Pointe shoes (also known as toe shoes) are a special type of shoe used by ballet dancers. They allow a ballerina to dance on the tips of her toes (en pointe). Pointe shoes are normally worn only by female dancers, though male dancers may wear them for certain roles, such as the ugly stepsisters in Cinderella or Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Pointe shoes are usually satin and have a somewhat blocky look about them. The shoes have two important structural features that allow the dancer to dance on the tips of her toes:
the box is a section of stiffened satin (traditionally supported by burlap and glue) that encases and supports the dancer's toes. The end of the box is flattened into a platform, upon which the dancer can balance.
the shank is a strengthened piece of material running the length of the dancer's sole. It provides support to the arch of her foot as she stands on pointe.
Young girls usually start dancing en pointe at age eleven or twelve. Before this, their bones have not stopped growing; serious foot deformities can result from starting pointe too early. Girls must not go up en pointe until the bones of their feet are fully developed and the muscles in the arches, legs, pelvic area and abdominals are strong enough to bear the stress. They should also have had several years at least, of proper training. All of this requires careful evaluation on the part of the teacher. Note that we have three requirements here: bones, muscles, and training.
Adults can learn to dance en pointe but rarely achieve the expertise of those trained young, unless they have a body that is freakishly suited to ballet, and very good teachers.
Once a dancer is ready, preparation for pointe work is a slow and gradual process. At first, it is just strengthening exercises at the barre - for example, simply going up on pointe and coming back down, and then introducing variations in speed and position whilst doing this - for perhaps no more than five or ten minutes. It is only after six months to a year of this that one can start dancing on pointe in the center. The entire process takes time and close supervision by the teacher.
Because dancing en pointe in pointe shoes puts severe stress on the dancer's foot, ballerinas must take very good care of their feet. Common injuries related to dancing en pointe are:
blisters - caused by repeated rubbing of skin against the rough hardened inside of the shoe's box. Blisters can be prevented by carefully putting tape or bandaids on the dancer's toes before she puts on her pointe shoes.
bunions - a bone deformity usually in the dancer's big toe, caused by cramping of the toes within the shoe's box. Dancers can prevent bunions by putting a spacer (often gel) between her big toe and the next toe.
