In Episode 8, we meet the inspiring Esther Juon whose journey in dance has taken her from dancing at the Opera House in Zurich, to teaching ballet in the UK to becoming an expert pointe shoe fitter - even getting the opportunity fit pointe shoes for Bolshoi Ballet and the Vaganova Academy. She now lives in Aotearoa and shares her expertise in the science of fitting pointe shoes. Whether you are a ballet teacher, a ballet dancer, work in dance medicine or strength and conditioning there is lots to be learned from Esther's years of expertise and her passion for the subject, plus her journey in dance is a super inspiring story! MakeShift Aotearoa Dance Podcast is a little podcast with a big dream - to explore the full spectrum of dance in Aotearoa from health and wellbeing, to teaching practice and training options, developing companies and dance works to the latest in dance science. Esther's Bio
Esther Juon was born and raised in Switzerland. She trained in classical ballet with Armin Wild at the Opera House Ballet in Zurich. In 1972, she moved to London to carry on studying ballet at Rambert School & Dance Centre. During her training, she sustained a severe back injury which stopped her career as a dancer and returned to Switzerland. In 1974, she returned to England and studied the Benesh Movement Notation at the Benesh Institute. In 1976, Esther underwent a spinal fusion operation and recovered fully to teach ballet in 1980. Esther moved to Brighton where she opened Dance Laines and opened a ballet shop. Not wanting to have dancers injured, she took a great interest in dancers’ feet and how to stop them from being damaged. She became a member of British Ballet Organization as a ballet teacher and delivered ballet exams once or twice a year. Esther also focused on researching about pointe shoes and feet. By 1990, she met Dr Lucy Redhead, a physiotherapist and Helen Morrell a podiatrist and started to develop a pointe shoe fitting system as well as a physical pointe assessment. In 1995, Esther attained her teaching qualification with BBO ABBO, and self-published a small book called “Pointe Shoe Secrets.” She was then invited to fit pointe shoes at the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet Company and was awarded the Diaghilev Diploma for her work with feet and pointe shoes. After visit to Moscow, Esther got invited to write for “Young Dancer Magazine” and has presented lectures and workshops about feet and pointe shoes and eventually, dancers came from far and wide for feet and pointe shoe advise and fittings. She became a member of IADMS in 1999 where Lucy Redhead presented her work on “how to support the foot on pointe” In 2004, Esther attained her 2nd teaching qualification from BBO EQF In 2005, Esther together with her husband, moved from Brighton UK to New Zealand where she settled in the centre of the North Island, in Waipawa Central Hawkes’ Bay. She opened Waipawa Dance Centre in 2008 and taught classical ballet to children and adults and preparing young dancers for entry into full time training. In 2010, she opened Grishko NZ Ltd, together with Jackie Scannell becoming importers of Grishko Pointe shoes into New Zealand so that Esther could carry on her work with feet and pointe shoes. By 2012, she launched Juon Pointe, running workshops, assessments, fittings, and follow ups. Juon Pointe aims to: Look after and monitor the dancer Train interested pointe shoe fitters in the art of assessing dancers, their feet and fitting them with the correct pointe shoes. The same year, Esther joined the prestigious “Dancer Wellness Project” by Professor Gary Galbraith and Assistant Professor Karen Potter at Ohio University. In October 2014, Esther presented a workshop at IADMS about taping of the feet instead of using an ouch pouch. She also joined the IADMS Education Committee By 2018, Esther built a dedicated centre for feet and pointe shoes. From here Esther now works only with private clients delivering Pre-Pointe Assessments, Screening and Mentoring Programs. Due to COVID Esther’s work went on zoom and now she presents her work all over the world and works with teachers in Australia, Canada, USA, Ireland UK, Denmark, New Caledonia, and India. She has also been invited to present in the Philippines (2021) and Nigeria. Links IADMS Juon Pointe Juon Pointe on Facebook Juon Pointe on Instagram
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