Dancing barefoot is a calling card of modern dance training and has often been the footwear of choice for contemporary dancers on stage and in the studio, regardless of the training. Modern dance founders chose to dance in bare feet because it reflects core values like connection to the body and the representation of earthly or human ideas and emotions. So, if you are a barefoot dancer (or plan to be), here are some tips to help you care for your fantastically unadorned feet.

Callus Care

They aren’t pretty but, as long as they are not painfully thick or too dry, calluses for a barefoot dancer are actually a good thing. They help you turn and slide, yet really feel the floor beneath your feet. If they are mostly even with the surrounding skin, you can leave your calluses alone. Use a pumice stone to shave them down if they start getting too big. Just be careful not to file too far. Soaking feet in Epsom salt or using Vaseline overnight can also help to keep the callus pliable and less likely to crack. If a callus does crack, care is similar to that of our next common barefoot dance concern.

Skin splits

The splits are ordinarily something dancers experience; there’s nothing more painful or annoying than dancing on a paper cut.

Splitting skin in and around the toes is difficult to bandage.
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Therefore, splits often tend to reopen and can deepen, or worse, become infected. For this reason, it’s best to do all you can to avoid it and prevent skin splits from happening in the first place. If you are experiencing a split, be sure the tear and surrounding skin are clean. Then, try to place a bandage (or half of one) across the split like a bridge.
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Use medical tape to hold the bandage in place on the top and on the bottom of your foot, if necessary. At a minimum, change any bandaging daily.
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It is usually a good idea to wear some kind of foot covering until the split is fully healed.

Floor burns

Floor work has been a notable characteristic of modern dance throughout the decades. As contemporary dance requires increasing levels of athleticism, scrapes and burns on the ankles and feet of barefoot dancers become more common – so common that dancers may not think much about caring for these rather tame injuries. It’s worth noting that even abrasions like floor burn should be treated with a topical ointment like Neosporin and covered with a bandage to reduce the chance of infection and bacteria growth. You can relieve a painful floor burn by running cold water over the wound, but don’t use ice or lotions, as these can make it worse.

BareFoot Care for Dancers

What are your favorite ways to care for modern dance feet? What do you love (or hate) about dancing barefoot? Tell us in the comments!

Bella Diva Dance offers belly dance classes in Denver. Our new studio is located in the Glendale Center on E. Mississippi Ave. and Birch St., near Colorado Blvd. Visit us today!