Are you blessed with long Achilles tendons, loose calf muscles and a deep plié? Count yourself lucky. Many dancers are desperate to increase the depth of their plié however, short of surgery, there is only so much change that can be made.
Some grand pliés in second position are shallow and look more like a demi-plié, caused by tight calf muscles and Achilles’ tendons, which regular stretching can remedy. Despite this, some dancers develop a bony ridge of calcium deposits (or bone spurs) along the bottom edge of their tibia or along the front of their ankle bone which inhibits movement. The bone is stopped by bone and cannot move any further.
Another cause of shallow pliés could be the shape of the ankle bone: it normally slopes downward from the centre of the joint towards the floor which allows dancers to plié from the front of the ankle. For some dancers however, their ankle bones lies horizontally so it lacks that slope, which means they experience a decreased range of motion in their pliés.
Aside from surgery, there is little than can be done to increase the depth of pliés. Some dancers do use adjustable heel lifts to help. Sorbothane heel lifts, for example, tilt the whole ankle bone downwards, giving an increase in range of motion in front of the ankle. They move the bony blockages away from one another, so dancers experience the feeling that they can plié deeper.
Another option is to try stacking two quarter-inch lifts under both heels, and sew a half-inch strip of elastic along the back upper edge of your pointe shoes to prevent them from slipping off. Wearing heel lifts may tighten your Achilles’ tendons, so be sure to do regular calf stretches.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.