A.Your teacher is the best person to answer that question. Being prepared for pointe has a lot more to do with technique, physical strength, and physical development than age or the number of classes one takes in a week. Practicing at home, taking care of your body and your feet, etc. are all wonderful habits to develop to improve your dancing, independent of pointe work. Just make sure you're practicing things *correctly* outside of class. It's hard sometimes when the teacher isn't there to watch and correct.Ask your teacher for advice, and most importantly, when the teacher gives a correction in class, whether or not s/he is correcting you, *try* the correction! We learn dance by dancing. There is no way to learn from a correction by just standing there listening to it.
Q. My daughter has just got her first pair of pointe shoes but they are wearing at the toe already. I know there is some stitching that I can do to make them last longer but I don't know what cotton to use and which stitch. I would love to see a picture of the stitching so I can have a go.
A. I've just created a new page so you can read about this, just go to "History of Pointe" and then "Darning Pointe Shoes"
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