The pointe of ballet

When Katie Warren started dancing ballet at 2 years old, she told her mother that she wanted to dance long enough to get the “pretty shoes” — the pale pink satin toe shoes adorned with flowing ribbon that are the heart’s desire of every young ballerina.

Just weeks ago, at the age of 12, the Costa Mesa girl’s dream came true, as well as the dreams of Brooke Huebner, Thu Ly and Anne Marie Leiby, the first group of students at Newport Beach’s Classical Dance Center to be promoted to en pointe ballet after training solely at the center since its 2001 opening.

“It feels really great to think back and know that I have the shoes and I can dance in them,” said Katie, who just turned 13. “It does hurt, but it’s definitely rewarding.”

Believed to have originated in the early 19th century, en pointe dancing involves performing ballet steps while balanced on the very tips of the toes, aided by pointe shoes. Modern ballet slippers of this sort feature a box — a platform that supports the dancer’s toes — and a hard, but pliable shank to support the arch.

Though the art form seeks to create the illusion of lightness and delicacy, it requires very strong muscles and carefully planned movement. The group of four girls agrees that the blisters and redness — as well as a propensity to topple over — that have accompanied the initial weeks of their pointe class are bearable because the process taught them an important lesson about the benefits of hard work and determination.

“Your size or how old you are doesn’t matter as long as you just keep trying,” said 11-year-old Anne Marie Leiby, of Costa Mesa, who is getting used to being the youngest girl in class. “I always liked learning something new because it is exciting trying to overcome that challenge.”

Thu, a Santa Ana resident who aspires to be a dance choreographer, joins her 17-year-old sister in the weekly pointe class, which helps keep her motivated as the class rehearses for performances at the Irvine Barclay Theatre in June.

“When I saw my sister go en pointe, I wanted to go on it so bad,” she said. “It’s really fun to dance together because if you don’t understand something, the older girls will show it to you.”

At the Classical Dance Center, the promotion is given only to dancers between 10 and 12 years old with at least four years of intensive ballet training, guaranteeing that their feet bones and leg muscles are adequately developed.

As the girls’ instructor, Brooke’s mother Elizabeth Huebner, who co-founded the dance studio after many years of professional dance experience with the Joffrey Ballet in New York, said their accomplishment means just as much to her as a teacher — and a mother — as it does to the young ballerinas.

“It’s been so exciting to watch these girls achieve this after working so hard for it,” said Huebner of Newport Beach. “Every teacher wants their student to go on to be a dancer, and even though not all of them will, this is such a major achievement.”

For more information on the Classical Dance Center, go to www.classicaldancecenter.com .