Bad Feet?

Every dancer dreams of having perfect arches, but very few dancers have them and ballet dancers commonly ask "How can I make my feet better?"

Even if you have beautiful feet, it is always smart to keep working on them. Feet can always be improved.  What do I mean when I say "improve your feet"? We are talking about your ankles, and insteps. Our feet and ankles have 26 bones, 33 joints in them and more then 100 muscles, ligaments and tendons. Here is a photo of food muscles.  By stretching and strengthening these muscles, you create better lines and come closer to the beautiful pointed ballerina foot that you desire.

There are many ways to improve your ankles and your insteps. With correct exercises you can improve your feet, but there are limitations to it, you can't change everything about the way you are made!

The definition of bad feet: inflexible ankles, feet that can't form a straight line from shin to top of the foot when pointed.

Flat feet tend to have more freedom flexing, whereas high arched feet are better pointed.

Exercise #1
Use a TheraBand. Use it to exercise SLOWLY and controlled. Place the band at the ball of your foot, and slowly point and flex your foot. Repeat 10 times.

Exercise #2
Using your TheraBand, slowly and controlled. Place the band at the ball of your foot, and slowly pointe and flex your toes only. Repeat 10 times.

Exercise #3
Get a buddy and try pressing your feet and pointing against their hands. Repeat 10 times.

Try these exercises one to two times a day, and stay patient- they will improve over time. Give yourself a couple months before you start seeing results.

Don't cover up your bad feet with legwarmers, this only prevents your teacher from seeing your feet, which further prevents them from helping you make changes or seeing your improvements.

In the end, remember to appreciate the body you have, and work with it.