My feet.

[Nastya]

I really hate my feet. They're very good, I have good and high arches, but they're tiny. I mean too small for my body. I'm 167cm and a 39 in street shoes, sometimes even 38. I've been told it's very bad, but my teachers don't really care, and I'm a student of Vaganova. Is is very bad?

[SplitSoul]

Hello!

 

I am not a dancer, but 180cm and shoe size 40. I don't think I have small feet at all. I think your shoe size is average to large for your height. I know many people taller than you with smaller feet. 

 

In shoe shops, you don't get much past 42 for women, and lots have size 36 or 37. So you are perfectly in the middle if not slightly above.

[Jan McNulty]

Hello Nastya and welcome to the Forum!

 

I'm 165cm and take size 39 (UK 6) in most shoes.  One of my friends is the same height as me and takes size 37 another is 5cm taller and also takes size 39.  

 

I'm not a dancer but I would say your shoe size is average for your height.  Whoever told you your feet are too small for your height is, in my opinion, talking absolute nonsense.  Perhaps this is why your teachers don't seem to be interested.

[Dancing unicorn]

I think your feet are a perfect size! 
One of my students is a size 45 (uk10)!!!!! It’s so hard to get ballet shoes, tap shoes to fit her! She did get fitted for pointe tho 🤣🩰

[Pas de Quatre]

The higher the arch, the shorter the overall length of the foot. When teenage girls train seriously they often go down a shoe size as their arches build up.

[alison]

1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:

Hello Nastya and welcome to the Forum!

 

I'm 165cm and take size 39 (UK 6) in most shoes.  

 

Me too, so I'd guess your feet are probably fine.

[Ruby Foo]

I am 170 cm and take size 39. I have never thought of my feet being small and it never crossed my mind in dance training either.

[Peanut68]

Another example of how this crazy ballet world can get us obsessing about one tiny detail & worrying if it’s a life changing issue!! 
Try thinking about how using those incredibly designed structures we call feet give you so much service & pleasure - whether it’s jumping for joy, walking to the fridge for a cold drink, running for a bus or dancing for the pure love of it!!!

[Ruby Foo]

27 minutes ago, Peanut68 said:

Another example of how this crazy ballet world can get us obsessing about one tiny detail & worrying if it’s a life changing issue!! 
Try thinking about how using those incredibly designed structures we call feet give you so much service & pleasure - whether it’s jumping for joy, walking to the fridge for a cold drink, running for a bus or dancing for the pure love of it!!!

Exactly Peanut! Well said!

[Dancing Kitty]

My daughter has relatively smaller feet for her height and is delighted as when on pointe she’s not too tall.  We are what we are and have to make the best of it and work within and to our strengths.  Enjoy having an average foot size and being able to get shoes that fit and above all enjoy dancing.   

[Misaki]

If you have good arches, no one's going to care about the size of your feet. 

[glowlight]

@Nastya - please don't worry about your feet.  As others have said, they are not particularly small for your height, and really people have successful ballet careers with all sorts of shapes and sizes of feet.

 

Also - there is really no point in worrying about something you cannot change.

 

This quote is attributed to the Dalai Lama:  'If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it's not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.'

 

I know it is easier said than done! 

[Nastya]

12 hours ago, Pas de Quatre said:

The higher the arch, the shorter the overall length of the foot. When teenage girls train seriously they often go down a shoe size as their arches build up.

This makes sense. Probably appliable to me as I have arches onto my legs.

 

Thank you to all of your! This has been really helping :).

Edited June 23, 2022 by Nastya

[Kerfuffle]

I don’t understand why anyone would be so negative about small feet, if anything they are a good thing as they tend to look tidy in fast movements, there’s less to point! I think a lot of dancers traditionally have had small feet. Arched feet shorten a lot on pointe so what feels like the right size on flat can be baggy on pointe (this is how my DD’s feet are). 

[Dance*is*life]

I would think, as someone mentioned above, that actually smaller feet for pointe is good as they don't make you too tall for your pas de deux parner to work with you well.  Women normally have smaller feet than men and your shoe size seems perfect for your height!   It's not the size of feet that matters, but how strong they are.  Concentrate on doing lots of strengthening exercises, so that you can show off your lovely high arches to advantage.

[FlexyNexy]

You are perfectly fine with your feet!

My DD is Vaganova trained too (not sure what is shoe size has to do with style of training) 168 hight with size 36 feet!!!

She loves her feet and your main concern should be their strength not size. Equally your ankles.  

Her feet are so strong that she is finding hard shank too weak for her. 

Her Vaganova training had never something to do or effect on her feet size?! She also did Balanchine and Cuban mdthology with her 36 size feet and perfectly fine. 

[Nastya]

16 hours ago, FlexyNexy said:

You are perfectly fine with your feet!

My DD is Vaganova trained too (not sure what is shoe size has to do with style of training) 168 hight with size 36 feet!!!

She loves her feet and your main concern should be their strength not size. Equally your ankles.  

Her feet are so strong that she is finding hard shank too weak for her. 

Her Vaganova training had never something to do or effect on her feet size?! She also did Balanchine and Cuban mdthology with her 36 size feet and perfectly fine. 

What is has to do is less chance of studying at Vaganova with shorter feet and especially toes. They check even length of toes at auditions for Vaganova. I think mine were better when I was younger, but I never thought about it.

[FlexyNexy]

2 hours ago, Nastya said:

What is has to do is less chance of studying at Vaganova with shorter feet and especially toes. They check even length of toes at auditions for Vaganova. I think mine were better when I was younger, but I never thought about it.

well, to put your mind at ease...my DD was offered to study at Vaganova so they surely seen her feet before inviting her. She has declined due to her personal reasons why not to go to Russia.

[Nastya]

17 hours ago, FlexyNexy said:

well, to put your mind at ease...my DD was offered to study at Vaganova so they surely seen her feet before inviting her. She has declined due to her personal reasons why not to go to Russia.

That's amazing that your daughter was invited! It's a wonderful place, I should know, it's where I study. A shame she decided not to come!

[Peony]

I’m almost your height and a 37, which I think is on the small side but not unusual. I do have a high arch. Your feet sound very average to me. I think long toes do give the foot more of a curve towards the end but pointe shoes stop that anyway as bending a lot at the metatarsal is not a good thing. I’m sure vaganova would not have accepted you had they had doubts about your feet

[Birdy]

My daughter is 177cm and a size 36-37, so super small feet for her height. She is thrilled because it doesn’t make her too much taller on pointe. No one has ever commented negatively on the size of her feet.

[Alexander]

Ballet is a wonderful thing but sometimes I think it errs towards perfection. The perfect form and line and expression and its drive to gain this it sometimes, in my opinion, forgets a little about the social aspect of dancing as a group or with a partner or reacting and moving to music. Reminds me what an instructor once offered; we have what we have. Can we find the best? I suspect my middle-age hair loss may not be perfect. Ballet, deal with it!