Pointe work is dated back to 1832. This is when Marie Taglioni danced Le Slyphide en pointe. Before this time, female ballet dancers danced en pointe but only as a trick for a short time during their performance. It changed the look of ballet. By the 1900’s Pierina Lagnani was doing32 fouettes tours en pointe for the first time.

Pointe work should not be started until the student is at least 9 years old. The bones in the feet must be fully developed before pointe work begins. A student must be able to hold the placement of their body aligned on demi pointe before even considering dancing on pointe. They should be intermediate or advanced students. They must have had good ballet training with emphasis on strengthening the feet.