Feet and Tango - a collection of foot exercies
A collection of exercises for dancing feet. The exercises are listed in approximate order of difficult starting
with the easiest, first. These exercises shoult NOT hurt, instead the goal is a healthly workout for muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints in the feet and related parts of the body.
If you experience regular foot pain please consult a professional such as a physio, dance injury specialist, etc.
The number of repititions for each exercise is up to you, but 10 reps per foot seems to work well. Little and often is recommended.
Ankle Circles
Sit in a straight-backed chair or stand on one leg.
Hold a foot slightly off the ground and slowly circle your ankle to the right and then to the left.
Point and Flex
The classic, best done wearing low-heeled shoes with a stiff-ish sole. The sole of the shoe will resist
the movements and add to the workout. Sit or stand on one leg. Point your foot (the one without your weight
on it), then flex your foot. Repeat.
To increase the difficulty you can use a theraband (wide stretch elastic-like abnd) to create more movement resistance.
Reach and Return
Sit up straight on the edge of a chair. You can do this in socks, with bare feet or with shoes on.
Keeping both feet flat on the floor at all times, slowly reach one foot out along the floor away from you
to the front to your limit, then pull the foot back and repeat. This is quite a low impact exercise
that is good preparation (over a period of weeks) before doing some of the more difficult exercises.
Controlled Rise and Lower
Stand with both of your feet flat on the floor. Slowly rise up to free your heels from the floor as much
as is comfortable. Descend slowly back down to put your feet flat on the floor. Do this on both feet.
More difficult is to rise up on both feet, lift one foot off the floor then slower lower down. Focusing on using
the foot arch.
Even more difficult is rise and lower on one foot. Be careful, this should work your feet and not hurt them.
Big Toe Lifts
Sit or stand with both feet flat on the floor. Lift your big toe off the floor, leaving the rest of your toes
still on the floor - ONLY the big toe. Up and down.
Toe Crawl
For this you need a theraband, scarf, long sock or some such thing. Put the material on the floor
and use the toes of one foot to gather up the material by crawling along it with your foot.
Doming
This is seriously difficult and you can only do this if you have good, strong, dexterous feet.
Do in socks or bare feet. Foot is flat on the floor. During this exercise your foot does not move very much
and your toes HARDLY MOVE. Slowly lift the middle of the front of your foot off the floor (the maximum
is usually about 5mm) using the muscles of the front of your foot. Then relax.
Yes, you have barely moved, but if you are doing this properly it is pretty difficult.
Tennis Ball Squeeze
Not much explanation needed, Squeeze a tennis ball with the front of your foot. When you get
really good at this one you can pick up the tennis ball.