There are only so many ways I can say "Point your feet" during a weekend of competition before I start to feel like a broken record.  Learning how to point and flex should be engrained in the dancer from the first time they put on their ballet shoes and step into a classroom.  The problem is that once they advance, and we start working on more and more technical things, we forget to go back to the basics every now and then and work on feet.

Dancers should be focusing on feet everyday.  Let's face it, they don't call them "Dancer feet" for nothing.  

Let's start with the basics.  There are 2 parts to a beautiful pointed foot.  1.  The stretched ankle and 2. the pointed toes.  Both parts have to be strengthened and stretched in order to achieve the perfect polished point.  Because I could go on for days about feet, I will simply start with Number 2...the toes.

Strengthening the toes and being able to "finish" the end of a beautiful stretched ankle with beautifully pointed toes is perfection!  Not only is it crucial in completing the line of a pointed foot but strong toes are needed for so much else.  The toes are used to "push" off the floor and will help dancer's in their jumps, turns, transitions, etc.  Anytime the dancer is doing something where they need to project the energy UP.  Often dancers lose the connection with the floor and forget to articulate the foot from the metatarsal (ball of the foot) to the tip of their toes.

If you have strong toes and are using them for your final push off the floor, you will be ahead of the technique game and you will be dancing to your full potential (from head to toe :)).

Now, "what can I do?" you ask.  Lots.  But let's start cheap, easy, and can do anywhere.  This week's exercise uses the floor for resistance which means you have to really push into the floor with your feet to get the benefits.  All you need is a paper plate.  All you do are Tendus.  Tendu literally means "to stretch" so the whole exercise is all about stretching the feet.  The biggest mistake in Tendus is not using the floor and pushing through the toes at the end.  So by using the paper plate it forces the dancer to push into the floor in order to glide the plate out and in.

Of course I have made a video for you to demonstrate!  Feel free to reach out with questions.  As always, thanks for reading, sharing, and liking and I hope to say "point your feet" less as the competition season rolls on :)

Take care of YOU, dancers!

Liz