Essay On Pointe Dance
Every year, thousands of young girls inflict permanent damage on their feet by dancing en pointe, a ballet tradition dating back to the 19th. This subject holds particular significance to me. I have danced for most my life, and as a young girl I desperately wanted to dance in pointe shoes. Pointe work seemed like the pinnacle of achievement for a dancer, and I waited anxiously for my instructor to allow it. When I eventually began to dance on pointe I realized two things. One: pointe work requires a level of pain tolerance that I do not have. Two: most of the other girls taking pointe seemed young, between the ages of 10-12. This confused me, since I had always heard teachers insist that going on pointe before the age of 14 would have horrible
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Constructed out of thickly starched cardboard and satin, the shoes fit rigidly to the dancer’s feet, then widen out at the toes to form a flat surface, usually only a few inches wide. This structure allows ballerinas to place their entire body weight on the tip of their large toe. Of course, dancing en pointe requires an enormous amount of foot and ankle strength, and general muscle control, since one wrong move could permanently injure a dancer, ending their career. In the early 19th century, ballerinas began using pointe shoes, although they looked slightly different than they do today. Originally, the shoes consisted of little more than satin slippers, with a leather sole which would allow dancers like Marie Taglioni to briefly balance on their toes. (History Coooperative) Early pointe shoes also tapered in at the toes, to give the effect of floating just above the floor. While beautiful, these shoes severely disfigured the dancers, and left many crippled in their old age. Yet choreographers continued include pointe work in their ballets, constantly finding new ways to showcase the dancer’s grace and athleticism. Over time the platform of the shoes widened, and the soles gained stronger support. Prominent ballerinas like Anna Pavlova helped to evolve the pointe shoe into its more modern form, which combine beauty and
Constructed out of thickly starched cardboard and satin, the shoes fit rigidly to the dancer’s feet, then widen out at the toes to form a flat surface, usually only a few inches wide. This structure allows ballerinas to place their entire body weight on the tip of their large toe. Of course, dancing en pointe requires an enormous amount of foot and ankle strength, and general muscle control, since one wrong move could permanently injure a dancer, ending their career. In the early 19th century, ballerinas began using pointe shoes, although they looked slightly different than they do today. Originally, the shoes consisted of little more than satin slippers, with a leather sole which would allow dancers like Marie Taglioni to briefly balance on their toes. (History Coooperative) Early pointe shoes also tapered in at the toes, to give the effect of floating just above the floor. While beautiful, these shoes severely disfigured the dancers, and left many crippled in their old age. Yet choreographers continued include pointe work in their ballets, constantly finding new ways to showcase the dancer’s grace and athleticism. Over time the platform of the shoes widened, and the soles gained stronger support. Prominent ballerinas like Anna Pavlova helped to evolve the pointe shoe into its more modern form, which combine beauty and