Most dancers live for the day they are finally allowed to dance en pointe! Dancing en pointe requires a student to meet certain milestones before they can begin, and one of those is having enough ballet training.
Dancers should study ballet for at least three years before beginning pointe. Those three years should be consistent, focused ballet training. But the length of study is not the only requirement for dancing on pointe.
One of a young dancer’s main goals is to achieve perfect splits. There are “Banana Split Clubs” around the world at dance studios that reward dancers with ice cream parties when the whole class gets all three splits. These days, you can find all sorts of products that claim to help dancers achieve the splits, such as split stretchers, but you may be wondering if they’re safe, or worth the investment.
Pointe shoes, while strong enough to support a dancer’s full weight on her toes, are surprisingly delicate and don’t last a very long time! Ballet dancers are constantly trying to figure out innovative ways to make their pointe shoes last longer. While no pointe shoe will stay in great shape forever, there are a few ways to give them a fighting chance at lasting a bit longer than normal! To make pointe shoes last longer, you can use Jet glue, darn the boxes, rotate your shoes, store your shoes properly, and always remove the padding.
Ballet is challenging enough when you have good vision, but for dancers who need glasses, things can get even trickier. While it’s true that you rarely see professional ballerinas performing in glasses, young dancers are a different story.
Ballet and other styles of dance are possible to do while wearing glasses, but some steps and styles are harder to perform bespectacled. By securing glasses properly, and choosing the right frames, you can dance in glasses easily.
Do you need to buy a pair of ballet shoes but you are not sure where to look or find a pair? We have you covered! I was a dancer for many years and am now a dance mom and I have bought, begged and borrowed plenty of ballet shoes during my time and am here to give you the best tips on how to secure yourself a pair!
Have you been talking about your ballet shoes but are not sure of what all the parts are called? Then this post with labelled diagram is for you!
Have you ever seen a soccer player wearing basketball shoes? Or a football player wearing ice skates? Probably not! In the dance world, dancers are expected to wear the kind of shoes that correspond to the style of dance they’re taking. You do need to wear ballet shoes to ballet class most of the time. Occasionally, there are instances where other footwear is acceptable, but the best shoes to wear for ballet are ballet shoes!
Ballet shoes have unique qualities that make them appropriate for ballet class, just like jazz shoes have specific functions for that style of dance. For more about jazz shoes and why they’re necessary for learning jazz dance, check out our article Can I Wear Ballet Shoes in a Jazz Dance Class?
In nearly every photo or video of a ballet dancer, you will notice they always wear a few key things – a leotard, tights, and their hair in a bun. The bun hairstyle is a staple of the ballet world, but you may be wondering why that is.
Ballerinas often have to wear their hair in a bun to adhere to a dress code, because of the traditional aesthetic that the ballet world follows, and to keep their hair out of their face while dancing.
If your dancer is looking to improve in ballet, there is one tried and true solution – practice at home! Most young dancers don’t take enough hours of class per week to get away with not practicing at home and still expect to see results, whether that’s balancing longer in an arabesque or finding that additional rotation in a pirouette.
Dancers dream of getting their first pair of pointe shoes! The beautiful satin slippers are sturdy enough to support the beautiful pirouettes and arabesques that dancers perform, but there comes a time (and it’s sooner than you would think) that pointe shoes become unusable.
A pointe shoe’s lifespan ranges from 2 months to one year, depending on your age, skill level, and schedule. There are some handy tips and tricks you can try to extend the life of your pointe shoes!