Strong Feet, Happy Feet: Why Your Arches Matter
We often think of ballet as being all about beautiful lines, pointed toes and turnout. But underneath all that elegance is something much more fundamental: strong, well-supported feet.
Each of our feet contains 26 bones and 34 joints. That's a lot of moving parts! And those little feet have a big job to do. They support our weight, help us balance, absorb shock and transfer forces between the floor and the rest of the body.
When we understand where stability comes from, we can train our feet more effectively—and reduce the risk of injury.
Your arches are your foundation
When they collapse inward, it can increase stress through the joints of the foot and ankle and may affect alignment further up the body, including the knees and hips. This is why we emphasize lifting the arches when standing in ballet class. An active arch helps prevent the foot from rolling excessively inward, gives us a more stable base for balance, and helps us maintain better alignment.
You don't need complicated equipment to begin strengthening the small muscles of your feet. Here are three exercises you can practise at home:
1. The "short foot" or foot-doming exercise activates the arch without curling your toes.
Sit comfortably in a chair with your feet flat on the floor. Keeping your toes relaxed and long, gently draw the ball of your foot toward your heel, as though you are shortening the foot slightly. You should feel the arch lift or "dome." Hold for about five seconds, then relax.Try 2 sets of 10 repetitions per foot. The important thing is subtlety. You don't need to grip or scrunch your toes. Think of gently waking up the muscles underneath your foot.
2. Toe spreads and extensions encourage awareness and control of the toes while maintaining a broad base of support.
With your foot flat on the floor, lift all five toes while keeping the ball of the foot connected to the floor. Spread the toes as widely as you comfortably can, then lower them back down, one at a time if possible, while maintaining that sense of spaciousness. Try 10–12 repetitions per foot. Don't worry if your toes don't immediately cooperate! Many of us have spent years squeezing our feet into shoes, and our toes may need a little reminding about how much movement they actually have.
3. Big-toe and little-toe control is great for developing the control needed for balancing and rising to demi-pointe.
Keep your foot flat on the floor. Press your big toe gently into the floor while lifting the other four toes. Hold for three seconds. Then reverse it: keep the four smaller toes down while lifting the big toe.
Alternate between the two positions 10 times per foot. You may find this surprisingly difficult at first. That's okay! We're asking some very small muscles to do some very specific work.
And what about turnout?
It's important to note that turnout doesn't come from your feet. Turnout is, in fact, an entire
body experience, and includes the spine, hips, pelvis, knees, feet and ankles. When we try to create more turnout by simply forcing our feet outward against the floor, we put unnecessary stress on the ankles and feet—and the arches may collapse as a result.
Think of turnout as a spiral that begins at the hip and travels down the leg. Rather than pushing your toes outward, imagine the top of your thigh bone rotating outward inside the hip socket. That rotation travels through the leg to the knee, ankle and foot. When standing in first or third position, you can also think about gently pressing your heels forward rather than pulling your toes backward. This can help you maintain a sense of length and support through the inner arch.
The "paper plate" test is a simple way to experience this:
Stand with one foot on a paper plate or on a smooth floor in socks.
Keep your torso still.
Imagine initiating the rotation from the very top of your thigh, deep inside your hip.
Allow the whole leg and foot to rotate together rather than twisting the foot independently.
You should feel the rotation happening higher up in the leg, rather than forcing the foot into position.
If you can maintain your arch while finding your turnout, you're building a much more useful—and sustainable—relationship between your hips, legs and feet.
Don't forget the outside of your foot
When we think about lifting the arch, it's tempting to focus only on the inside of the foot. But your foot needs balanced support. The arches are supported by the bones of the foot as well as by muscles, fascia and ligaments. Maintaining contact through the heel and the outer part of the foot allows the inner arch to activate rather than collapsing inward.
Imagine your foot spreading gently across the floor like a tripod. You want to feel contact through:
the heel
the base of the big toe
the base of the little toe
This gives you a strong foundation for balance, rises and changes of direction. The plantar fascia—the strong band of connective tissue running along the sole of the foot—also plays an important role in supporting the arch. Keeping the feet both strong and mobile can help them cope with the demands we place on them.
How do you know if your arches are collapsing?
There are a few things you can look for when standing at the barre or in front of a mirror.
Your ankles roll inward. You may notice the inner ankle dropping toward the floor rather than remaining comfortably aligned over the foot.
Your little toes lose contact with the floor. If the pinky side of the foot starts lifting away from the floor, you may be shifting too much weight toward the inside of the foot.
Your big toe grips the floor. If you find yourself clawing or gripping with your toes to maintain balance, your foot may be searching for stability elsewhere.
Your knees aren't tracking well. During a plié, pay attention to where your knees travel in relation to your feet. Good alignment is important for sharing the load through the whole leg.
Ankle mobility matters too
Strength is only part of the equation. We also need mobility. This is particularly important if ballet is new to you, or if you have spent many years wearing shoes that restrict the natural movement of your feet.
Some gentle exercises to explore include:
interlacing your fingers between your toes to encourage toe mobility
gentle calf stretches
rolling a ball underneath the arch
lightly massaging the heel and sole of the foot with a ball
gentle ankle rotations
articulating through the foot with point and flex
rising and lowering in parallel
tibialis raises, lifting the toes while keeping the heels grounded
single-leg calf raises, when appropriate
gentle runners' lunges to stretch the calf and ankle
As always, listen to your body. Stretching should feel like a gentle invitation, not a battle. If an exercise causes pain, stop and seek advice from an appropriately qualified health professional.
One of the things I love about teaching Silver Swans® is seeing how much our feet can continue to learn.
We may not have the feet of a 20-year-old professional ballerina—and nor do we need them. What we do need are feet that are strong, mobile, responsive and well cared for. A little attention to our feet can make a surprising difference to our balance, alignment and confidence.
So the next time you're standing in first position, don't just think about where your toes are pointing.
Think about what's happening underneath you. Feel your heel. Feel the base of your big toe. Feel the base of your little toe. Lift your arch gently. Let the turnout begin at your hip. And notice how much more stable you feel when your feet become an active part of the dance rather than simply something holding you up.
And perhaps that is one of the great gifts of ballet as we grow older: learning to pay attention to the parts of our bodies we once took for granted.
See you in the studio!
xoxo Lindy
Sources and resources
Dance Anatomy by Jacqui Greene Haas
Ballet Science — Caroline Simkins, PhD
Foot Articulation: Strengthening and Controlling Every Step — Ballet with Isabella
Strong Ankles, Strong Bones: Why Ankle Mobility Matters for Postmenopausal Women with Osteoporosis — Nurtured Bones
Dance Masterclass — Foot & Ankle Mobility & Strength and Science of Turnout
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