What You'll Learn
- Proper foot placement and weight distribution en pointe to maintain balance and prevent injury
- Dynamic execution of fundamental steps including fondu, tendu, and plié specifically for pointe work
- Navigating center transitions with confidence using chassé, pas de bourrée, and piqué
- Techniques to articulate the feet and 'push down' into the floor for maximum stability
- How to modify intermediate steps to suit your current strength level
About This Video
Starting your pointe journey is an exhilarating milestone in any dancer's life. At Broche Ballet, we understand that the transition from beginner basics to more fluid, intermediate movements requires both physical strength and technical precision. This "Fast-Paced Pointe Basics" class is designed specifically to help you bridge that gap, focusing on the fundamental mechanics of dancing en pointe while increasing the tempo to prepare you for more advanced choreography.
The session begins at the barre, where we revisit essential movements like plié, tendu, and fondu. While these may seem like beginner steps, executing them in pointe shoes demands a higher level of engagement from the intrinsic muscles of the feet and the core. We emphasize the importance of a controlled relevé and a deep plié to ensure safety and stability.
By refining these basics, you create the necessary foundation for more complex movements. In these exercises, we focus on the transition from the floor to the tip of the shoe, ensuring you aren't "knuckling" or falling off the platform. Moving into the center, the class shifts focus toward weight transfer and balance.
You will practice steps such as chassé, pas de bourrée, and piqué with a focus on "pushing down" through the toes to maintain an upright, stable posture. A key takeaway from this lesson is the correct placement of the foot in sous-sus and ensuring that during pas de bourrée, your heels are properly aligned to avoid over-crossing. Transitioning these steps into the center without the support of the barre is where true pointe strength is forged.
Instructor-led demonstrations provide close-up views of foot mechanics, helping you visualize the articulation required to roll through the shoe. Whether you are struggling with a specific step or looking to refine your overall technique, this class offers variations—such as closing to sous-sus instead of a full piqué—to meet you where you are in your training. Join Broche Ballet and elevate your pointe work today.
