How to Teach Pointe Safely: What "Readiness" Actually Looks Like

When teachers search for how to teach pointe safely, they're usually looking for a readiness checklist—something they can use to evaluate students and feel confident about putting them en pointe. And those checklists serve a valuable purpose.

But here's what that approach misses: safety doesn't come from a single assessment. Safety comes from years of systematic preparation that builds the strength, awareness, and coordination students need long before they ever put on pointe shoes.

Let's talk about what comprehensive pointe preparation actually looks like.

The Problem with Readiness Checklists

Most pointe readiness advice sounds something like this: "Students should have strong ankles, good turnout, and be at least 11 or 12 years old." Maybe there's mention of being able to hold a relevé retiré for a certain number of counts. These aren't wrong—they're just incomplete.

A single readiness test tells you whether a student is ready today. It doesn't tell you whether they've been adequately prepared over years to handle the demands of pointe work safely.

And that preparation? That's where real safety and success lives.

What Systematic Pointe Preparation Looks Like

How to teach pointe safely starts years before students take their first relevé en pointe. In my Complete Pointe Curriculum, safety is built through developmental progressions that respect how bodies actually learn complex coordination.

Here's the progression principle I use: two feet to two feet, two feet to one foot, one foot to two feet, one foot to the other foot, and finally one foot to the same foot. Students don't skip steps. They don't rush. They build genuine strength and coordination at each stage before advancing. We do this in petit allegro in their technique classes before they even get their first pair of pointe shoes so repeating the process is (relatively) easy.

Outside of technique class, we continue to prepare. My Pointe Prep class includes 9 units building specific abilities: closed-eye balance progressions (because if you can't balance with your eyes closed on flat, pointe will be exponentially harder), turnout strengthening with resistance bands, core activation exercises that support proper alignment en pointe, and targeted stretches for areas that commonly limit pointe work—calf flexibility, hip flexor length, piriformis mobility.

Every exercise serves a specific purpose in preparing students for the technical and physical demands they'll face en pointe.

The Comprehensive Evaluation That Actually Protects Students

That checklist evaluation I mentioned earlier? It's not just a formality. An excellent evaluation tells the student and teacher where their weaknesses and strengths are. Even my students who progress to pointe shoes get a list of "what you did well" and "what you can work on" that is personalized.

When I evaluate pointe readiness, I'm assessing 11 different criteria that together paint a complete picture of whether a student has the foundation for safe pointe work. Students receive scores of 1-4 on each element, and the total possible is 40 points (one criterion is pass/fail).

To begin pointe work, students must score at least 30 points with no 1s in any category. Why no 1s? Because a significant weakness in any area—whether it's ankle stability, core control, or something else—creates injury risk that higher scores in other areas can't offset.

Each element tells me something specific about whether this student's body is ready for the demands of pointe work. Together, they reveal whether systematic preparation has been successful.

The Game-Changer: Level 4 Integration

Here's where my approach differs significantly from typical pointe instruction. In my curriculum, Pointe 1 happens the same year as Technique Level 4—the first year in the Intermediate Division. But Level 4 isn't just coordinated timing-wise with Pointe 1. Level 4 technique class is specifically designed to reinforce what's happening in Pointe 1.

The whole year of Level 4 supports pointe development. This integration transforms how students progress because their entire ballet education is working toward the same goals rather than treating pointe as a separate specialty class disconnected from their regular training.

The Compassionate Approach That Maintains High Standards

Not every student who evaluates passes on the first try. When a student scores close to passing—say, a 29 or 29.5—I invite them to attend Pointe 1 anyway and participate in their technique shoes. They build strength through class participation, learn from corrections given to their peers, and very often become ready for re-evaluation mid-year.

Students who attend and participate throughout Pointe 1 this way are usually quite successful when they're re-evaluated because they've been building exactly the strength and coordination they need. Students who don't attend until they're "officially ready" miss this gradual preparation and often struggle more even when they've developed sufficient strength on paper.

This approach recognizes that readiness isn't binary—it's developmental. Some students need a few more months of targeted work, and providing that pathway honors their development while maintaining safety standards.

What This Means for Your Teaching

How to teach pointe safely means recognizing that safety is built over years, not assessed in a moment. It means having clear criteria for readiness that go beyond "strong ankles" to comprehensive evaluation of coordination, strength, and control. It means integrating pointe preparation into your entire technique curriculum rather than treating it as a separate specialty.

Most importantly, it means understanding that the goal isn't just getting students into pointe shoes—it's developing dancers who can work en pointe confidently, safely, and with the technical foundation to continue progressing for years to come.

Your students deserve systematic preparation that respects how bodies actually learn. They deserve comprehensive evaluation that protects their safety. And they deserve teaching that recognizes pointe work as the result of years of thoughtful development, not a rite of passage at a certain age.

This comprehensive approach to pointe safety is structured into my Complete Pointe Curriculum. Excellence-driven teachers who want excellent frameworks rather than guesswork invest in this kind of thoughtful preparation. Learn about the complete curriculum at geekyballerina.com/divisions.