feet?

[AEDancer]

I have a question, I read somewhere that long feet are needed for the classical ballet body, however I have short wide feet, so will the likely hood of me becoming a professional dancer be less because the build of my feet????And what is soooo great about narrow long feet?, do they look better on stage???Please tell me because it is very interesting to me!!!!

[vrsfanatic]

How you use your feet is what really matters in ballet. Lovely, high arched feet are considered the ideal, but I have never heard anthing in particular about the length or width of the foot. I actually do not pay too much attention to that when I audition students. The abilities of the feet are what do matter.

 

I wear a size 7 1/2 extra wide street shoe on my 5' 7" frame. I never seemed to have problems with my feet being considered too short and wide!

[Guest devion101]

I think I have heard that part of the Balanchine aesthetic was long feet, because they enhanced the look of the foot on pointe, which was a large emphasis in his choreography and technique (in my opinion anyway). I wear a size 6 1/2 street and WW in Capezio Glisse (and every other brand... haha), so I have 'short and wide' feet, and I don't think it's held me back at all. I would prefer to have somewhat longer feet for the sake of line, but that's not going to happen - I haven't grown for about two years. Like vrsfanatic said before, it's how you use your feet that matters!

[Marenetha]

I have long feet, and while it looks really good now that I've developed an arch, it's kind of annoying when I realise I'm almost six feet tall en pointe. I guess it's sort of a good-with-bad though, either way.

[little_dancer]

I wish I had longer feet so that when I am on pointe that I could look a bit taller. I guess longer feet also makes your legs look longer. But them bigger feet wouldn't look good on my really petite frame of 5"1

[Guest dancer522]

I've noticed that lots of pro dancers have small/short feet because they tend to be short in height. I've never heard anything in particular about foot size, though. I think whether or not you get into a company is based alot on your dancing.

[Treefrog]

Knock, knock --

 

I've always wondered about mechanical advantages/disadvantages to variously sized feet. For example, is it harder to relevé on long feet because of the longer distance between the fulcrum and the weight? All other things being equal, of course, which they seldom are.

[Mel Johnson]

A long foot is trainable into having a beautiful line on pointe, but the mechanical difficulty you cite is present. Some students are built to take that literally in stride, and some need to build strength through the length of the foot. As a general rule, dancers with small feet tend to have strong feet, but there are exceptions there, too. The teacher just has to keep his/her eyes open to see what kind of training the foot is going to need before, during and after the going-on-pointe process.

[Guest Jazz4Kitn]

I have very long narrow feet, Size 11 US, and I have noticed that it takes me a few seconds longer for exercises when we must move our feet quickly during class than my fellow classmates since I have a little father to go. Also, I must travel farther for exercises because of my long legs. On pointe I am about 6'5" or more. As an observation, do companies typically choose female dancers that don't tower over the males while on pointe? Especially for partnering?

[Mel Johnson]

Typically, they do. However, somebody has to dance the Diana Adams and Gloria Govrin roles! They could dance fast, too!

[Guest Future Star]

yep. I have really long feet and really long legs and really long arms but a normal sized torso. I look kinda funny when I am on pointe because then I have longer legs. I also travel farther than most of the other girls in my dance studio. I am going to Boston Ballet Summer Dance Program this summer and am leaving on friday, do you think that they will think I am stuck up if I travel more than the other girls there? I also have pretty terrible arches and really long toes does this matter? Also sorry lot of questions, how tall is the average female ballet dancer.? Just want to know so that I can make sure I am that tall (hahaha )