Getting the ‘pointe’ : Harmony helps senior on dance career path

January 14, 2013, 9:00 pm by Adam Troxtell

Victoria Johnson concentrates as she performs a ballet exercise on pointe, meaning up on her toes, in her class at Harmony School of Creative Arts.

The ballet dancer’s feet, hugged by light pink shoes that seem a few sizes too small, must be perfectly placed as she transitions from one position to the next.

They start flat on the floor, then lift gently before they go completely vertical in an unnatural yet elegant position with the toes pointing straight down.

It is a great achievement in ballet to do this. Victoria Johnson, 17, had to endure years of practice and repetition before she could dance at this advanced level, which is called "on pointe” at Harmony School of Creative Arts in Marble Falls.

"As you become more advanced in ballet, you go on pointe, which is a huge honor,” Johnson said. "First, you get your feet x-rayed to make sure they’ve stopped growing. Then you get these special pointe shoes that are hard at the toe and allow you to go all the way up. You have to be very strong, and it takes a year, year and a half before you do a whole class on pointe.”

When Johnson, a senior at Burnet High School, came to Harmony six years ago, she was already eager to get to that level. Since the age of three, when her mother – who also grew up dancing – took her to a studio in Burnet, Johnson has found dedicating time and effort to dance worth the cost of not having as much freedom other teenagers have.