Am I Ready for Pointe?

It’s nearing time to sign up for next year’s classes, and you are considering adding a pointe class. But how do you know if you’re ready?

Well, your ballet teacher this year feels you’re ready, you are 13 years old, you’ve been taking ballet classes for the past 4 years, and would love to continue dancing for many years to come and can’t wait to start pointe work. It should be as simple as that, right? Not exactly. 

As demanding as dancing en pointe is, there are no standards or rules that exist to determine when a dancer is ready to begin pointe work. Dancing en pointe typically begins between 9-15 years of age and after a minimum 2-4 years of training. This is also around the same time that a dancer will have their adolescent growth spurt. During periods of rapid growth, young dancers can demonstrate decreased motor ability and dynamic balance as their body adapts to this change in growth. Without standards to protect the wellbeing of the dance student, dancers may be at risk of sustaining injuries throughout their training.

Recent research in the dance medicine field has taken a much closer look at factors that should be considered and/or evaluated to determine a dancer’s readiness to begin pointe work. This will provide dancers with more evidence based information about whether their body is ready to handle pointe or if they have some things they should address before beginning pointe class. 

So what types of things are we talking about?

• Having at least 90 degrees of ankle plantarflexion range of motion

• Adequate stability at the hip/pelvis to properly initiate and control leg movement

• Sufficient muscular strength and endurance especially at the hip, ankle, and foot

• Proper alignment and balance during dynamic tasks like turning and jumping

Dancing en pointe demands a high level of core stability and lower extremity control!

How are you going to feel confident your body is ready? For starters, you can schedule a session with a dance medicine physical therapist for a pre-pointe screening to assess many components that are essential for pointe. These tests and measurements help evaluate the whole dancer to determine where any weaknesses, 

impaired control and stability, or flexibility limitations may occur.

What does a pre-pointe screen with a physical therapist look like?

It will consist of a series of evidence-based dance specific functional tests performed by your dance medicine physical therapist that examine:

• Strength and neuromuscular control

• Flexibility and range of motion

• Lower extremity alignment and postural control 

• Core stability

Participating in a pre-pointe screen can minimize your risk of injury when beginning pointe work, help you to understand important areas to address with an individualized home exercise program developed for you by your dance medicine physical therapist, and it can optimize your dance performance in all of your classes by performing the home exercises that have been tailored specifically to your needs.

At Graceful Physical Therapy and Performance our goal is to set up our athletes for long term success. We don’t want you to continue to deal with injuries, lose time from what you love doing, or miss out on important auditions, competitions, or performances. A pre-pointe screen is just one of the ways that we work on promoting the health and wellness of the whole athlete. 

Would you like to learn more about participating in a pre-pointe screen or even a pointe readiness workshop? Send us an email at hello@gracefulpt.com and we will get you all the details! We would love to hear from you!

Originally Posted March 27, 2023.