Ballroom Dancers: Shoes - where to get and what brand?

Question

A few weddings are coming up, and I want to get ballroom shoes instead of regular dress shoes to make things easier for my feet. I don't need anything for serious dancing, but I do like the comfort of dance shoes. I usually dance jazz and ballet, so I've never done much on a heel... just character shoes with 1.5" heel max. Capezio and Bloch are the only brands I've used.

I like strappy styles, and would probably go for 2.5" heels. And I'd probably like white shoes, cuz I'll most likely use 'em for my own wedding one day if they're really comfy. ^_^

So I'd love any suggestions of any brands that you love, about how much they are, and where I could get it. Also, if you can tell me what to look for in ballroom shoes (as far as how to tell quality, etc), that would be great. Thanks!

Answer 1

It sounds like you've shopped more for dance shoes than I have, but I recently bought two pair of Capezios on Shoebuy.com.  They had a sale, and I had a coupon, and got them for about $37 a pair (I got the same style in tan and in black). They are leather with leather soles (for ballroom I have heard from various sources that leather or suede are best on the soles). I found lots of specialty dance shoe companies online with much more expensive shoes than that.  I also don't like to wear heels, but thought the angle, body position etc. for ballroom would be better if I wore a little heel. These have I think 2" heels and are pretty comfortable.  I have wide feet (actually wide at ball and narrow at heel) and these have a strap across the top so I can adjust to fit. They work well for me in the ballroom dance classes I'm taking and I think they're pretty.  

Some online shoe companies have places where people who have bought them write their comments. I've seen all kinds, so I'm confident they are genuine customer comments and not just some sort of promotion.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

i wouldn't get ballroom shoes.

They have leather on the bottom so you cant really wear them outside or on carpet or anything

just polished floor boards

just get a nice comfy pair of shoes

if you are still set on getting ballroom shoes there aren't many places you can buy them off the shelf, you normally have to order them

any good dance dance shop would be able to help you

Answer 3

If you want strappy ballroom shoes, then they would be latin shoes, and they usually don't make latin shoes in white as latin dancers wouldn't buy them. The usual colours are black and flesh, although you do find silver and gold shoes as well. Latin shoes also have more padding than court shoes.

If you aren't going to do serious dancing in your shoes and only wear them occasionally, then quality isn't such a huge deal, as ballroom heels would hold up better than normal heels anyway, and quality really only matters if you're a serious ballroom dancer, although, keep in mind that since the sole will most probably be suede, and you'll be wearing them outside, they may not hold up as well as normal shoes (I don't know, I've never worn my shoes outside).

As far as being able to tell quality goes, good indicators are that the shoes have a suede sole, not leather, have a good metal shank, and are made of satin, not leather (leather tends to stretch in latin shoes, and over time they don't fit as well. Satin doesn't stretch).

My favourite brand is Supadance, but I have heard that Dance Naturals and Ray Rose are also good brands (if you google the brand, all of them have websites). I can't tell you off the top of my head how much they are, but you should be able to find them at a dance shop, or you can buy them online. Keep in mind though that since Ray Rose is from Britain, and Dance Naturals is from Italy, the prices will not be in American dollars, and the sizes will also not be American sizes, but all the websites have size charts to help you find the correct size if you aren't able to try them on. Supadance has both a British website and an American website. Also, it's usually cheaper to buy them online (my shoes were about $80 less online), as you are buying direct from the company.

I think that just about covers everything, and I hope this helps :) Feel free to email me if there's anything I missed.

Answer 4

Get low heels.

Personally, I think high heels on gals are s**y. But I also find that it's hard to dance in high heels (not from personal experience, but from partners :-).  I think low, wide heels or flats are best.

Besides, when dancing with a woman, I like holding and touching her, I'm not looking at her feet--I'm looking at her.

Dresses are great for dancing--they flow--and look better than pants (again on gals).

Sorry--can't help with brands.