Fitness: Toe Pointers
Every dancer needs strong, flexible and articulate feet, so Dance Spirit reached out to body-conditioning specialist Clarice Marshall to get the scoop on a few moves that will help you put your best feet forward. According to Marshall, these exercises are great for dancers who want to increase foot strength and alignment with the lower leg. She says they’ll moves will also help dancers recover from having their feet constrained by shoes and will help get feet in better shape for landing jumps and leaps.
Exercise #1
1. Sit up straight with your legs together and stretched out in front of you. Point your toes, keeping your legs parallel.
Tip: Make sure your body is properly aligned. Imagine a straight line running from the top of your hips through your second toes.
2. Slowly flex your feet while keeping your toes pointed.
3. Flex your toes.
4. Point your feet while keeping your toes flexed.
5. Point your toes.
Repeat the motion five times, then reverse it, beginning with flexed feet, and repeat five times. Then, perform the motions faster, five times in the original order and five times in the reverse order.
Exercise #2
1. Sit up straight with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Hook your arms under your legs and lock your arms.
2. Lift all of your toes off the floor, keeping the rest of your feet on the floor.
3. Slowly place your toes back on the floor one at a time. Start with your pinky toes and work your way in. Repeat 10 times.
Tip: Try to keep the rest of each foot flat on the floor while you lift your toes.
Exercise #3
1. Stand in front of a barre or chair. Place your feet slightly apart and parallel, and put a tennis ball between your ankles, below the ankle bone.
2. Élevé up to demi-pointe.
3. Lower your heels to return to the starting position. Repeat the entire movement 10 times, keeping the ball in place throughout the exercise.
Exercise #4
1. Stand in front of a barre or chair. Place your feet slightly apart and parallel.
2. Élevé up to demi-pointe.
Tip: Keep your hips level.
3. Bring one foot to parallel coupé.
4. Slowly lower your standing heel to the floor.
5. Return to the starting position. Repeat 10 times with one foot in coupé, then 10 times with your other foot in coupé.
Clarice Marshall is a freelance body-conditioning specialist who works primarily with dancers from American Ballet Theatre and Mark Morris Dance Group.
Mara Thompson is a former ABT II dancer.
Photos by Nathan Sayers
