I was just short of going en pointe then, but because
of my transfer to an extremely busy, academically challenging school, had to
drop out because I could not keep up with all my lessons and extra outside-
school classes. I've recently found myself a windfall of extra time (joy!) and
feel the urge to pick ballet up again. Luckily, for some reason, I've kept up
with my stretches and can still do splits, etc. Given that I've stopped for two
years, and am currently 14+, what route would you recommend me to take
up now? And will I ever be able to go en pointe now, or is it too late? Has
anyone gone pro after being a late restarter, like myself, because I know that
14+ may sound young, but in ballet it's pretty old :(

Answer
Hi Elizabeth. After you get back into shape muscle-wise you can start planning to work up to pointe work. If you can do 2-3 classes a week, that will help. And you can practice at home.

At http://www.theballetstore.com there are many technical articles you might enjoy reading, to remind yourself of all the details - and your muscles will remember too!

Adding to all the free information, you may at some time during your re-start want to get a wonderful technical manual which you will also find on the balletstore.com, The Perfect Pointe Book. The author's link is on the top of the front page. It is written by a dance medicine specialist who has created self-assessment tests and practice charts, to specifically strengthen the feet, posture, and turnout for pointe work. Of course that covers the basics, so it is going to strengthen you faster for everything. The book gives you photos and videos too, so the contents are very understandable. I think it will give you an edge. It's an ebook - you download it onto your own computer.

One advantage to starting pointe work at 14+ is that your bones are more developed and stronger. So do not feel at a disadvantage - you can catch up! Achieving a professional standard would depend on your abilities and the quality of the training that you get.

All the best, Dianne. Feel free to ask more questions as you need to!