Many dancers have trouble balancing one one foot, especially when they start en pointe as the sole of teh shoe is often a little wobbly.
There are many things that can influence your ability to balance. Poor balance may cause your supporting foot to wobble and make it hard to stabilise, putting you at risk of injury.
Good control of balance and stability of the foot and ankle are essential in any dancer. However quite a few dancers are unaware of the many things that combine to give you good balance, and how to train the components individually. Poor balance reactions may make your supporting foot wobble and you might find it hard to stabilize en demi-pointe, or be constantly corrected for rolling arches! Poor stability in your supporting ankle is a huge barrier in increasing how high you can lift your leg en l'air, as you will be working off an unstable base.
There are so many things that can influence your balance, including; your vision; your sensation of where your foot and ankle ligaments are (proprioception), and the balance sensors that actually sit inside your inner ear. It is important to train the stability of the ankle while removing one or two of the feedback systems that we use to develop all parts of the complete system. Many dancers rely far too much on their vision to maintain their balance, and this becomes a problem when turning or performing in low light situations.
Test yourself, and the strength of each system by trying each of the following exercises. Try standing on a single leg in parallel or turnout, with each of the following variations:
* Closing your eyes.
* Standing on a pillow, or soft foam mat.
* Try turning your head from side to side.
* Tilting the head from side to side.
* Try a fondu/small knee bend on each leg.
* If you are already in pointe shoes, try all of the above in bare feet and then in your pointe shoes and feel the difference!
All of these are great tests and training ideas for improving your control of your ankles. Remember to always switch on your deep turnout muscles and core stabilizing muscles when balancing in turnout, so that your hips don't twist too much!
Developing control of the small 'intrinsic muscles' of the feet, is essential to developing good balance.
Lisa
Perfect Form Physiotherapy,
Suite 904, 121 Walker St,
North Sydney,
NSW 2060, AUSTRALIA
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