Test for Foot Strength?

[Ballet Taxi]

How do you determine whether one has strong or weak feet? I mean... I would assume those who have been dancing longer would be stronger but how do you really know where you stand?

 

(I know that sounds like some weak pun... forgive me! I'm having trouble choosing words tonight... long day... <sigh>)

[Mel Johnson]

This is really not about pointe shoes per se, but about issues of strength and technique. I'm moving it to Moms and Dads.

[Mel Johnson]

Now, the criteria for "strong feet" will vary with years of study and the amount of pointework actually done.

 

For a first-year student, a strong foot will be identified by a teacher in watching the students as they goof around. The ones doing relevé on one foot before all the rest will be the ones with the strong feet. If they wince when they do it, chances are that they're not that strong, but if they just do it without problems, you've already identified the ones with the strong feet. Further, the foot which is completely pointed off the ground and just as pointed when on pointe is a strong foot. The ones that sag down are weak.

 

As time and classes proceed, there will be variants of these tests that will happen. A strong foot will support the student while doing a fully waist-high-and-up developpé without crumbling. A strong foot will be a reliable support when you have to hop along on it. A strong foot can withstand a long series of arabesques voyagé en pointe. It's really what you can do on the feet and how good you look doing it.