Tag: feet

Limp Biscuits

Pennsylvania Ballet soloist Gabriella Yudenich says she didn’t grow up with perfect feet—but she made the best of what she had. (Paul Kolnik) “I grew up in a ballet family—my mom and dad were principals with Pennsylvania Ballet—so I found out pretty early that I didn’t have the best feet,” says PAB soloist Gabriella Yudenich. […]

Footloose: Dancing Barefoot

Lori Belilove & The Isadora Duncan Dance Company members sport bare feet in Duncan’s Bacchanal. (Vladimir Lupovsky) When you’re sporting a pair of jazz shoes or ballet slippers, you can throw off strings of chaînés and multiple turns without a problem. But when you shed your footwear for modern class, everything changes. Your feet get […]

Toe Pointers

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Pointe Shoes 101

I slept in my first pair of pointe shoes. At least, I tried to sleep in them. I actually woke up in the middle of the night, ripped the Capezio Pavlovas off of my throbbing feet and threw them to the floor. But this painful (and silly) episode didn’t dampen my excitement about finally learning […]

The Ins and Outs of Bunion Care

Every time Jenna takes off her jazz shoes, her dance buds flee the scene. The ghastly sight isn’t a gnarly callus or a blister—it’s a bunion. Bunions plague dancers of all disciplines. Bunion pain can be debilitating, making it impossible to balance on demi-pointe, work in pointe shoes or even walk properly. But even if […]

Understanding Foot Pain

The day-to-day grind of class, rehearsal and performance can, over time, strain the ligaments and tendons in your feet, eventually leading to overuse injuries. Whether from bad habits, such as rolling in and not keeping heels down in plié, or from wearing shoes that are too tight, these foot conditions plague students and pros alike. […]