Dance! - The Road to Heavies: September 16 2013. Shiny new leather!
A pair of shoes: Heavy shoes!
Far quicker than I expected, a package from England arrives. I don't even think when I come home from work and see the box in front of me. I open it straight away to try on my so badly wanted pair of Antonio Pacelli 'Ultra Flexi' heavy shoes.
Putting them on my feet really requires a shoe-horn in the beginning: just pushing your feet in won't do the shoes any good and isn't nice for your feet as well.
I tie the laces (finally, not a 'shoe-store method' of lacing) and secure the buckles, meant to prevent the dancer from kicking the shoes off and than it's time to stand on them. To be honest: even before taking a stand on them feels rather uncomfortable and I immediately pay more respect to all those showdancers and 'amateurs' out there.
I carefully rise from the couch to stand on both feet and notice how I tend to 'fall' through the shoes. The heel is a good 3 centimeters thick and also the tip is far bigger than I expected.
Between all that is only a piece of fabric that is rather sturdy, but does not give any support at all. First thing that is really noticeable is how much force it takes to stand on the tips alone. My feet just bend between the tips and heels.
Your first time on heavies? Don't walk on a laminated floor!
I carefully take a walk from the living room to the kitchen. Well, if it's your first time on a pair of heavies, I can only recommend against walking for the first time on these on a laminated floor. It's extremely slippery and I have to walk really careful in order not to fall down.
After 15 minutes, I'm done for this day. Both of my feet hurt and especially my toes scream for some relief.
If it wasn't for the pain, I wouldn't be walking around on these for a longer time because of the sound they produce. Everytime I touch the floor, a loud click can be heard and if you think it's ok, please think again, but than about the neighbours.
Breaking them in
To break the shoes in, I put them on my feet on a daily basis for a week in the break at work, which leads to some great laughs from my colleagues.
In the cafetaria at work, the floor is made from a nice thick wood, with a layer of linoleum over it. On this floor, only walking sounds very impressive and I can only fantasize about dancing away on it (which probably won't be appreciated because of the damage I'm likely to cause by doing so)
At the end of the day, I take some time to practice the basic steps. In the shop, there's a fine floor. One part is concrete and absolutely not suitable to dance on (and probably even dangerous) the other parts is made from some kind of plastic. This part of the floor is not suitable to drive on with the forklift or reach-truck and gives a little when jumping and landing: I couldn't wish for more.
Taking steps on heavies is very tough
I try to practice at least something, but quickly notice how much effort it takes to at least get up on the tips. The pain is so intense after only 10 times that I quit doing so. After a few days, it gets a little better and I try to 'brush out, brush in, place'.
Something I can take note of immediately is the lack of control over my muscles. When I don't hit the floor the right way with the tip, I immediately get some feedback by the sound it produces. If the right part hits the floor, than the 'click' it produces is far more intense and 'sharp' sounding.
I also like 'grazekick' myself for the first time. After a 'brush-in' I pull my leg in a little bit too far which makes me stretch my leg with 'brush-out'. In that movement, the tip of my right shoe hits the nose of my left. It's the first serious mark on the leather.
The fine structure of the floor provides some nice feedback. With kicking the feet out, you are actually required to move your ankle shortly and in that movement, hit the floor with the tip.
Of course, this is something that is going more wrong than right and when I don't do it right, there is a kind of 'woosh' sound instead of a click.