Dancing en pointe is a form of dancing mostly limited to female ballet dancers. It is the practice of dancing in toe shoes, which have a hard wooden base, where one is literally standing, when en pointe, on the tips of one’s toes. In truth, ballet risks a number of injuries to the lower half of the body. About 60% of ballet injuries affect the legs, hips, ankles, or feet. Of these, about half of all injuries are specifically related to the feet and ankles, with dancing en pointe being the major cause of injury.

Ballet is a highly selective art. Physical form matters extremely. Dancers who have the least difficulty performing en pointe tend to have toes all about the same length. They also have to have exceptionally strong ankles, since maintaining a pose or walking or dancing en pointe must be guided by ankle stability.

People with a longer big toe tend to have more trouble with dancing en pointe because they are supporting most of their weight on two big toes. There are some modified toe shoes that can help, but a dancer either has “bad feet” or “good feet.”

Some minor medical problems that occur regularly with en pointe dancing are calluses, bunions, and blisters. More significant problems can include bone spurs, and bone degeneration. Not all dancers do well en pointe, no matter how much they would like to.

Actually, the biggest risk in dancing en pointe is ankle sprain. This is the most common ballet injury, and repeated sprains can end a dancing career of any type. Because of the problems related to en pointe dancing, it is questionable whether a person not interested in a ballet career should ever progress to en pointe training.

There are some people who should definitely not dance en pointe. Diabetics, who can suffer tremendous complications from even minor injuries, like blisters, to the foot are probably best served by finding another form of dancing that is gentler on the feet. Children under 12 should never dance en pointe either, and in most cases, 12 is considered the minimum age at which children can begin to train en pointe. Beginning toe shoe training before the foot is fully formed can influence how the foot will form, creating lifelong foot problems.

Many ballet dancers, who have trained extensively, suffer residual foot problems for the rest of their lives. The feet were not meant to take the kind of abuse ballet tends to cause. Especially when dancers train four to five hours daily, this can create medical problems regularly, and many dancers are encouraged to be stoic about the pain. In fact, stoicism is often adopted especially as dancers begin to age, since injuries can shorten a career. Dancers can dance on injured feet or limbs, but often do so at a physical cost in later life.

Parents should really consider whether the potential risks of en pointe training are worth it, especially in younger kids. If your child is aiming toward a career in ballet, then naturally they will have to hazard the risk of en pointe dancing. For children who have other goals in mind, dancing en pointe may never be necessary.