Hi Dianne,

Thank you for your wonderful and informative articles!

I have sort of a strange question.

Do you feel it is appropriate to give in to (teenaged) students and allow them to stay in soft shoes for a pointe class because of a painful blister?

Years ago I was a professional dancer and then taught in a dance school affiliated with a company in a large city in which the students were expected to "suck it up" (the pain). I am now teaching in a rather small school in a suburb.
I am torn between what I am used to: expecting the students to be stoic and endure the pain of blisters, ingrown toenails etc., and allowing them to do pointe class in soft shoes because of pain.

I'd love your take on this.

Thanks again for this forum!

Hi Sara. Sorry it took so long to get to this! Thanks for dropping in on The Ballet Store!

In your situation, I would let the student go through one class in soft shoes. And, help her figure out why she got the blister. Are the shoes a too tight fit? Did she forget her toe padding? And all the other possible reasons.

One handy way to prevent blisters is plastic wrap. Providing that the fit is good, the plastic wrap over the tights (not bunched, but smooth) allows the tights and shoe canvas to glide, rather than catch.

Do your students use The Perfect Pointe Book? Strong feet do best in pointe shoes. There is a link to the author's page on the front page of this site. It is such a help, because the students who need a little extra help can work safely at home and catch up to the class requirements.

Again, thanks for visiting us!

Thank you so much for your reply, Dianne.

As I said we are in a rather small suburb and some of the students actually order their pointe shoes. Often they are disappointed with what they receive in the mail yet must keep and wear them until they are no longer supportive.

They are not as strong as they could be on pointe, so yes, that is a good point

I never used the plastic wrap and sure wish I had heard of it when I was dancing! Thanks so much for the idea.

I will also look into The Perfect Pointe Book.

Thanks again, Dianne!

You're so welcome!

Hi Glorey Aye. Thanks for visiting our forum. I see you've posted a clickable link to some injury rehabilitation products. That's fine, but please all dancers who read the forum, always see a health practitioner for any pain that does not go away with ice and rest! As in, at least 50% gone the following day. You need professional advice before you use a brace of any kind for support.

Just wanted to make that clear!

Glorey Aye I hope you've taken the opportunity to read some of our articles on injury prevention and good dance technique. And tips on fitting and wearing pointe shoes!

Cabal Alz as long as we enjoyed the fun of the game, and meet a new friend can through the game to find a common topic. sell WOW Gold which is more than the hard disk was crammed with video game, every day in front of a computer screen training more than 10 hours not more conform to most people's real needs? world of warcraft gold blizzard in warcraft iii told we: playing games, just happy.