Why I don’t miss dancing en pointe

Ouch.
Ouch.

Night three of Nutcracker performances when I danced Sugar Plum Fairy, back in the day. Ow. Must confess to more than one bout of crying and “I’m not sure I can go up on pointe – it hurts too much!” rant. But of course I did. With a smile.

Oh, my. I do not miss dancing en pointe.

BTW, the little knee-high hose you see there was what I used to wrap around my toes as a sort of padding. Ironically, the best pads, those cushiony gel ones, might not be the best for your optimum performance, because it helps to “feel” the floor. The knee-high-hose was a compromise between nothing and padded. Second BTW, those are Freeds. Not so pretty when they’re used up, now, are they? (I made my shoes last a loooooong time. Floor wax poured into the too-soft tip of the toe to prolong their life. Like the hose padding, better than nothing.)

Ever wonder how pointe shoes are made? Take a peek at the fun video clip below, created by the Royal Ballet, filmed at Freed of London.

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3 thoughts on “Why I don’t miss dancing en pointe”

  1. I do not miss pointe either. When – as a teenager – I had to realize I was not going to be a professional dancer (wrong body type, problems with my hip joints), I was sad, but at the same time relieved, because I did not have to do pointe any more. If I remember correctly, I threw out my pointe shoes that same day. I never understood those women who kept their first pointe shoes.

    Reply
    • >When […] I had to realize I was not going to be a professional dancer (wrong body type, problems with my hip joints), I was sad, but at the same time relieved, because I did not have to do pointe any more.

      Oh, Paulina, YES! That was the silver lining in my cloud. To this day I do not miss the absence of pointe shoes in my life. When I see fellow adult dancers testing out pointe shoes, I’m soooooo happy for them, and feel absolute lack of jealousy/envy/sadness. Much, much better them than me.

      That said. I kinda wish I hadn’t thrown out that sack of old pointe shoes back before I moved out to California in 1990, so very sure ballet and me were forever ended. They’d be fun souvenirs now. (Hey, tho – I saved 3, two of which are painted and very unique. That’s just about enough.)

      Reply

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