Decoded: How an Irish Dancer Excels: The Tripod Foot, Part 1

So from my last two blogs entries, you now know the 8 steps needed to maintaining a perfect Irish dancer posture.  On the steps for the feet, ankles and legs, I told you to employ your  "tripod foot" to maintain your balance. Many of you are probably unfamiliar with that concept. Right?  That's fine. 

As I will now begin explaining it to you so you can start using it immediately in your daily life.  As you do, you will find that you can maintain greater balance and stability while dancing, make your soft shoe steps more graceful, your hard shoe taps a lot stronger, and most importantly, you will slip and fall less!

Quick Foot Facts

Let's start by taking a brief look at the foot itself first. Here are a few facts to keep in mind.  Each foot contains 26 bones, 33 joints, 19 distinct muscles and more ligaments than you can count.  It also has two arches:  the longitudinal arch or instep which runs along the medial border (from the heel to the ball) of the foot and the transverse arch which is deeper and longer and extends from the medial to the lateral side across the ball. 

So although the foot is relatively small in comparison with the rest of the body, it is filled with a multitude of wonderful things that must all work together to keep it functioning properly.  However, if any of those tiny parts are damaged or weakened, the simple acts of walking and dancing become extremely painful endeavors. Believe me because I can speak volumes concerning my own battle with foot pain due to injury!  In order to protect these assets as best we can, there are some easy things that we can do to keep them and their companions the ankles in tip top shape.

A Dancer's Feet is a Very Important Asset

In an article written by Rodney Devitt, D. Pod.M., M. Ch.S.I., a Chiropodist and Podiatrist, entitled “Your Feet are Your Fortune” which appeared in an issue of Irish Dancing Magazine, he stated that “For dancers, not only does the comfort and well being of their daily lives depend on having a pair of fit, healthy pain-free feet, but also their pastime, their lifestyle, perhaps even their livelihood.”  So in other words, it is extremely important to learn good use practices and exercise routines to take care of these "claims to fame."  Most of this is not rocket science, just common sense ideas to assist you to keep your feet healthy, happy and grounded to the earth. 

Let me tell you from my own personal observations that if you do not use proper technique, you will suffer the consequences of pain, injury and the ultimate rehabilitation processes (which can take months and sometimes years) in order to heal.  Please hear my words and take them to heart.  Just by taking a few minutes each day, right now, to work on learning the "proper technique," may enable you to add years to your dancing career! Now that's something to think about, isn't it?

The Tripod Foot Explained

One of the first and easiest steps in your goal to maintaining healthy and happy feet is to master the concept of the tripod foot.  I first learned about it a few years ago when I began taking Alexander Technique lessons to undo years of misuse I had subjected my body too.  I found an excellent book called The Complete Illustrated Guide to the Alexander Technique: A Practical Program for Health, Poise and Fitness written by Glenn MacDonald.  (I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about the Alexander Technique, a natural partner with Irish dancing!)  

The three steps of the tripod foot are:

A.  Apply equal pressure on the three weight-bearing points of the foot that form a tripod:  

1. the point on the outer ball of your foot underneath the big toe
2. the point on the inner ball of your foot underneath the little toe
3. The point on the middle of  the heel.

B. Engage the arch of the foot as this forms the top of the tripod.

C. Apply pressure on the pads of each of the five toes as they are used for balance. 

 

The Tripod  Foot Points

For proper standing, the three points of the foot and the arch need to be engaged in unison with the toes on the floor as you allow your neck to be free so that your head can go forward as your spine lengthens and the back widens.

Exercise to Demonstrate The Tripod Foot in Action

In Glynn’s book, she has provided an exercise so that her readers can experience immediately how important employing the tripod foot is to how we stand, walk and of course, dance.  

Step 1:  Stand up tall with the weight of your body evenly distributed between both feet.  Allow the neck to be free.  The head should then go forward and up as the back is allowed to lengthen and widen.

Step 2:  Lift the right leg up in front of the body to a 90 degree angle with knee bent and foot flexed downward.  You must “balance” using the left foot.  “Experience” the weight moving between the “three points” of the “tripod” in the foot on the floor.  Do not fear the feeling of being unbalanced.  Place the right foot back on the floor.  Now lift the left foot up in the same way. “Experience” the feeling once again.  Place the left foot back on the floor.

Step 3 Next with both feet firmly on the ground and without locking the knees, allow yourself to “experience” your weight being distributed equally between all three points of your "tripod foot."  You should feel a lightness and stability. 

As you practice step 3, try to remember the feelings of being unbalanced when you were only standing on one foot at a time in step 2.   Doesn't this feel much better?

The Tripod Foot is the Foundation


The "tripod foot" is the foundation from which many of the exercises for the foot and other parts of the body will be done.  This is why it is important to master the concept at the beginning.  The next blog will include some exercises so watch for it!

Now since you know the basic move, over the next few weeks, try to be more conscience of your feet while sitting, walking and dancing.  Are all all "eight points" properly engaged?  If so, great, you are on  your way to improved balance and stability in your dancing.  If not, stop a second. Think through the points! Correct any weak points and then continue on "properly."  Then practice it regularly until you can do it automatically!

Stay tuned! Enjoy the dance!

Source:  MacDonald, Glenn, The Complete Illustrated Guide to the Alexander Technique: A Practical Program for Health, Poise and Fitness,  Element Books Limited 1998, Boston, MA, 1998.