Choosing the right shoes for dancing can be difficult when you are just starting out. Dancing shoes are different from normal street shoes in a number of ways, including how they fit on your feet. If you aren’t sure what you need or how to pick the best shoes we have a few tips and nuggets of advice that could help you find shoes that are comfortable and allow you the freedom of movement that dancing requires. Since dancing puts a lot of strain on your feet, a good quality well-made shoe is an essential part of your wardrobe.

The Elements of a Good Dance Shoe

• Straps – straps on your heels are needed to keep your feet secure. Ankle straps can also be helpful in securing the shoe to your foot. If the shoe can easily slip off of your foot, it’s not going to work very well for dancing.
• Flexibility – The shoe should be flexible enough to give you free movement. A shoe that is too stiff is going to be very restrictive.
• Support – While the shoe needs to be flexible it also needs to fully support your foot. Without good support you could risk injury.
• Fit – Your dance shoes should fit snugly. Ideally, they should fit your foot like a glove. This is not the same kind of fit as a street shoe so it will feel a bit different than you might be used to. A snug fit does not mean that the shoe should pinch or hurt, so make sure your feet fit feel as comfortable as possible.

Some Additional Advice

When choosing a heel size for ballroom or salsa shoes you might want to consider getting your shoes with a mid-size heel. Lower heels are more grounding and are easier to balance in. Higher heels allow for more advanced spinning moves, especially in Latin dancing. On the other hand, a very high heel can be very hard on your knees, so a mid-size heel is a good compromise. Always take your own needs into consideration when choosing a heel size.

Whether your shoe has open or closed toes can come down to a matter of comfort. An open toe will help prevent your feet from perspiring so much, but can also be an invitation to pinching in a lower quality shoe.

Your shoes will stretch with use, so you should purchase them a little tighter than you would normally wear to allow for this. Once the shoes have begun to stretch, the use of insoles can keep them from wearing out so fast and becoming misshapen.

To find the best shoes for dancing, browse through Tango Rouge Ballroom Dancewear’s fine selection of men’s and women’s shoes. We are dedicating to providing the latest styles in affordable Latin and ballroom dance shoes. If you have any questions at all or aren’t sure what you should get, please feel free to contact us at 1-469-877-6503 Monday through Friday. As always, we look forward to the opportunity to assist you in any way that we can!