Pointe Responses

Dancing Smart Newsletter
November 3, 2006

Announcements

Happy November!

Thought I would throw an extra newsletter in this week because of all the wonderful responses I got about fitting pointe shoes in last week's newsletter. You guys rock! It's what I do love about this medium, its a relatively easy way to communicate and share information. After all, that's why we are all here, yes? We share a common passion with the field of dance. I wanted to pass the following information onto you so you can explore any of them in more detail if you chose.

Let's start off with the original question.

My 13-year-old daughter has been on pointe for almost two years now and is still having difficulty getting over the box. She has a strong foot but not a lot of arch. She's also had some problems of soreness in her Achilles tendon area, and we're wondering if this could be caused by the strain she's putting on her feet by having to dance toward the back of the box.

I recently did some research and read that for her kind of feet, she ought to find pointe shoes with a regular to short vamp and three-quarter to one-half shank. Is there such a shoe? When I was dancing some 30 years ago, I used Capezio, which had fairly low vamps then. I've noticed that now Capezio and, to our knowledge, most other pointe shoes tend to have relatively high vamps. According to what I read (and as I'd suspected) this only gives a "slightly arched" foot more to "fight against."

I've tried searching for a pointe shoe company that makes low-vamp shoes (preferably not special order), but can't seem to find any. The same goes for a one-half shank shoe. We were just wondering if you could offer us any advice or point us in the right direction.

Thank you so much.

Gratefully, Patty

First response was from Melissa…

I was just reading the latest Dancing Smart Newsletter, and came across Patty's question regarding various pointe shoe models that would be suitable for her daughter's foot. My suggestion for her would be to start with 'Chapter 9: Pointe Shoe Characteristics,' of Janice Barringer and Sarah Schlesinger's "The Pointe Shoe Book: Shoes, Training & Technique." In this chapter she will find the most comprehensive guide that I know of listing pointe shoe makers and models by their respective types of vamp, shank, platform, width, sole, box, heel, pleating, fabric, drawstring, etc. While the latest edition of this book is a couple of years old, it is an excellent place to start when narrowing down which shoes a dancer might want to try or be fit for. (As an experiment, I drew up a list of shoes that should work for me based upon their list, and sure enough, it left me with my favourite make and model as my ideal choice.)

Pointe Magazine also recently did a shoe issue, and you can purchase back copies of the magazine from their website. While the information is not as detailed as in the book, it does give all of the pertinent contact details for each manufacturer, so she could contact those that most interest her.

I know that you may not be able to promote particular books or magazines through your newsletter, but perhaps if you might pass this e-mail along to Patty, she and her daughter might find their way to more safe and comfortable pointe shoes!

By the way, I am loving FUNctional Anatomy Level 1. I will be teaching dance to several classes of adults with intellectual disabilities this coming January, through an arts in education program. Because the lessons are short and straightforward, we are planning to include them as part of the syllabus, as means of enhancing bodily awareness and understanding. Thanks for the great resource!

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Sorry to be a pest, but I had a few more thoughts about the pointe shoe issue for Patty and her daughter. While these are less directly related to shoes, per se, they are things she might want to consider.

While Patty states that her daughter has been dancing on pointe for two years, and that her feet are strong, I wondered how many times a week her daughter attends class, and what preparation and evaluation were required of her before she was put on pointe to ensure that she had the necessary leg, ankle and foot strength. She also does not mention having discussed the issue with her daughter's teacher, which would be an important dialogue to have. What are the teacher's thoughts on the problem? What strategies have they tried to rectify it? What is the teacher's rationale for allowing a student to continue in her pointe work for this long without consideration of potential changes required in training or shoes? Is this an issue that the parent and child have been left to solve on their own? I am concerned when: 1) Correct placement over the box is fundamental to sound beginning pointe work technique, and it has now been two years without achieving this milestone; and 2) It would appear that they are risking inflammation and/or injury in this stage of the game due to her daughter's placement struggles.

Certainly I do not want to suggest that something wrong has been done by the instructor. She may already have very satisfactory answers to all of these questions, but periodically re-visiting our assumptions about how and why we dance helps us all grow and dance more safely. Dialogue between all of the adults involved in a young dancer's life is very important, and should be ongoing.

Cheers,
Melissa Mahady Wilton
ConCorpsDance Inclusive Dance Programs

Deb: You certainly aren't pestering, Melissa – thank you for your thoughtful responses.

Next Lisa from Ohio..

I enjoy your newsletter, and I thought I would pass on something that might help with one of the questions in the latest issue. Someone was asking about shoes with shorter vamps, etc. This link http://www.the-perfect-pointe.com/list2.html should give some answers to that type of question. I've found it very helpful in searching out just the right shoe for my oddball feet. Actually, that whole website is great, IMHO.

Just thought I'd pass it along!

Lisa King
Waynesville, OH

Last but not least, Lisa from Australia, a physical therapist who works with dancers.

After reading your last email I thought I must send you a note with some tips to help girls get en pointe easier.

Not being able to come onto full pointe usually means one of two things: either the foot/ankle does not have enough mobility, or the shoe is too stiff/too soft/not broken in correctly. The vamp height I feel is more related to the length of the toes and is more subject to personal preference.

If the ankle cannot achieve a flat pointe this needs to be worked on before attempting any further pointe work. Otherwise the dancer will be constantly sitting on the back of the box (the first section of The Perfect Pointe Book is devoted to stretches and exercises to improve this). This will almost certainly lead to development of irritation in the Achilles Tendon as she will be constantly contracting her soleus, as well as the extrinsic foot muscles (Flexor Hallucis Longus, Flexor Digitorum Longus…) to maintain her height en pointe. Once you achieve full height, a muscle called Tibialis Posterior assist in “locking off” the ankle, which takes the strain of the other muscles.

The second issue is the shoe. If the shank is too hard and has no discernable curve when the dancer is en pointe, then it needs to be worked before wearing, as it will be pulling her off pointe. (I break in all the girls shoes using the following technique and they love wearing the shoes from day 1). If the shoe is too soft and the dancer is sinking into it (due to weakness), or it is broken in the middle of the shank, she will also struggle to stay up on the box.

The issue that a lot of girls have is breaking the shoe in - in the right place. I personally find it un-necessary for most students to 1⁄2 shank their shoes unless they are very strong and can support themselves extremely well. For most girls I break in the shank using a technique devised by Susan Mayers, who is the Physiotherapist for the Australian Ballet Company, as it works perfectly to allow girls to get easily en pointe and actually make the shoes last a little longer, as they continue to ‘break’ where you have told them to!

So, how do you break in a shoe? I am going to make a little video clip of the process in the next few weeks, and will post it for you. But for now, girls can try this...

• Turn the satin of the heel of the shoe inside out so that you can see the sole.
• Place your foot in the shoe (with any padding/ouch-pouches that you will wear when dancing).
• Place the foot en pointe (don’t take your whole weight on it, just press down a little).
• Find the point of your foot where the arch ends and the heel begins with one finger.
• Turn your finger over and find where this is on your shoe.
• Remove your foot from the shoe, and gently, using the floor, mould the back of the shoe down to this point only.
• Put the shoe back on to check the fit (satin up again).
• The rest of the shank should stay straight and the shank of the shoe should curve perfectly up under your heel.
• This will help support you in the shoe to stop sinking down, and will also make the shoe last longer.
• You can also gently break in the demi pointe as usual, by placing your thumbs in the shoe where the ball of your foot will sit and pressing the demi-pointe into the floor.

I hope this helps!!!

Deb: Thanks, Lisa. For those who are interested you can check out Lisa's ebook on pointe work at http://www.theperfectpointebook.com/index2.html

Have a wonderful week!

Deborah

"Education is the key to injury prevention"

Copyright ©2003-2006 The Body Series. All Rights Reserved.

Deborah Vogel is a dancer, author, and master teacher who conducts workshops across the U.S. for both student and professional dancers. Her numerous articles on dance technique and injury prevention have appeared in Dance Spirit and Dance Teacher magazines. She is the Director of the Institute for Performance Studies and a faculty member at Oberlin College and the OC Conservatory of Music. During her years in NYC she co- founded the Center for Dance Medicine. Deborah makes her home in Oberlin, Ohio.