Dance Shoes by Elaine Irvine

Proper dance shoes are very important for ballroom dancing. Proper ballroom shoes have suede covering on the sole. If you don’t have dance shoes but you do have a comfortable pair of shoes, a shoemaker can put a suede sole covering onto them.

To help you maintain proper balance and control your posture on the dance floor, it is recommended that your dance shoes fit snugly but comfortably. Women’s ballroom shoes often have a lot of straps to enable women to step on their toes without the heel of the shoe moving away from their heel. For closed-toe styles, your toes should be as close to the end of the shoe as they possibly can without rubbing your toes. In sandals, your toes should completely cover the shoe soles and perhaps even hang over the edge by up to ¼ inch. As your shoes wear, your feet may start slipping inside of them. A pair of foam inner soles will help keep your feet from slipping and thus stretching the shoes so that they do not become misshapen and worn out.

It is important to brush your suede shoe soles, with a short bristled wire shoe brush, to keep them free of wax and dirt build-up from the dance floor. The wax causes soles to wear faster and clings to small dirt particles that can wear away the soft soles. Regular polishing keeps shoes from looking scuffed while silicon oil or polish keeps patent shoes from cracking.

It is very important to never wear your dance shoes outdoors as you might never be able to brush out the outdoor contaminants. A shoe bag will help protect your shoes during transport to and from dances. It is also important to watch for indoor contaminants. If you step on a spill, the suede will soak it up and affect the soles of the shoes.

You may wish to consider wearing non-ballroom shoes to unfamiliar non-ballroom venues where floors may be dirty and possibly ruin your shoes.