Too much of a good thing can be wonderful!

A lovely waxed vulva with small labia minora

The Photo: One of the four vulva images from Wikipedia. Attribution: By derivative work: Knuter (talk)-Adult_labia_minora.jpgVulva_with_tiny_labia_minora.jpgPubic_hair_-_Vulva_unshaved.jpgVertical_clit_hood_piercing.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17389961

Exhaustion in paradise: The quote in the title is from Mae West and it is very true, as far as it goes. However, it has a down-side in that there are limits even to good things and the nine men who were our original partners for the PA candidate’s pelvic training while having superb stamina were beginning to pass their peak of sexual performance during the second week even with the use of performance enhancers which I’d rather them not use. I suppose that was to be expected since the guys are routinely having eight or more acts of deep vaginal penetration and often multiple orgasms per penetration (since the girls are beginning to practice pompoir and the mares trick) every day continuously for 14 days. Having the trainees manipulating their glans with their vaginal muscles during Pompoir and the mare’s trick training has made many of their penises sore. I suppose I should have known, but I’ve not had multiple men involved with this many encounters during intensive training before. So, Tanaquil, on Taryn’s behalf, has sent us nine more young, experienced, superbly well hung and well rested cocksmen. I expect to switch out the men every two weeks.  The training should be complete on March 26^th.

Since training began on Sunday January 24 the first group of men (the Seven Dwarfs+2 was rotated out and the new group took their place at the start of the third week, February 7^th, and we switched back to the fully reinvigorated original nine on the 21^st. The two week rotation is going well and there was almost no time lost with the switch as the men came up to speed almost immediately since they knew the training regimen and the different needs of each girl. The second group will return on March 6^th and then the original Seven Dwarfs +2 will finish out the 9^th week from the 20^th to the 26^th of March.

Labiaplasty: I am very pleased to say that the labiaplasty procedures to give the candidates lovely small labia minora like mine (our vulvas look very similar to the one in the photo at the top of this post) prior to their entering training is withstanding the very high usage quite well. And having extended the training interval from eight to nine weeks the candidates are becoming accustomed to the frequency and the physical exertion and mental concentration needed to milk a penis even during Pompoir. I taught the girls my regimen in which I ensure a well lubricated vulva and vagina, use a biocide and urinate immediately after each penetrative encounter to flush the urethra to flush out bacteria and lube pushed into the urethra during sex. That regimen seems to have worked for them so far eliminating yeast and urinary tract infections which so often plague women who have frequent vaginal sex with multiple partners.

Small labia minora and camel-toe: Small labia minora make it easier, more comfortable, for a woman to display camel-toe. Most elite escorts working in the fetish end of the business either have naturally small labia minora or have a labiaplasty so they can comfortable wear a thong, tights, bodysuit or leotard deep between their labia majora to display maximum cleavage even when wearing a costume with a cotton lined gusset. For me wearing convertible foot micro fibre tights with a front seam and a cotton gusset rolled down over a belt (like guys do) so the crotch is pulled up into the cleavage of my labia and buttocks which gives my admirers a double cleavage show especially when I’m prancing around en pointe. As far as breast support since I’m lactating I wear a VS Knockout front close clip and zip sports bra so I can easily breastfeed when I need to be milked.

Mid seam off the gusset: Some of us like to wear tights with a front mid-seam off the gusset which can rub on the clitoris (the seam is adjusted so it is on one side or the other of the glans and hood) while others can’t stand the thought of much less actually having something tight pressing against their clitoris. I rather like it as it keeps me wet and aroused and I can even spontaneously orgasm if I have a set of Ben Wa balls inserted which makes my day pass faster and I’m already lubricated if the occasion arises to have penetrative sex with an interesting man. I’ve also found with small labia minora I can more comfortably wear a sports-plug as it will fit tighter w/o pinching my labia which can happen to women with larger ones.   

Additional professional staff: After the first week it was obvious that we needed a podiatrist as well as a Gynecologist, an esthetician and two masseuses in residence since the girls needed a podiatrist because of their long hours in pointe-shoes and all eighteen of us need full body massages every day.  The esthetician keeps us nine women fully waxed leaving only scalp hair and eyebrows. Chris, our male Gyn from my London clinic, has kept us free of pelvic infections which given our number of male partners and the frequency of penetrative intercourse is a tribute to our regimen of feminine hygiene.    

Custom dressing: During week three of the pelvic intensive (7 – 13 February) I began teaching custom dressing which is dressing for a client executive’s particular fetish set. For example a client may want his PA to wear a latex diaphragm in addition to the GyneFix frameless copper bead IUD which is her primary method of contraception so he can under-thrust the rim of a coil spring and ejaculate in the dome and have her wear it for the rest of the day then eat her cervical discharge out of it. Custom coil spring and flat spring latex diaphragms are custom made now because latex diaphragms are no longer commercially available. The specific style and color shoes he wants to see her in is another major item of fetishwear, especially pointe-shoes or ballet-boots during the time she is with him. Taryn’s girls all work in Gaynor pointes which can be easily carried in a tote along with spare diaphragms, a silicone menstrual cup and a selection of condoms in case he wants to use one while she is menstrual.

Ballet boots can be carried in the tote as well, but they take up far more room especially if they are Gepetto’s custom boots (which Taryn’s girls wear) that have a unitized titanium toe-box and shank assembly and replicable titanium heels which are fitted with removable heel guards and Inman heel guard release pads on the inside of the heels. The heel guards are needed to prevent ruining expensive rugs and polished wood floors in executive offices and discreet pieds-à-terre used for assignations.

Ballet-boots, pointe-shoes and the Achilles tendon: As ballet dancers know from spending time en pointe and fetish ballet-boot wearer’s know from being locked in the boots with their feet extremely pointed and held that way for long intervals can lead to the shortening of the Achilles tendons so the individual can’t walk with their heels flat. To prevent this from occurring in women wearing extreme heels and pointe-shoes and to minimize the likelihood of tendonitis or tendon rupture we exercise in flats or pointes standing on a step with our forefeet on the tread and heels out over the riser. Then slowly rise on ¾ pointe hold for a ten count then slowly lower past flat to where the heels are as far below the tread as the Achilles tendons will allow and hold for a ten count. For women like me continuously on our toes doing 20 reps of this three times a day should keep our Achilles tendons properly stretched. Most of the PA candidates have followed my example and wear their Gaynor Minden pointe-shoes during the evenings when they are off to help toughen their feet and into the 5^th week now they are becoming accustomed to if not liking to wear pointes.

The eroticism of used pointe shoes

A toe-goddess’s gently used pointe shoes

The photo: A pair of my used pointe shoes. Once worn the shoes contain a bit of my Chi – just as the ‘death rubber’ diaphragms which I harvest from women who died while wearing their diaphragms during a sexual encounter, retain a bit of the Chi of their dead owner which I use to significantly increase my libido and possibly my sexual skills from those of the previous owner.

The used pointes will retain my Chi after they are dead and discarded unless they are consumed by fire. That’s why I burn all my dead pointes after they are no longer useful for wearing deshanked for class. The wearer’s Chi is released when the shoes are burned so none of my experiences and skill can be used by another wearer even if s/he is a sensitive. The important part for me is that no one, except someone I’m in a romantic erotic relationship with, will ever get anything, garments or shoes containing my Chi.

Souvenirs: I am constantly asked for a memento of my performances by members of the audiences or after a sexual encounter with a partner or even by readers posting comments to this blog. Except in rare instances I don’t give away anything I’ve worn or used (see above) even keeping and burning the condoms that my partner(s) and I occasionally use. When souvenirs are given by me they are new toe pads which are inexpensive if bought in the quantities we do. My only exception is my erotic gifts to my main squeeze John, Viscount Sandbach, known to frequent readers as Jack.

Misogyny, masochism and the eroticism of pointe shoes: Male interest in the female foot and footwear is as old as time. Perhaps the forerunner of the pointe shoe was foot binding in 10^th or 11^th century imperial China. The pointe shoe as we know it is a relatively new invention having a blocked toe-box and shank only in the mid 19^th century. The pointe shoes eroticism stems from the fact that while on pointe the woman looks ethereal and with her calf muscles and buttocks contracted being en pointe presents the woman’s body in the most attractive way possible.  

In addition, the pointe shoe is seen as a tangible symbol of a woman’s skill and power and increases her ability to cloud men’s minds with her exquisite femininity which pointes show off to a skilled dancer’s advantage. The pointe shoe is also seen by knowledgeable men as a symbol of the vagina because of it’s femininity and tight fit. An excellent article about fetishes and pointe shoes is “Consuming the Ballerina: Feet, Fetishism and the Pointe Shoe” by Keryn Carter (2000) in Australian Feminist Studies Vol. 15, No 31 pp. 82-90.

Some men enjoy the fact that even properly fitting and supportive pointes are uncomfortable to wear for most women and a misogynistic and sadistic man will find pointes the perfect footwear for a beautiful woman because he wants her to suffer while he takes her during rough ballet-sex. When that woman is a masochist and able to dominate him and enjoy the eroticism of her shoes giving her power over him and his sexual attention simultaneously he finds it confusing and he can get very angry unless she totally exhausts him sexually.

That’s the sort of volatile mix that I enjoy when Adolph is my partner for ballet-sex. He occasionally comes to me for release when he is very needy and abusing women won’t improve his disposition. He can be extremely dangerous and has amazing sexual stamina, but I love fucking his brains out since when sexually exhausted he turns into a marvelously obedient submissive.

Toe Goddesses and ballet-sex training: Since Willow and Andrea are my two newest wards they take up more of my time in training. Ballet-sex is one of the most popular and useful skills I teach since it shows off the woman’s body, provides her the best position to maximize her pelvic grip, demonstrates her strength and stamina to her partner and makes her feel confident and powerful. Not to mention completely pussy whipping any man who adores a strong pelvic grip and falls in thrall when ripple gripped.

Willow as a professional ballet dancer has beautiful and very strong legs, but still needs to increase her stamina for repeated acts of ballet-sex, which returning readers remember is defined as being entered from behind when standing sur les pointes a la seconde while bent over holding on to a barre, chair, table or railing with both hands. Willow’s feet and legs are strong enough that she can train for ballet-sex in pointe shoes and like most women having ballet-sex she wears hard shanked Gaynor Minden shoes which give the best support, are the most comfortable and last far longer than shoes made of traditional materials.

Andrea on the other hand while having more than seven years of pointe has never really trained hard having only at the most two 90 minute classes a week. As a result she is nowhere near ready to have ballet-sex in pointe shoes. So while she builds the strength in her feet and ankles for pointe work I’ve started her ballet-sex training with her wearing ballet-boots. Her pairs of Gepettos lightly armored boots with unitized titanium toe-boxes and shanks, replicable titanium lace-splitter heels and Inman release heel guard arrived last week and she has been wearing them around the house. She wanted to wear them to UNLV, but I said no since that would surely draw a crowd and have more men sniffing after her than she already has. She’s fertile at the moment, as am I (I’m CD9) and she is giving off breeding pheromones like you wouldn’t believe so her strutting around in ballet-boots at UNLV right now with a crowd of randy males following her would be a huge distraction; not that she wouldn’t enjoy leading them around by pheromone penis leashes.  I’m pleased to see that her fertility seems to have returned so quickly. With luck, since we train and sweat in such close proximity her cycle will synchronize with mine, as my other wards cycles have, by the time of this years Vernal Equinox on March 20^th.

Fucked in ballet-boots: The stability of properly fitted and laced ballet-boots which allow putting most of the wearer’s weight on her heels and help stabilize her ankles while taking her partner’s thrusts allows a woman who can’t wear pointes for ballet-sex to train and enjoy the tightening of the pelvic muscles almost as tight as if she was balanced over the blocks of pointe shoes. I’ve put her on a diet to reduce calf cramping while she’s training in ballet-boots and she and Willow have now joined me running up and down a flight of 20 concrete steps that descend into one of the sub-basements of my home. That is an amazing workout and while Willow can usually follow me Andrea can only run up the steps the first time. Given her background and the time she has been training that’s quite good. I have germ wearing the heel guards while training as she is sometimes lifted off her feet right now while taking her partner’s trusts and I don’t want her moving a foot and driving the tip of a lace splitter heel through a partner’s foot. She’s up to taking a partner four times in an hour before her calves are so sore she has to remove her boots and have her calves massaged, but that’s significant progress. In comparison Bea, who has been wearing ballet-boots for more than two years can wear them for ballet-sex for several hours w/o her calves cramping. Of course with so much time on our toes we all have to wear negative elevation heels – or negative wedges strapped to our pointes if like me my girls wear their pointes most of the time while at home. - to prevent shortening of our Achilles tendons.

Vaginal fashion at Naughty’s: I took Willow, Andrea and the Swan twins to Naughty’s Boot Bar for the first time Sunday night to celebrate Andrea’s freedom from requiring her partners to wear condoms while her uterus healed from her termination. We all wore .3mm chlorinated latex catsuits, hoods, gloves and Gepettos lightly armored ballet-boots with lace-splitter heels. When the five of us walked in there was a hush as everyone stared and then men started coming over to introduce themselves before we were even seated. Once we were settled we let the men present their STI credentials and take the girls out to dance and have ballet-sex while the girls were in Bar-sling harnesses. In a bar sling they could plant their unguarded heels, lock their knees put their weight on their heels and the harness and let the men they had chosen open their relief zippers and insert fingers to see what a young toe-goddess was wearing as vaginal fashion. The girls were all wearing 22mm FemCaps and I had an Oves screwed down tight on my cervix. I had double bagged with a latex Reflexions flat spring diaphragm since I was sure I would become fertile in the next 8 hours.

I was offered an encounter by a lovely married man who was in town for a conference. He was a considerate and knowledgeable lover. When he opened my relief zipper and inserted two fingers he immediately recognized that I had a latex flat spring diaphragm inserted and said his wife wears a silicone All-Flex. He was so complimentary about my muscle control when he faded and I brought him back from the dead - while I whispered in his ear telling him how strong and handsome he was - to a marvelously hard and thick erection and a massive ejaculation that was draining out of me as he was still pumping more in. He said he hadn’t had sex in weeks as his wife was about to deliver another daughter, their third, and he intended to try for a boy next time.  He was so proud of his family and I wondered if he accidently impregnated me if I could give him a boy. It was best for both of us not to go there and I said nothing, though I did take his phone number and gave him the number for my PA who handles all my incoming calls. He was a really sweet man even though he was cheating… and I was pleased to have given him some relief and enjoyed him sharing his body with me. The girls and I all returned home sated and draining fresh semen. It was such a lovely evening!

 

Pointe and Achilles tendons

Contracted calf muscles and Achilles tendons en pointe

Eric, a good friend and regular reader writes: “Saw this article, [below] and I was wondering how that could relate to ballet boots, since they're even higher than the high heels that non-fetishists would wear.” I’m indebted to Eric for bringing this article to my attention.

LiveScience
Rachael Rettner
LiveScience Staff Writer
Thu Jul 15, 7:05 pm ET

“High Heels Reshape Leg Muscles, Create Pain When Not Worn

Women who wear high heels daily might be signing up for more than a little foot pain. Habitual high-heel wearing can lead to changes in the calf muscle and tendons, according to a new study.

So much so that these women actually experience discomfort when they walk around sans stilettos.

The high-heel habit can cause fibers in the calf muscle to shorten, and the Achilles tendon, which connects the calf muscle to the bone, to stiffen and become thicker. While this set-up doesn't pose problems when the heel is propped up, it can lead to discomfort when standing or walking around flat-footed because the muscle and tendon are stretched beyond their normal range of movement.

"In a way, the system has adapted to this new position," said study researcher Marco Narici of Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom. "When they wear high heels the muscles feel more comfortable."

The results will be published July 16 in the Journal of Experimental Biology.
Measuring muscles

When people put on high heels, their ankles are raised and their calf muscles are held in a shortened (contracted) position. Scientists know that when people place their muscles in a shortened position for a long period of time - such as in a plastic cast - the muscle literally becomes shorter, Narici said.

Narici wondered if constantly wearing high heels could also cause muscle shortening.

"I thought that: women wearing high heels were doing an experiment for us without knowing it, so all we had to do was recruit them and test them," he told LiveScience.

In addition, there is anecdotal evidence from the 1950s that secretaries experienced discomfort when they took off their high heels and walked barefoot, Narici said, which also suggested perpetually wearing high heels causes changes.

The study participants included 11 women (average age 43) who had worn stiletto high heels (at least 2 inches, or 5 centimeters high) for five days a week for two years or more. Most of the subjects said they felt discomfort when they were standing barefoot. A control group of nine women who did not regularly wear high heels was also included.

Narici and his colleagues first measured the size of the women's calf muscles using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, they didn't find any differences in muscle volume between the two groups.

Next, they used ultrasound to measure the length of the calf muscle fibers, finding they were 13-percent shorter in high-heel wearers compared with the control group.

Having shorter fibers should affect how the muscle contracts - shorter fibers should generate less force and make walking less efficient in these women. But the researchers couldn't find any differences between the two groups in terms of how the calf muscle contracts.

An examination of the Achilles tendon showed the tendons of high-heel wearers were thicker, and thus stiffer, than those of non-high heel wearers.

The thicker tendons counterbalance the shorter muscle fibers and allow the muscle to behave normally, Narici said. But the combined effect of the thicker tendon and the shorter fibers is the likely reason behind the soreness felt when high-heel wearers ditch their stilettos..

High heels aren't the only footwear risk. A separate study in 2008 found that constantly wearing flip-flops alters how you walk, changing the gait in subtle ways that can lead to problems and pain in the sole, heel and ankle.

Ditch the heels?

Narici doesn't think the results mean women should give up wearing high heels. But he recommends stretching exercises after a day of wearing high heels to prevent the muscle fibers from shortening.

Currently, Narici and his colleagues are investigating whether thicker Achilles tendons make running less efficient.

Narici conducted his work with Robert Csapo of the University of Vienna, Austria, and Olivier Seynnes and Costis Maganaris of Manchester Metropolitan University.

The study was funded by Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Vienna.

Original Story: High Heels Reshape Leg Muscles, Create Pain When Not Worn
LiveScience.com”


Personal comment: This article provides clinical proof for the general public of what ballet dancers and pointe shoe / ballet boot fetishists have known for years. That if you are going to spend a lot of time with your heels off the ground or floor you are going to have to spend time afterward stretching your Achilles tendons to ensure that they aren’t shortened. I mentioned this need most recently in my post of July 9, 2010 where I wrote:

“The down-side of Pointe boots: Pointe boots of all kinds have a common set of problems. Pleasure Boots were designed with sex en pointe in mind so the boxes are heavily padded to protect the toes and ankles. The problem in wearing them (as with all pointe boots) comes from leg cramps from wearing them continuously for too long and that also causes the Achilles tendons to shorten so a wearer of any sort of pointe boot has to do Achilles tendon stretching exercises when not wearing them to be able to walk comfortably barefoot or in flats. Calf cramps can be minimized by getting used to wearing her boots for hours at a time and ensuring her diet is rich in all the vitamins and minerals needed and she should stay well hydrated.”

To expand on Achilles tendon (AT) stretching a bit more: Ballet dancers in major and regional companies don’t usually have problems with pointe shoes shortening their achilles tendons because they spend a relatively small percent of their time en pointe, as opposed to pointe or ballet-boot escorts who service the fetish communities and boot fetishists themselves. In addition, most of the conventionally made pointe shoes have a negative (-1° to -3°) heel. That means that when wearing the shoe the heel is slightly lower than the toes, because of the material build-up on the under side of the platform where the pleats or feathers of traditional shoes are gathered. So, there is some stretching of the AT just by walking around flat in pointes. Extreme pointe wearers, like St Lucy’s ballet students who are en pointe a significant part of their time in classes and rehearsals are tested for any AT shortening to see if they can wear negative heel shoes safely. If they can wear them safely they start wearing negative heel sandals as soon as they start pointe classes to minimize the likelihood of AT problems. It’s common to see the ballet girls in negative heels in the dorms and when shopping to counter the long intervals with their calves tightened and their ATs contracted. Wearing negative heels at St Lucy’s has become such a status symbol for the ballet students that it’s become a very serious breech of etiquette to wear neg. heels at St Lucy’s unless you are taking pointe.

As alluded to above there is a huge caution about wearing negative heel shoes for someone who already has shortened Achilles tendons. A woman who already has shortened ATs from wearing heels if she isn’t careful can rupture her AT by over stretching in negative heels so each woman should have an exam before wearing them to make sure she isn’t setting herself up for an incapacitating career ending injury.

Ballet-boot maintenance and etiquette

A boot-girl adjusting her laces before an encounter

Ballet-boot maintenance and etiquette: I’ve not touched on this subject before but just as with pointe shoes ballet-boots take maintenance to keep them in good condition. And since the class of 15 and 16 y/o girls will be fitted for their first pairs of Gepetto’s custom made pointe boots this seemed like a good time to cover some of the basics. Since the boots are made of high quality leather they need an occasional rubbing down with a good saddle soap. Things to do and watch for with ballet-boots are:

You should take care to polish off the excess saddle soap with a brush and soft rag so putting your boots on the upholstery or bed linens, as you will when you become popular, won’t stain them.

Oil the heel-guard releases so that the guards come off easily. For women wearing Gepetto’s boots a drop of three-in-one oil on each of the Inman releases pads will last for months.

The weep or vent holes built into the inside arches and behind the platforms of Gepetto boots should be probed to make sure the boots can breathe and sweat can drain out while being worn. They can clog with lint from tights, tape adhesive and bits of padding and it is important for healthy feet when pointe-boots are worn as long each day as they can be for some classes at St Lucy’s.

Cleaning the laces on ballet-boots is especially important for beginners. That’s because while the teens are learning about their bodies they will be learning how to control their and their partner’s body fluids. Spills, drips and leaks are common and it’s surprising to the girls how often their laces get splattered with sweat, fertile cervical mucus, semen, menstrual blood and occasionally a partner’s blood if the girl is so tight he tears. Removing the laces and cleaning then with a rough plastic sponge to get the hardened residue off and then coating them with a good saddle soap is all they need. An old toothbrush is the perfect tool to get the flaks of dried semen or blood out of the crevices in the tongues accordion folds and then coating the tongue pocket with saddle soap before restringing the laces is all that’s required.

Patent leather boots used for dress just require wiping with a damp cloth. St Lucy’s girls are taught not to play in their dress boots as they aren’t designed for hard use and the laces have to be replaced rather than cleaned if they become stained.

Zippers, on advanced student’s boots after they have learned proper lacing technique, are cleaned with a silicone impregnated rag to lubricate the industrial micro zips. With good quality boots just wiping the zipper teeth should be all the care needed. In the event that blood or semen splatters the zipper it may require the use of a toothbrush to clean the zipper teeth.

The platforms of ballet-boots should be checked for wear and thin or holed platforms mended. Depending on the quality of the boots wearing through the platform material, usually sueded leather in better boots, can compromise the entire boot. Gepetto’s standard pointe-boots (not the armored pointe fighting boots) have a layer of polymer padding (to decrease the noise made walking in them) between the titanium toe box and the thick sueded leather outer platform and both the polymer padding and the leather outer platform can be replaced if worn through. A boot with a worn or holed platform can cause the wearer to trip or the inside of the boot to get wet if worn in wet weather or during a water fight.

When out wearing pointe-boots always carry a set of heel guards. Heel guards should be worn at all times when in friends homes or in commercial establishments with wood or carpeted floors so your spikes won’t ruin the floors.

In a man’s home, if he takes you to bed with your boots on he is granting permission for you to damage his bedding in what ever fashion your play takes, but you should always keep your heel guards on unless he gives you permission to remove them. Some men will have a thick Kevlar duvet on their beds so that you can play in unsheathed heels. Even so, a polite boot-girl will ask permission before she unsheathes her spikes.

Driving in pointe-boots takes some getting used to and stamina in the legs to quickly move a pointed and booted foot from the accelerator to the brake. St Lucy’s driver education includes an advanced course in pointe-boot driving for teens just getting their licenses.

Driving guards are heel guards that have an L-shaped piece on the bottom that fits snugly against the back of the platform when the guard is locked in place. Driving guards eliminate the most common reason for auto accidents involving women driving in pointe-boots, which is getting the heel caught in the carpet or under the accelerator or brake so the car is uncontrollable. Driving guards are in common use by experienced pointe-boot wearers who drive their own cars while booted. However, there is a tendency for inexperienced teens to think driving guards are not ‘cool’ because the spike of the heel isn’t emphasized, which boot wearing women in general have come to regard as twin female phallus symbols as empowering when unsheathed as they believe a male’s erection to be. We play to that psychology by teaching St Lucy’s girls that men and other women know perfectly well what is hidden beneath the drive guards and non-boot wearers of both sexes are actually waiting to see the students skill in being able to glide or run in their boots in unsheathed heels rather than the type guard being used when required.

Stretching Achilles tendons for pointe-boot wearers. A major physical problem associated with wearing pointe-boots for long periods of time is that the Achilles tendons tend to shorten after being contracted for long intervals just as will happen if a woman is always in heels. To prevent this happening Pilates Achilles stretching and strengthening techniques are included in every ballet students exercise regimen and we have boot-girls walk around in negative heel clogs in the dorms. Neg-heels have come to be something of a fad at school as non-boot wearers in the student body have taken to wearing them in imitation of the more advanced and adventuresome pointe-boot students.