Hi fellow dancers, for the last 3 months I have been taking lessons in preparation for a silver Modern medal and a silver Latin medal. Can anyone relate to finding their feet? Previously I felt like my toes were stiff. Recently my teacher has given me exercises for Samba and Rumba and all of a sudden I realise how much pressure comes from the toes of the rear foot to help you balance over the top of your forward ball when moving forward. This really highlighted what forward really is and what is required from your feet. I now distinctly feel my toes and the floor. For the first time I am feeling the floor like never before however I still feel my toes need to be a little more flexible. I am currently exercising my feet by standing on the edge of a step (with flex in legs) and raising and lowering the feet. Has anyone got advice about feet as I want to improve but do not want to do damage? cheers Sandra

Find a DVD or Tape of the best Latin dancers, Paul Killick and Hanna Kurtunen for instance, and on a Rumba Walk or Cha and see which part of the moving foot is in contact with the floor. I can tell you what it isn't and that is the ball of the foot or even the toe. Myself, I have not been able to get that amount of flex into my feet since I was about three months old . But I am still trying.

Thanks onlooker. I have not really used videos to date however I see from your other messages that you learn alot from this medium. I must admit that I have taken patterns from videos when I was first getting started and found there was soooo much to learn. I will do this when I have the opportunity. Meanwhile I have found an article that talks about the feet. It explains what else is happening whilst weight is moving over the feet as well as how the side of the ball and toe can be used to control timing and movement into the foot. It also describes my "discovery" as dancing into the floor and not across the floor. In case there are people interested I have included the address of the article written by Jeff Allen. I am still seeking out any exercises used to strengthen the foot apart from raising, lowering and pointing. cheers, Sandra
http://www.dancingusa.com/pages/873227/

One exercise i was given to strengthen a foot which had been injured was to pick up a pencil off the floor by curling the toes round it. It's not easy!! I don't know whether it'll be any use for dancing, but it certainly builds metatarsal muscles.
you could try walking and delaying placing the moving foot as long as possible. this certainly helps find the work done by the standing foot.
A good book on self-massage will show methods for manipulating the foot and encouraging better flexibility. Of course if you have someone else to do it for you.....

This can be a bit hard to explain. In my technique book there are instructions for a Rumba Walk, mentioned is the body moving forward to a point of almost imbalance. Doing this with the feet not moving will bring your rear toe to its full height and more. Maintaining that high instep, even with the knee bending, as it moves into a neutral position. Pressure into the floor is a must. I find that after a few Rumba Walks I feel I might be getting there. But I must do it on every walk , the first step after the Fan position, all the way through into the Hockey Stick or Alamana. There is no time to wind up it must be done every step.There is also a hip movement there. That is why one of our teachers here used to say we should do as many Rumba Walks as a marathon runner does miles on the road. With a DVD I always zoom in to get a better look at the part I am studying. Here is a for instance. What does Paul Killick do with his arms on a Spot Turn.

Thanks onlooker and Phil.samways, I have actually bought a little massage machine and I will try the picking up of pencils. I am religously doing the stretching of feet before dance. The rumba walks are certainly a work out on hips,toes and instep. In the article mentioned in my reply above Jeff Allen describes what a dancer feels when they straighten that leg. I think onlooker has described what you feel in the other leg with the toe stopping you from falling fwd. Many thanks Sandra

Sandra. What also needs mentioning is that Latin Shoes, both men and female can be bent all the way back, or all the way under. This helps the amount of flex that is now required in the feet. It's obvious that shoes with that characteristic are there for a reason.

Thanks Don. Afew things are starting to make sense for me and it all helps. This week my dance teacher emphasised the energy one gets from the floor (action/reaction concept). We discussed the force from the shoulder sitting down (energy directed at the floor) and feet pushing into the floor to get power to move. It is not the easy to describe however some of the people on this site are very good at decribing movement. Cheers Susan