Pointe Shoes Are Not A Crutch

I know I've written about this subject before, but a little reminder can't hurt.

Pointe shoes are not a crutch.

As most of you know, I'm kind of a maverick in ballet. There are things that just don't make sense to me, I have my own definite ideas, and I can support and prove my ideas with fact, much to the annoyance of others in ballet.

I don't care.

So, on to crutches.

If you need super strong shoes for pointe work, you are not strong enough for pointe work. (Professionals are a slightly different story, but they are strong enough, usually, that they don't need strong shoes, they just like them, but there's still a problem. Read on). I have two major pet peeves regarding super strong shoes (Russian Pointes, I'm looking at you!). The first is, the shoe is doing most of the work. Wrong. You should be doing most of the work. Like, 90% of it. Second, super strong shoes are usually super hard, which makes them super loud, which I DETEST! The magic of ballet is destroyed by loud pointe shoes.

Now, there are strong shoes that aren't loud, but I'm not turning this into a commercial for any specific brand.

Suffice it to say, if you need super strong shoes, the problem isn't your shoes, it's you; you're not strong enough.

Get into class, and get stronger.