Differences Between Pointe Shoe And Barefoot Jumping In A Professional Ballet Dancer: A Case Study

Abstract

Ballet is an art form that requires highly trained athletes to perform specialized movements specific to their field. Some of the most unique aspects of ballet training that sets it apart from other athletics are the use of pointe shoes, the emphasis on bilateral training, and the full body aesthetic requirements of every movement. PURPOSE: To determine how wearing pointe shoes alters full body kinematics during ballet temps levé jumps on both the preferred stance leg and the non-preferred stance leg, to compare the left and right side to determine the effectiveness of bilateral ballet training, and to observe the contribution of upper extremity movement to jump execution. METHODS: One professional female ballet dancer (23 yrs) with 17 years of ballet training performed various jumps in two footwear conditions. She was instrumented with 39 reflective markers, and a 10-camera motion capture system was used to collect three dimensional marker position data at 250 Hz. Sagittal plane upper and lower extremity angles were calculated and compared between conditions as well as between left and right sides. RESULTS: During single leg jumps, ankle range of motion (ROM) was slightly larger en pointe (79.1° ± 1.31°) than barefoot (56.4° ± 0.68°) due to an increase in plantarflexion, regardless of preferred takeoff leg. Conversely, knee ROM was slightly smaller due to a decrease in knee flexion en pointe (45.8° ± 2.43°) than barefoot (56.1° ± 6.33°) for single leg jumps, regardless of preferred takeoff leg. A bilateral jump revealed no distinct differences between left and right sides. Upper extremity angles did not show clear trends between left and right sides or between footwear conditions, however, the ipsilateral shoulder (114.7° ± 6.69°) had slightly greater ROM than the contralateral shoulder (103.4° ± 8.49°) during single leg jumps. CONCLUSIONS: Wearing pointe shoes causes alterations to lower limb angles during single leg jumps, altering the demand on the dancer’s body during these movements. The increase in ipsilateral shoulder ROM implies ballet dancers utilize the upper extremity to accurately execute single leg jumps. The lack of obvious differences between left and right side joint angles indicates that bilateral ballet training is effective at the professional level.