You've been assessed for being ready for pointe work and been fitted for and received your very first pair of pointe shoes - how exciting! However, the last thing you want to end up with is an injury so before you rush into testing them out, a word of warning: take it slowly and carefully and definitely under teaching supervision. There are a range of strength and conditioning exercises you can do on a regular basis to prepare and maintain your body and feet for optimal health, safety and readiness.

Michelle Dursun

Michelle Dursun is a writer for the Class Section of Dance Australia magazine and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Dance) and a Graduate Diploma (Education) with the Queensland University of Technology.

Dancer featured is Bloch Artiste 2017, Mimi Swinton-Beatty. (Full-time student at Alegria Dance Studio)