Pointe question

Perhaps part of the next stage of learning is how best to condition and take care of their feet/ankles to minimize damage while doing pointe. May be something to ask.

Is it a professional studio or a neighborhood dance center? Do you trust the teacher? Is the class in person?

30 minutes twice a week is pretty conservative and IMO, appropriate for a beginner. My DD’s feet stopped growing at about 14, so chances are good that your DD’s feet are “mature”. I would not do it if the class is virtual and done from home because I feel that it would be difficult to learn the proper techniques without the teacher closely monitoring the student.

Depends what you mean by damage. All pointe dancers have things like bleeding of their toes, losing toenails, and ugly feet. This is the price you pay. But I doubt many of them would consider that damage. I'm puzzled that your husband is so concerned about your daughter's feet. The chance that she'll get an actual injury like a fracture is no more likely than if she played soccer or did gymnastics.
I do think your daughter should be able to make this choice.If she doesn't go on pointe now she'll be left behind as her peers continue to progress.

I’ve lost toe nails running. It’s usually not that big of a deal. I always have a skin of a nail left behind and just paint it to match the other nails. I guess if someone was really looking at my feet in sandals, you could tell at the time. But you wouldn’t notice it at a quick glance. And my feet are fine now. 

My ballet teacher had been a soloist w/the Royal Ballet and was a very strict teacher. After 10 years studying w/her she would not allow me to go on pointe. My ankles and feet weren't ready. She never let young children on pointe, either. I would rather wait until the teacher thinks it's appropriate than risk future injury.

My sister danced six days a week for 20 years and has ugly feet. LOL

If the teacher invites her to begin en pointe, then I would let her.

Hopefully they work directly with the students to find the correct fitting shoe as that will be most important.

I would listen to the advice of her teacher rather  than you make the decision for your daughter to go on pointe. As an ISTD registered teacher she's trained to know whether your DD's calves, ankles and feet are developed and are strong enough. Age or how long someone has been dancing has little bearing on how strong you are or whether your bones have ossified. Bones pre-puberty are very soft and this is where the permanent damage can be caused when you put young girls of 10/11 years on pointe or sometimes younger from Asian countries especially Japan. Teacher who do are irresponsible IMO. In addition to the strength of your bones and muscle you also need good technique, core strength and the correct alinement of your body. All of them go together to reduce the risk of injury.

I'm guessing that the next class up, you are referring to, is the Intermediate Foundation level. There is relatively little pointe work covered in the syllabus for that level so my guess is that if the teacher is happy for her to move up to that level, I would let her especially as she has already done pre pointe classes in preparation.

I would strongly recommend you make sure that she has well fitting shoes and they are fitted by an experience fitter that has a number of different manufacturers for her to try. Pointe shoes should fit so that the toes are just resting on the bottom of the block and the foot is supported by a well fitting vamp/wings. Her foot shouldn't be slipping down the shoe when she goes up on pointe.
DD went on pointe at 12.5 but she was and still is a very strong dancer and has never lost any toe nails or had any injuries. She took her intermediate foundation at 13.5 and is now Advanced 1 level but she follows the  RAD syllabus. ISTD is very similar.

You've received a lot of good info. I'd definitely follow the lead of her teacher. I danced en pointe for several years as a young teen through HS. I also started dancing again as an adult about 7yrs ago, including en pointe as I regained my strength. (I'm in my early 40s now.) A couple of years ago I did a solo en pointe, in addition to or there dances en pointe for our recitals. The only time I have lost a toe nail is when I have had badly fitting shoes. Otherwise I will occasionally get blisters, and definitely callouses, but nothing crazy and no on going issues. The biggest regret I hear from adult (non professional) dancers that trained as kids is never have putting in the time to get to pointe when they were young.

I love pointe work! But it is hard and requires a lot and constant work. I have not been able to dance much since March (was dancing 6-10hrs a week before then) and know it will take me some time to get back to pointe.

I do agree with your husband about trampolines.

Two teen ballerinas here. One is actually rehearsing Nutcracker snow and flowers as I type. Absolutely zero foot issues. If we recall correctly, they went en pointe about 12-13 yo and the first half of a year was 15 mins twice per week and working up slowly. There were no recital pieces en pointe for at least 1 year.

My girls have had zero foot, ankle, or toe problems as a result of pointe. They have had rolled ankles and falls but that is part of dance. Their studio owner has a physiology degree and is very cautious and careful to correct mistakes before they cause issues.