The Benefits of Barefoot

Rock on with your Socks on...

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Today I’m tackling a topic I’m asked about more than any other. People just cannot seem to get over the idea that my classes are usually conducted “barefoot.” The students, and the teacher, almost never wear shoes. In this post I’m going to explain once and for all why this is a CRUCIAL element of my classroom.

The tradition of Dalcroze Eurhythmics has been to perform classes barefoot since its inception over 100 years ago. Influenced by gymnastics approaches, Emile Jaques-Dalcroze wanted to utilize robust full-body movement to capture embodied sensations of music. Photos of early Dalcroze classes look quite different than ours, with the students in unitards, garb more commonly associated with dance contexts. We’ve moved away from the spandex, thankfully, but the tradition of “shoes-off” has endured.

From a pedagogical perspective, it’s easy to understand why this element of the work exists. If we subscribe to the notion that “the body is our instrument” then we can relate the necessity to possess optimal balance, grace, and sensitivity. After all, you wouldn’t play the piano wearing boxing gloves! You need to feel the keys, have a light touch, and dextrous fingers. Likewise, as we’re learning to move musically through space, we need our contact with the ground to be similarly graceful. Students wearing shoes tend to move more clumsily, stomping through space with notably little musical nuance. Embodiment of musical concepts requires the student to engage their whole body, and the feet are a critical component of a holistic approach.

From a classroom management perspective, there is a great advantage to our shoes-off policy. Entering the room, removing the shoes, storing them neatly in a cubby; it is all part of a ritual that sets my room apart from the rest of their day. Suddenly we’re in a different realm, there is a sensory response as the students react to the feeling of being shoeless. The kind of movement we do in music class is so different from the kind they might use in gym class, or on the playground. The removal of shoes gives a physical association to the music room, and we see a stark change in the students behavior.