Weight Parents should take the following factors into consideration in assessing the health and safety-consciousness of a school. Recent medical studies have shown that underweight female adolescents who exercise without sufficient caloric intake are at risk for serious health problems even if they have regular menstrual periods . A teacher who permits pointework before the students are 10 or 12 would have to have truly exceptional students because very few girls have sufficient strength and technique at such a young age. It is safe for a dancer to start pointework after the bones of her feet have finished growing if , and only if, she has developed the strength and technique necessary to pull up out of the shoe and maintain turnout and ankle stability. Thus beginners should never go en pointe.
Adults can get away with dancing en pointe to a greater extent because their bones have hardened.
Attitude A good ballet school exudes a disciplined and serious, but cheerful atmosphere. Students should be neatly dressed, ideally in a uniform color leotard and ideally with sweatpants and other concealing garb not allowed after barrework. Forcing Turnout and Extension Rotation of the leg in the hip socket so that the knees and feet point out to the side rather than to the front is essential for classical ballet. However, knees and ankles can be damaged by forcing the turn-out. A careful teacher will try to help her students achieve the desired flexibility without putting the joints at risk.