‘En Pointe’ is On Point for 12 Young Girls Who Earned Toe Shoes through Hard Work

Think back to the twirling ballerina, spinning on pointe in your childhood jewelry box. Round and round, like the fantasy image of many a little girl’s dream.

For some dancers at Wilton’s Conservatory of Dance, that fantasy became reality, as this year they earned their toe shoes, working hard enough over the years to start to learn how to dance en pointe.

“It is a big thing. When you’re little at a dance studio, it’s just a dream to have them. It’s a big milestone and a huge accomplishment,” explains Conservatory owner and director Christine Titus. “You have to achieve certain things, teachers don’t just put you up on pointe because you’re 12 years old.”

Twelve dancers at the studio between the ages of 10 and 13 recently got their toe shoes, after working very hard.

“It takes years of focused, dedicated training. The girls have been coming three or four times a week, for an hour-and-a-half class. They’re really dedicated. They have to have foot strength, core strength, their focus, their attitude, their attendance–everything has to be in check. It’s a lot of work and determination,” Titus says. “It’s not easy in class, it can be tedious, hard work, for so many years.”

Most dancers who want to pursue more dedicated dancing start taking more than one class per week by third grade. Typically, if she’s put in the required work, a dancer is around the age of 12 when she receives her first pair of toe shoes. “By 4th through 7th grade, they’re coming three times a week.”

Other factors that a teacher considers, says Titus, is age and how a girl’s body is developing. “Your leg strength, your core strength. It’s a safety issue too–you don’t want kids going up on pointe and rolling an ankle or twisting a knee because they’re not using the proper muscles.”

This year there were 12 students in Titus’ studio who were ready, a larger number than usual.

“Not all the girls can go up on pointe at the same time. Almost every year I have a few, but this year it was a big group. They’ve been together for a while, and they happen to be a very dedicated group of girls. They worked super hard, and you can tell they really wanted it,” Titus says, adding, “They’re really a great group of girls–good role models, they’re becoming really good, kind people. It’s great to see–they enjoy each other, and they’re an awesome class.”

One of the dancers who was allowed to go en pointe is 10-year-old Madison McVey. She said it was something she’d always dreamed about doing.

“It was really exciting. They said that I might not go on because I wasn’t old enough, but when they said that I could I was really happy and excited,” she says.

To get their shoes, the group went together to Attitudes dance store in Norwalk, where they were fit properly by the owner.  “Based on their foot size, their foot shape and their toe length. It’s a personalized process for every girl, and they all try on many pairs of shoes to find the right one. It’s a very foreign feeling to put your foot into a toe shoe,” Titus said.

While all the girls were thrilled, what has come in the weeks after was even harder work, and a long process.

“Now they have one or two half-hour pointe classes a week. In the beginning it’s a lot of work, it takes a lot of strength, learning how to go up properly. That’s enough–they’re done!” laughs Titus. “The novelty of getting the beautiful shoes wears off pretty quickly. They still love it, but their feet hurt in the beginning. You have to use new muscles, and you start slowly, staying at the barre for quite a while until you feel secure–you can imagine, you’re all the way up on the tips of your toes at the center, and you can easily roll an ankle if you’re not pulled up and engaged properly. We have them at the barre for a good year, learning how to balance.”

Madison says it’s easier now, and that she and her friends are getting used to wearing the toe shoes.

“It does hurt a lot, and your toes are being crushed a lot. But it means that you’ve gotten really far and it looks pretty,” she says. “It’s worth it.”

The Conservatory’s Nutcracker is this weekend, but audience members won’t be seeing this current group of dancers new to toe shoes up en pointe just yet.

“I have a handful on pointe for this show, but not them. Probably next year they’ll do something limited on pointe,” Titus explains.

For the performances of Nutcracker this Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 6 & 7 (1 p.m and 4 p.m. both days), there are more than 60 dancers in the ballet, plus six parents.

“We’re growing it every year, every year it gets bigger,” Titus says. “It will be the last year at the Wilton Playshop. It’s so quaint and charming there, but we’ve almost outgrown it, and we almost couldn’t do it there this year–but it’s just so sweet. We have it lit up, and it’s so festive and fun. It kicks off the holiday season so beautifully.”

While the performances are officially sold out, Titus has a couple extra stashed away if anyone is interested in attending a performance. “For anyone looking for tickets, call the studio.”