When are adolescent dancers ready for pointe shoes?

…That is probably the ultimate question for every young girls that dance ballet. "When do I get my first point of pointe shoes?"

© 2011 Oliver Endahl 

INTRO

     Personally, I got my first pointe shoes when I was in 3rd grade. Some dancers brag about how early they got to start wearing pointe shoes. Yes, I did get a head start, but now I am permanently injured. When I was in 5th grade, I felt a pain in the middle-side of my foot. To this day, a bone called navicular in my foot is poking out, and I never saw a doctor for this problem. 

Most ballet teachers look at 3 factors to determine if the dancer is ready to be on pointe:

• Chronological age:  The average age is 12, and the range can be between 9 and 15 years old
• Years of training:  Usually around 3-4 years of ballet training prior to acquiring pointe shoes
• Range of motion in the ankle:  Studies showed that ballerinas have 10 degrees larger range of motion than non-ballerinas. Apparently, the narrower the range of motion, the more chance you can get pointe shoes related injury. 

But here's the problem. Chronological age and maturation age are very different. And, between age 12 and 14 is when the growth spurt occurs dramatically. The strength, flexibility, and proprioception (how you know where your limbs are) is distorted, and adolescents have to constantly adjust to the maturing body. In adolescents, parts of bones are weak because the epiphyseal plate (which is a layer of cartilage in a bone for growth) is not calcified (solidified) yet. That is probably why my foot is not in the right form. The rapid changes raise safety concerns for dancing on pointe, and the years of training isn't a good enough way to determine how ready you are. 

THE TESTS

     Some researchers decided to seek for more objective way to determine if a dancer is ready. So what is it to be "ready"? Ready is to have dynamic trunk control, neuromuscular control of the lower extremity (like legs, ankles), and the alignment of the lower extremities. Using already-existing performance tests, researchers worked with ballet teachers to decide what would be a good predictor for readiness. Here are the 3 tests:

• "Topple" test

          In this test, a student has to perform a single pirouette en dehors from 4th position. A passing test is when she is able to perform the pirouette with supporting leg fully extended, the other leg in full retire (aka passé), and maintaining a vertical alignment and a controlled decelerating landing.

• Airplane test

          Trunk pitched forward, other leg extended back, and keeping the pelvis square to the ground, a student has to perform a pile with one leg and touch the floor with fingers. A passing test is when 4 out of 5 plies are done with aligned supporting lower extremities.

• Single-leg sauté test

          Considered the most useful, this test is when a student jumps (or sauté) on one leg while maintaining an upright and stable trunk, neutral lower extremity alignment, proper toe-heel landing, and fully extended knee and pointed toes in the air. A passing test is when 8 out of 16 jumps are properly executed. 

          By using these tests, teachers can easily see if the dancer's body is built for pointe shoes. Keep in mind that flexibility, strength, and control are the necessities for dancing on pointe. 

LOOKING AT THE LONG TERM EFFECTS

      My friend told me that when she went to a doctor to seek treatment for her foot, the doctor replied, "It's hard to treat this, or tell you to stop dancing on pointe. Humans are just not build to be on their toes." And that is true! Since it is definitely not normal, you need to pay close attention to the body and stay attentive to all injuries when dealing with adolescents. I still get some pain in the winter when my foot gets cold. Puberty is such a fragile time for the body, so giving a huge impact on its maturation can cause damages, like my foot. It is important for dance teachers to know how to assess dancers for pre-pointe screening. Long-term health of a dancer is more important than getting a head start on the pointe training. It is also important to acknowledge that everyone's time of readiness  is different. Build your body. Become ready. Then you can start dancing unnaturally, like on pointe. 

REFERENCES

Meck, C., Hess, R. A., Helldobler, R., & Roh, J. (2004). Pre-pointe evaluation components used by dance schools. Journal of Dance Medicine & Science, 8(2), 37-37.

Richardson, M., Liederbach, M., & Sandow, E. (2010). Functional criteria for assessing pointe-readiness. Journal of Dance Medicine & Science : Official Publication of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science, 14(3), 82-88.