How to improve my feet in a year?

[HeyimAshlyn]

Hi there! This is my first ever post on here and I'm excited!! But I'm even more excited about starting ballet this fall! But I have an issue. My feet. My feet are flat. But they're not only flat but wonky too. So here's s good description:

They are flat. But my arch is very flexible. I can arch my foot and it would have a beautiful arch ik it. Or even when I relax my foot, there's a small arch. But when I stand, flat as a board. When I point my foot, it looks arched but in reality it's flat. Is this something I can pass with with some professional companies? I know flat footed dancers don't make it far in ballet, but they won't be flat for long when I start this fall. Thank you everyone !!!!!!

Edited July 24, 2016 by HeyimAshlyn

[Kate_N]

Welcome, HeyimAshlyn. 

 

You say you're just about to start the study of ballet, so perhaps you don't realise how slow the training is - the "banana feet" of some dancers (the hyperflexed arch that features on lots of Instagram photos) take years to develop, if the dance student has the kind of feet which will develop this way. It will take a lot longer than a year, I'm afraid - most people who dance professionally have been in some form of ballet training since the age of 8 or 10.

 

But not all feet are made to develop this way. You can have very strong articulate feet without them being the stereotypical dancer's feet. In fact, strong but flatter feet are sometimes better for dancers in terms of strength in pointe work. 

 

The main thing is not think about the superficial "look" of your feet, but work on the articulation of each part of your foot. Some ways of doing this you'll learn in ballet class, and if you haven't had any ballet lessons yet, then you should not try them until you've been taught correctly. But there are things you can do on your own, which won't embed an incorrect "muscle memory." 

 

Take every opportunity to walk barefoot (around the house, or on sand on the beach, for example).

 

Try to spread out your toes and think about distributing your weight even across all 5 toes when you stand. Think about distributing weight between toes, toe pad, and heels.

 

You can practice some toe & foot agility: try picking up things with your toes - tea towels or clothing. Sounds crazy but it develops the small intrinsic muscles of your feet. 

 

Also, you can use a tennis ball or massage ball to roll under your arch along the length of your foot to warm up & release tightness in your arch. 

 

You'll learn other ones in ballet class, but you should be very careful about doing them on your own, because if you do them incorrectly, you'll develop the wrong muscles and muscle memory. And bad habits in ballet can take a long time to correct & re-learn.

Edited July 25, 2016 by Kate_N

[Jan McNulty]

Hello Heyim and welcome to the Forum!  Are you starting ballet as a young student or an adult?