Pointe shoes have evolved immensely in recent years. Originally, ballet dancers wore soft footwear, torturing their feet to achieve the perfect position, stance or move.
While ballet is regarded as one of the most classic and elegant forms of dance and leaves viewers in awe, it also leaves a lot of the audience wondering how on earth dancers are able to perform such demanding techniques. While the amount of skill required is almost otherworldly, their secret weapon is wrapped around their feet. Ballet pointe shoes are a dancer's best friend and, thankfully, have evolved into an extremely helpful tool, allowing them to pull off these remarkable routines.
How do they work?
A lot of moves in the ballet world would not be possible without custom-fit pointe shoes. Standing tall on the tips of their toes, dancers hold positions for long lengths of time, putting an incredible amount of pressure on their feet. Ensuring you have the correct footwear for your routines is imperative here, allowing for significant support, especially to weaker areas of your body.
This support is often increased when purchasing quality options, while injuries have been known to occur with cheaper styles; this is why it’s crucial to do your research before making the investment.
Other nifty techniques
Along with ensuring you opt for the right kind of footwear, another way ballet dancers stand on the tips of their toes for so long is due to strict conditioning and health regimes.
Ballet dancers are not only elegant swans, they are also masters of self-disciple. Conditioning the body plays a major role in their success, and their ability to perform correctly. Focusing on health, nutrition, diet and exercise provides high energy and fuel for a dancer to achieve optimum performance.
Strength and muscle control throughout the entire body also enables them to achieve perfect poses. Focusing on core and leg strength, this kind of form is also expected to maintain femininity – a combination that can sometimes be hard to master.
Additionally, there is a lot of focus on strengthening core muscles, without emphasising the arms. To assist with this, many dancers use elastic resistance training to increase strength and definition, without developing bulky muscles. One thing is for sure, though: to be a successful ballet dancer, you need to master the art of self-discipline.
Where to start
Options like those from Gaynor Minden, allow you to give your feed the support they need to take on more demanding routines and techniques. Ultimately, a great pair of pointe shoes and a strong conditioning exercise regime are compulsory for ballet lovers, and the real secret lies in the ability to combine all of these elements together.
Looking to replace your worn out footwear? Browse our range online now or get in touch to find out which option suits your needs best.