Don't wing your foot, just... don't.

A properly pointed foot looks good from any angle. A winged foot looks, well, a winged foot doesn't look good because it's not properly pointed.

I'll say to my students, "When your foot is off the floor in classical ballet, it is _______?" to which they reply, "Pointed!" Not flexed, not winged, pointed.

"But, Jerry, winging can make your foot look so pretty!"

No. It can't. It also affects your technique. It can affect your jump, your turns, your extensions, everything.

If you're sitting in the balcony, a winged foot looks flexed. It shortens your line. It also makes you grab your ankle and the muscles around it. You are not completely stretching your foot, which means you are blocking the energy, keeping it from flowing right through and out, which should be happening with all your limbs. (More on hands in another post). In a jump, if you wing your back foot, you've probably cut the height of your jump, because you have not fully pushed through your foot on your takeoff. In the air, your line is shortened, and it's not as beautiful as it could be.

In a turn, attitude en dehors for example, your foot has to lead the way, specifically, your toes. If you wing your foot, there's that short line/ blocking energy thing, again. Your toes aren't leading you around because they're not pointed in the right direction.

When you point your foot properly, when you stretch your foot, it connects your leg to your body. Even in attitude, a properly stretched, properly pointed foot, lengthens and strengthens your leg and body. En dehors attitude turns have to be connected, strong and lengthened.

I have one student who drives me crazy with winging her feet. It affects everything she does. When she does a high developé, she's so used to winging her foot, she doesn't fully point it at the top of the movement. It looks awful, and this kid has gorgeous feet!

If I can be egotistical enough to say I have a theory about teaching, it's to make things simple. There is one properly pointed position for your foot. Your foot. Learn that, and move on. If you're thinking about pointing your foot one way to do this and another way to do that, it's too complicated. Ballet's hard enough, don't make it harder.

Don't wing your foot, just... don't.

See you in class.