Guest Caro Posted September 26, 2003 Report Share Posted September 26, 2003 As feet and ankles go mine are pretty strong, and so Ive always found pointe-work easy. Where my problem comes in is that I don't have a good arch, and thus, although I can do all the work my foot does not look beautiful in the point shoe - my arch is flat as apposed to nice and rounded. Can anyone suggest some good ways for me to improve my arch so that my feet will look better both on and off pointe? Link to comment
BW Posted September 26, 2003 Report Share Posted September 26, 2003 Caro, I took the liberty of moving your topic to this forum. "Discovering Ballet" is really for less technical questions. If you're a dance student, still in school, I think this is the best forum for your question. Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted September 26, 2003 Report Share Posted September 26, 2003 It's an answer that's so frequently given here that it's practically engraved on the back of my eyelids: relevés, elevés, tendus, dégagés, frappés, pas de cheval, and taking a proper position sur le cou de pied. Jumping and landing properly in petit allegro is also a great arch-builder, not to mention taking a proper fondu or demi-plié on that landing, releasing the ankle to allow maximum "sink" into the movement, all the while pulling up through the body. Sometimes the remotest parts of the body affect the way the feet point! Link to comment
Guest Caro Posted September 28, 2003 Report Share Posted September 28, 2003 (edited) Mr Johnson Thanks for the advice, I will remember to concentrate on all of those suggestions. But, out of the classroom, is there anything I can do? The reason I ask is that various people have suggested doing things like hooking ones feet under a cupboard with bent knees, and then straightening ones knees, so that the foot is physically pulled/ stretched by the pressure against the cupboard. Other suggestions have been massaging and working at your feet with your hands on a nightly basis, and some even suggest sitting on the floor, legs straight out in front of you, toes pointed, and getting someone to sit on the end of your feet, or put a weight on the end of your feet so as to bend them over. Is there any validity in these ideas? Edited September 28, 2003 by Caro Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted September 28, 2003 Report Share Posted September 28, 2003 I would only use a heavy inanimate object as a resistance tool as a last resort. You can't say, "Hey, stop!" to a sofa. Conversations with furniture are rarely productive. But, if you were to get some of the resistance bands called therabands, or resistabands, or even just generic resistance bands. You can use them in any number of ways to provide elastic resistance to pointing the foot and other movements. Manipulating the feet with massages daily is good for them, and if you can find a friend to press down on your feet instead of sitting on them, that would be better. Talking to people's backsides is nearly as unproductive as the above-mentioned conversations with furniture. Try to avoid uncontrolled dead weight as much as possible when looking for a resistance tool. Link to comment
Guest Caro Posted September 29, 2003 Report Share Posted September 29, 2003 Mr Johnson Thanks for the advice, I will try therabands. You have a great sense of humour, I was on the floor with laughter ! Caro Link to comment
ABT Wannabe Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 There is this fake arch thingy that you can wear in ballet shoes aand pointe shoes during performances and even class and it makes you arch look good. Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted July 29, 2004 Report Share Posted July 29, 2004 Those are falsies for the feet - not in my class! Onstage is a different thing. Link to comment
Guest Danceratheart Posted July 31, 2004 Report Share Posted July 31, 2004 I have a foot stretcher, which is essentially a very wide theraband attached to a piece of wood, with a metal thingie on the end to hook under inanimate objects. It helps stretch the feet, but I find within a few minutes my heel is hurting. Is this a natural occurrance that I can fix by just slipping a cushion underneath my heel, or am I doin something wrong? Link to comment
Guest devion101 Posted August 8, 2004 Report Share Posted August 8, 2004 Knock, knock If your heel is hurting while you're stretching your feet, your Achilles tendon is probably getting compressed. It would be wise to stop when you feel this pain, as it could lead to Achilles tendonitis, which is no fun! Link to comment
Danzatriz Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 Ive heard A LOT that rolling a tennis ball through your feet can help to improve the arch... Is this a total myth? One reason I ask is because even though Ive been told I have a nice arch on barefoots, on my pointes it doesnt show at all! Will the tennis ball (along with the releves, eleves, etc.) help my dissapiring arch? Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 Manipulating (pedipulating?) a tennis ball is often used by both teachers and therapists to build strength and fine muscle control through the foot, as well as providing massage to loosen tight connective tissues. Both of these factors can be helpful in improving the shape and utility of the arch. Again, the "disappearing arch" in pointe shoes could easier be related more to the shoes than to the feet themselves. Link to comment
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