ASU Research E-Magazine: Snow Shoes to Toe Shoes

What does it take to make a prima ballerina? Years of practice? Driving ambition? A long, lean body? Certainly, all of these are necessary. But the results of new research indicates that where a dancer lives might also have an effect on her ability.

When ballet teacher Joan Van Dyke moved from Pennsylvania to Alaska, she noticed that her new students had a harder time jumping than did her Pennsylvania students. She thought the difference might be an indirect result of climate. In Alaska, students wear restrictive footwear, like snow boots, for longer periods. She believed the boots might actually hamper the development of ankle flexibility and strength.

Van Dyke decided to test her hypothesis while working on her master’s degree in dance at Arizona State University. She graduated in December 1998. As part of her research, Van Dyke compared ankle strength, ankle flexibility, and jump height among 30 ballet students in Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Alaska.

Her subjects were girls between the ages of seven and 11. All had similar dance experience. In addition, their teachers showed comparable experience and skill level.

Van Dyke tested four variables: ankle strength, jump height, and flexibility in pointing and flexing the foot. Her results showed some significant differences between the states, but not in the way she expected.

Pennsylvanians consistently out-pointed and out-jumped their western counterparts. Arizonans took second place and Alaskans fared the worst. But if footwear caused this discrepancy, wouldn’t sandal-footed desert dwellers have the advantage?

Van Dyke says further research is needed to pinpoint the cause of the differences, but she has some guesses. “It is very hilly in Pennsylvania. If students are walking a lot, even if they do wear boots part of the year, they still may be strengthening the ankle more due to landscape.”

Another thought: Pennsylvania’s milder climate may allow people to spend more time outside than in Arizona or Alaska, where temperatures can reach hot and cold extremes.

“If it’s hot, people tend to stay in the air conditioning. When it’s cold, we also stay inside to keep warm.”

Regardless of why these differences occur, Van Dyke says that teachers need to be aware of them and train their students accordingly.

“My suggestion would be an augmented training program outside the ballet class itself. Students can have a chance to strengthen and increase range of motion,” she says. During class, teachers might also spend more time on ankle strengthening and flexibility exercises such as relevé and elevé.—Diane Boudreau