En Pointe ou En "Match Stick"

I walk into the assigned room for pointe class. I put my pointe shoes on as the students from the beginning ballet class prior to my pointe class gleefully shasse and sote across the floor as if there isn't a care in the world (I love this no strings attached, free-spirited attitude of a beginning dancer).  Just as I finish tucking in the last piece of ribbon on my pointe shoe, I look up to see what my options are for a spot at the barre. As I look at this ballet barre that runs parallel to the long mirror at the front of the room, I realize that my first position in class is going to be either between the two boys on the end of the barre or the two men in the middle section.

Every man and boy is standing in first position at the barre, (I think the youngest is seven) and is wearing something beautiful, shiny and pink where human flesh meets the marly. Pointe shoes. The strangest part about this situation is that there are a total of ten people in class, and I am the only female! I am so shocked, but also so thrilled about this newfound concept (newfound for me).

I mean, why not? Men tend to have more problems with their arches than females. What better way to stretch and increase the arch, strengthen the ankles and improve technique than to put a pair of pointe shoes on a few times a week. These men are really good, too. I am so impressed with their grace on pointe-a grace that doesn't suck all of the masculinity out of these men. I think this produces an oxymoron-a masculine pointe dancer.

These men are outstanding on pointe, and they inspire me to start studying pointe on a regular basis. Just because you aren't in a ballet company doesn't mean you can't benefit from a pointe class once a week. I have truly rediscovered the value of taking pointe class. I haven't been consistent with pointe classes in a long time because I haven't been dancing in a ballet company, and most musicals don't incorporate pointe dancing (unless you are doing Phantom of the Opera or Mame). For the past two months, I have been taking pointe a couple of times a week in preparation for the Radio City back up dancer audition. Unfortunately, I am not tall enough to be a Rockette, so I go for the back up "dancing bear" part. Most dancers in the ensemble have to be en pointe, so I am currently gearing up by torturing my piggly wigglies at least once a day at home and twice a week in class.

Previous to my encounter with these beautiful, masculine pointe dancers, my only motivation to spend money on pointe class was to become strong enough to participate in the Radio City audition. Now, I have come to the conclusion that I am going to continue with my pointe training for as long as I can while I pursue a dance career. I can't tell you how strong my arches and my legs feel after just taking pointe for a couple of months. My pointe is better, my ankles feel stronger and more supple (therefore reducing the risk of fractures and sprains), my turn out has improved and, most importantly, my inner thighs are taking control like gangbusters.

I find that it's very difficult to cheat and to "grip" when you have pointe shoes on because, when on your tip toes, the satin box is only going to turn out as much as your inner thighs force them to turn out. When in ballet shoes, it is very easy to "over-turn" your feet because the bottoms of your feet can easily stick to the marly floor at 180 degrees while your knees are only at 135 degrees. As a ballet dancer, you want to use your inner thighs and pull up through your stomach as much as possible so that you are not sinking into the ground but pulling up to the sky...up up and away...across the universe (I like playing this ethereal Beatles song in my head while I do pleas and tondues at the barre...it kind of makes me feel like I am floating...which is sort of what you want to feel like when you dance ballet). I can take a philosophical approach to this in that if I am cheating in ballet, which is is the foundation of all dance, I feel like I am cheating myself in all aspects of life. This can be analogous to a house that's held up with a couple of match sticks as its foundation. It is bound to crumble to the ground at some pointe and probably burst into flames, too! If you feel like you are going crumble at some point, get on pointe! That is my prescription for any dancer who feels unstable and like they are balancing on match sticks.

Trade in your match sticks for some pointe shoes.

Irene Kent Beginning Pointe Class New Dance Group

Yuka Kawazu Open Pointe Class New Dance Group