Re: Ankle Support with Ballets?? Heya, already said hi via e-mail, but might as well post here too. As I mentioned in the email the Devious ankle boots are a good balance of support, cost, and avaliabililty. The next step up would be their knee boots, which while good the speed laces render the zipper only good for removing the boots. I replaced the hooks with eyelets so I tie them off where I want, then can just zip em back on without changing anything.
The ankle boots have a fair amount of support, and also do a good job of keeping your foot pointed down. I'd recomend spending quite a bit of time just relaxing in your boots to get your ankles used to being in that position.
Whenever you do decide to try walking on them, do not be in a big hurry to straighten out your knees. Yes, it's gonna look odd, but it's much easier to practice your balance if you're ankles are not trying to spring back up on you as hard. Also, the weak point for ballet heels is bending the heel back toward the toe of the boot. It doesnt take alot of pressure to snap them off, so you -need- to make sure you have weight on the toe area of the boot at all times.
Also, outside of ankle support make sure you get some sort of padding for your toes. Gel pads for dancers are designed for that duty and work really well. If there is an open gap between your toe and the inner bottom toe area of the boot you might want to fill it with something. I've used firmly folded up paper to do that as it keeps the toe area of the boot from collapsing, which not only looks odd, but it raises the effective height of the heel compared to the boot and makes it more dificult to walk. Also keep your toe nails short. You might not notice right away, but jamming the nail can lead to sore toes and losing the nail for a bit. Happend to me once already.
Do remember, if you try to stand or walk in ballet boots expect some discomfort. If there is pain take a moment to re-evaluate your setup, as something isnt quite right, and can lead to injury. Damaged toes are not fun, and can not only ruin a night of fun, but may lead to a few weeks of painfull recovery.
After all that it's tough to say they are fun to wear with a straight face, but look at ballet dancers. They put their feet through hell and still enjoy themselves, hehe.
Have fun |