Tag: feet

Treat Your Feet: The Foot-Care Products Dancers Love

Every dancer has learned—probably the hard way—that healthy feet are the foundation of a productive and happy day in the studio. As dancers, our most important asset has to carry the weight (literally) of everything we do. So it’s not surprising that most professional dancers have foot care down to an art. Three dancers shared […]

How to Take Care of Your Feet When You Aren't Dancing

Let’s face it, no matter how many precautions you take in the dance studio each day, your feet are inevitably going to get trashed. Between pointe shoes, petit/grand allegro, and stretching beyond what is natural, those puppies take a genuine beating. All that impact may tempt you to ask, “Is there any hope for performers […]

You Know You're a Dancer When…

Dancers are a weird, wonderful breed, amirite? Only true dance fiends will relate to these 16 things—give ’em a read! 1. You have extremely vivid nightmares about forgetting choreography onstage. Honestly, is there anything more terrifying? 2. You get dancewear for every birthday and holiday. Bring me the finest tights and leotards in all the […]

Ballerinas Talk About the Agony of De Feet

The Washington Post just ran a rather epic story about ballerinas’ intense, inherently abusive relationships with their feet. And while a lot of it is stuff that serious dancers already know—getting up on pointe requires dancers to be as strong as football players, every dancer has her own pointe shoe break-in method, etc—the piece also […]

The Ins and Outs of Sickling and Winging

We’ve all seen that photo: an otherwise lovely dancer, posed in first arabesque, with a glaring blemish at the end of her leg—a droopy, sickled foot. Swap that image for a photo in which the dancer’s foot gracefully swoops, or “wings,” up from the ankle, though, and bunheads will start to drool. That one small […]

Feet First

What would dancers be without their feet? Here are up-close-and-personal portraits of 13 professionals’ beautiful, battered, beloved feet.

Pointe Shoe #Hacks

Every ballet dancer has a pointe shoe prep process that’s akin to a sacred ritual. And while some modifications are meant to make feet look prettier, the most critical tricks help those precious shoes last as long as possible—because at $60 to $100 a pop, they have to. We rounded up some of the best […]

Nerve Pain: How to Deal

Sore muscles and stiff joints are par for the course when you’re a dancer. But sometimes persistent (and painful) pinches appear—and stick around. Never pain is a common occurrence, but it requires more work than a quick rollout and dose of over-the-counter pain reliever. We broke down a few of the most prevalent types and […]