Ballroom tip: Consider Ankle Exercise

Today's tip is perhaps a simplistic one, but it was a revelation to me and I'd like to share it in case somebody else could use it spelled out.

The particularly eagle-eyed among you may have noticed from my modeled photos of finished socks that my ankles are not the same size.  My right ankle is a bit larger than its twin.  This is due to a nasty interaction between that ankle and a trampoline when I was 18, and to this day that ankle is more prone to twisting and collapsing if stressed.

In ordinary activities, this is not important.  Walking and running don't stress my ankle.  Dancing, however, does stress that ankle and I have had it buckle in competitions when the muscles became over-tired.  The best solution, according to my doctor and my physical therapist, was to exercise the ankle so it could correctly handle the effort.  I prefer exercises like this, particularly the releves.

The eventual up-shot was that my balance has really improved  This is particularly evident in waltz, since I can lower with much more control. So, in case you'd also like to improve your balance and avoid ankle injuries, consider adding a couple minutes of ankle exercise to your day.