Feet, a dancer's obsession

  Society seems to be obsessed with feet. Many think they are gross and try to make them pretty by getting pedicures or wearing cute shoes. Ballet dancers are also obsessed with making our feet look pretty but not with nail polish or strappy wedges. We are obsessed with the line of our legs and feet. Have you ever tried to explain to a friend what makes a dancers feet beautiful? It's really hard! We dancers just know it when we see it.

   It's not just about the arch that makes a good foot it's also the way it is shaped. You could have great feet but they won't look as good if you don't shape them. Having beautiful feet isn't just for looks, if you shape and use your feet right it will have an effect on all areas of your dancing.

    I have nice archy, pretty feet myself. My feet are really wide and short so it's hard to find a pointe shoe that fits well and looks good. I have had many different brands of pointe shoes but I really like Freed of London and Repettos. I like a shoe with a higher or V shaped vamp because it holds my wide feet in better. Because my feet are so flexible they shorten a lot when I go up on pointe, which causes the heel of my shoe to sometimes slip off during an exercise. I've found that if you put water, rosin or hair spray on the heel of your tights it helps the shoe stay put. For padding in my pointe shoe I only use a Bunheads Ouch Pouch and band-aids if I have a blister.

   

 Freed of London size 3 1/2 EE

I like Freeds because they have a nice high V-vamp and they come in wide sizes. They are really hard at first so I rub the sides of the vamp to make easier to use my feet in.

Repetto size 4 1/2 XML

I am currently wearing Repettos. They also have a high vamp and they come in wide sizes. I like them because they shape my feet well and aren't as hard to break in as Freeds. I like when they get really soft and they move with your feet like a second skin... and they make my feet look amazing!

Svetlana Zakharova

Polina Semionova

And these are my feet!