Suddenly, I sit in my shoes!

[La_Bailarina]

I'm currently at my SI and my teacher noticed today that I am sitting in my shoes. I had this habit in the past but after lots of work, I rid myself of it about a year ago and now all of the sudden its back. I recently switched to a harder shank in my shoes to help prolong their lives but they don't feel much harder (except for the boxes) so I don't think that this is the cause. I have noticed that my ankles have been feeling kind of out of whack since I've been here (Monday of this week); my achilles feel tighter than usual (but I noticed that around mid May as well but it seemed to go away) and the insides of my ankle along the tendon are rather sore after class but the soreness goes away with ice.

 

I'm wondering why all of the sudden, after so long of not doing it, I have started to sit in my shoes and if my ankles acting whacky may have anything to do with it. I'll talk to the teacher the next time I have her for pointe (Friday) and ask what she thinks of the situation. In the meantime, have any ideas?

[ABT Wannabe]

Then pull up out of them.

[BW]

I have a feeling that this is more of a "technique" or "ask the ballet teachers" kind of question than a Nutrition and Health question, but hang on because as the day wears on into evening here on the East coast, where I know at least Miss Leigh and Mel Johnson reside, they'll be certain to check in here with you.

[Victoria Leigh]

I think this is more of a technique question, La Bailarina, so I moved it to Young Dancers.

 

I don't know why you are doing it, but it's possible that the shoe is just the right shoe for you. It's also possible that you have changed your placement somehow, and started pushing down instead of lifting up out of the shoe. I wish we could be more help, but without seeing you, as you know, it's really impossible to know what is causing the problem.

[La_Bailarina]

Thanks for moving it; I really had no idea where it may belong.

 

I'll definitely still check in with the teacher about it, but I am starting to think it may be the harder shank that is causing me to sit because I know that I have a tendency to do so in hard shoes. I have a pair of the softer shanked shoes of the exact same size that I was planning on saving for our performance at the end of the SI as they are perfectly broken in that I will wear for our next pointe class to see if I and/or the teacher notice any difference. My placement changing seems like it may also be the cause as this same teacher has helped me find the correct way of working with my (extreme) hyper extension and properly engaging my rotators to better control it. This little change has already affected other areas such as my balance (so much better!) and even my extensions are higher because I feel more stable so it seems like possibly while concentrating on properly rotating I may have forgotten to lift out of my shoes.

 

Thanks!