What is the difference between pointe and ballet?

animalsammi: What is the difference between pointe and ballet?
I understand that you have to dance on the tips of your toes, so don’t put that. I started ballet a few weeks ago and want to know what the difference is because our teacher always says “if you were doing pointe you would…” I also was curious if you used differnet music for pointe that you don’t for ballet and if males can do pointe because I’ve never seen a man with pointe shoes on. And please no smart-alic answers.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Kelsie A
Hey ok well Pointe is where most people mess up their feet! I think Pointe is pretty much just you know the whole toes thing it’s just an upscale ballett because the whole time your on your tippy toes so that’s pretty much it. Most 7th graders are just starting that’s pretty much the age you start at the youngest!

Answer by purpleangel43
Pointe is p on your tippy toe and ballet is not. Pionte has alot of the same moves but its very different. Pointe is definetly harder!!

Answer by Acceptance
Pointe is the next level in ballet. Your teacher is telling you about pointe techniques so that you are familiar with them should you decide to go en pointe some years down the road.

It’s still ballet, so you don’t necessarily use different music for it. It’s not like jazz vs. ballet.

Men can do pointe, but typically don’t. There are very few male pointe roles and very few men trained in it.

Answer by ballerina_kim
Pointe is ballet except instead of dancing in slippers and going into demi pointe you would dance up on the tips of your toes. It’s usually for advanced ballet dancers because you can hurt yourself if you’re not strong enough yet. Most people have to take ballet several years before doing pointe. While it’s very hard on your feet, its generally considered beautiful and is the typical image of the classical ballerina.

Answer by dancelvr_dance
I take ballet and pointe. Pointe shoes have a hard box at the toe so you can stand on them. (i know you already know that!!) =) The music can be the same as ballet. Ballet is a good class to take before begining pointe because you need all of the technique you learn in ballet for pointe. And yes,, men can take any kind of dance!! 🙂 I really enjoy pointe. If you want to take it.. you better listen to what your teacher is saying!! And I started taking pointe in 6th grade… just to tell you! =)

Answer by L.E Rae
First off…men don’t do pointe except for very rarely. Pointe shoes are stiff and allow you to rise onto your toes very easily. This does not hurt much. I have been on pointe for two years and I am still having a good time. Pointe is simply a branch off of ballet. The music is the same and when you get older you will take your entire ballet class on pointe. Pointework just comes with progressing in Ballet. You should wait until your feet are more developed before you start. Most girls start pointe between the ages of 11-14.

Answer by Jenny
Ballet is the same thing as pointe except for the shoes. You could use the same music, except I’ve noticed (I’ve been doing pointe for 4 years now) that pointe dances are usually set to more upbeat compositions. I’ve never seen men with pointe shoes before, but I think my teacher said men can do pointe.

Answer by Balletbaby
totally differnt. pointe is much harder. i know u said not to say this, but u are dancing on the tips of your toes with a little metal box under you. and ur body curves different

Answer by happydancergirl
Pointe work is just a variation of ballet. You have demi-pointe and full pointe (which is what you mean by “pointe”). When your teacher is refering to “if you were on pointe…” that is just another variation of how to execute the same movement, just in a different set of shoes. Those dancers that reach a more advanced level of ballet technique are invited to go onto pointe. Again, it is just a more advanced style of ballet. However, you must first master ballet technique on demi-pointe, before reaching that level.
The music is gererally the same music used for demi. When first going up, the exercises are shorter (thus the music is designed to be shorter) to allow the dancer to build up to a longer amount of time up on pointe.
Males can do pointe work. It does not occur often, because in traditional ballet, the male supports the female dancer. Not only for the leaps, etc. but also for a turning sequence or an elongated time in an arabesque sequence. Usually the female is being supported while on pointe. However, there is an “All-Male” ballet company that frequently works en pointe. I will attach the link to a review of them. Their work can be very funny, moving and also extremely technical. The male body can support different things than a female body can sometimes, and so some of the things that they can accomplish is amazing.

Just a side note: pointe shoes contain no metal….they are made out of mostly cardboard, burlap and glue…then satin and ribbon. Each company has a variation of those materials, but your body should not move in a more curved angle…….it should be more centered as you are balancing your weight on a quarter sized area of the box.