11/09/2018
From simple ballet walks to complicated Fouetté turns on pointe, ballet requires strong, well-articulated feet.
The intrinsic muscles of the feet must be strong enough to allow you to rise fluidly onto pointe, land from jumps with control and balance for just a few examples.
Despite the importance of foot strength in ballet, a lot of classes, due to time constraints, do not include enough conditioning exercises to build the strength necessary to prevent injuries on Pointe.
Battements Tendu , a traditional ballet exercise you can practice out of class, builds strength and coordination in the feet, (if you focus on performing them correctly.)
keep your toes fully in contact with the floor with a feeling of pressure until your ankle is drawn up totally, Only point/ lengthen your toes after you have fully pointed your ankle. This isolates the muscles in the foot and strengthens them. When you close your Tendus, flex the toes first, keeping your ankle fully pointed. Once your toes are in contact with the floor, you can drop your ankle to close the Tendu. If you concentrate on performing every Tendu in this manner, you will see a difference in the strength of your feet, use strapping tape on your toes during Tendus help to work intrinsic muscles and gives extra resistance to work against.
Come and see me for advice on taping ❤️
