Assessing the Warm Up
Tap dance students sometimes think that they can skip the stretching and warm up prior to their tap dance class. This differentiates the tap student from the true tap dancer. The warm up and stretching are as important as learning all the tap steps and combinations in order to prevent injuring your ankles while tap dancing.
Help Your Body Prepare to Tap
Tap dancing mainly works the muscles of the lower portion of the body. The muscles of the legs, thighs, hips, calves, feet and ankles get quite a workout. Do similar stretches to what a runner does prior to running. Be sure to include front lunges and side lunges as well. Warm up and loosen the ankle muscles by flexing the foot back and forth and doing circular rotations with the foot. The stretching of the muscles up and down the legs is important to avoid an ankle injury as they're all connected.
Make Sure the Tap Shoe Fits
Have your feet properly sized for your tap shoes. They need to fit snugly so the foot doesn't slide around inside the shoe. As you dance, your feet get warm and sweaty. If your feet slide around, you need to get proper fitting tap shoes to avoid twisting your ankle. If there's just a bit of extra room, wear socks with appropriate thickness to take up the extra room. This will also help to cut down on the moisture in the shoe as the socks can absorb the sweat.
Do it Right, So Your Ankle Doesn't Suffer
Learn to do all the tap dance steps and combinations technically correct. Some tap dance steps or combinations involve turning the foot so that pressure is directly on the outside of the foot, pressing down on the ankle. Stay focused while you're tap dancing. Not being focused allows you to dance sloppily and that's when you're more likely to twist an ankle. If the steps aren't performed technically correct, an ankle injury may occur.
Rest it, Wrap It, Heal It
Given the pressure that the feet and ankles take during tap practices and performances, sometimes you may develop a weak spot in an ankle. Take this as a warning sign to pamper this ankle. Rest the ankle if possible. Use ice if there is any swelling present. It's possible that the ankle just needs some extra support for a while to regain its strength, so wrap the ankle with an elasticized support band or by taping it. Practice and dance this way for several weeks to allow the ankle time to heal, so you don't end up with a serious ankle injury.
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