Thread: Shoes for dancing? Your recommendations..

I am looking at getting some shoes for dancing in restaurants and clubs and other stage stuff where I want something to cover my tootsies. I know many of you dance in shoes all the time so I would love your input on what works for you. What is comfortable and looks good with your costume? I am open to it all:)
Thanks in advance:)

I dance in a shoe that is made for ballet teachers. It has a small (and I mean small, like a jazz shoe) heel and the she covers the heel. It covers the ball of the foot and toes but has only elastic conecting the front and back on bht bottem. The top has a strap and buckle, nice with elastic. It comes in flesh, pink, and black, I use flesh. I'm looking into special ordering in gold and silver but haven't heard back if it can be done.
I like the look it gives the foot, covered, very slim and not clunky looking but the foot is covered on yucky floors!
I sometime wear dance shoes in heels as well.
You can look at shoes on discount dance supply online, another site is just for kixs, both have good prices.
I would have to say you should go to a local dance supply store first to get your true size. Mistakes can be made in trying to order with your street shoe size.

Ditto on the sizing mistake...the ones I ordered are too small (silver ballroom dance shoes, 2" cuban heel). My favorite shoe of all time is the Capezio pedini. They come in black and flesh.

Originally Posted by Doozer

Ditto on the sizing mistake...the ones I ordered are too small (silver ballroom dance shoes, 2" cuban heel). My favorite shoe of all time is the Capezio pedini. They come in black and flesh.

I saw those. I will have to go into the dance store and try on a few pairs. I have never danced in heels so I figured I better start practicing.

I bought half sole dance shoes from Discount Dance. Order 2 sizes smaller. They are good for spinning on just about any surface. They protect the balls of your feet. I also ordered their ballet shoes for dancers (the flats)

I dont like my pedinis, the heels dig into my foot at the back of my arch. I just cant break em in. I am trying a full foot thong next. Ball and heel protection, but not much else to em. I didnt like the paws cause they start rolling off my foot. Love ghillies, but they dont look so good in a beaded gown.

I love my pedinis, and other teaching sandals. I wear black ones to teach in, and I bought a fleshtone pair and painted them with gold shoe paint. (shoe paint in metallic and other colors available through manhattanwardrobesupply.com)

I wear those for gigs where I don't want to go barefoot but I don't want to break out my ballroom shoes, either.

I *love* my ballroom shoes. They have a nice flexible suede sole (unlike the cheap hard character shoes I tried at first, those were useless for me) and they're sparkly gold so they go with all my costumes. They look like the kind of shoes I'd actually wear with a beaded, sequinned evening gown, so I feel like they complete the look better than anything else, and they're wonderfully secure yet flexible.

Originally Posted by Lauren_

I love my pedinis, and other teaching sandals. I wear black ones to teach in, and I bought a fleshtone pair and painted them with gold shoe paint. (shoe paint in metallic and other colors available through manhattanwardrobesupply.com)

I wear those for gigs where I don't want to go barefoot but I don't want to break out my ballroom shoes, either.

I *love* my ballroom shoes. They have a nice flexible suede sole (unlike the cheap hard character shoes I tried at first, those were useless for me) and they're sparkly gold so they go with all my costumes. They look like the kind of shoes I'd actually wear with a beaded, sequinned evening gown, so I feel like they complete the look better than anything else, and they're wonderfully secure yet flexible.

oooh I had not thought about ballroom shoes. I have seen people dance in character shoes but I would think they would kill your feet after a bit. I have been dancing barefoot so long I am a little nervous about heels but I walk in heels all the time so I guess it won't be so bad. I normally wear foot undeez to protect the balls of my feet but I figured for a restaurant or club I was going to want more protection...you never know what is on the floor...its kind of gross to think about really
soooo have to get some shoes before I come visit Sonja in January... lol

For me ite depends on what costume I'm wearing. I'm a shorty and some of my costumes are too long to wear without heels.

If I'm wearing heels, I love my silver ballroom shoes I got from TNT dance designs. I bought them when they were selling on Ebay, but they have their own web site now. Custom and Discount Ballroom Dance Shoes Latin

If I don't need heels, I love my hermes sandals made by Leo's.

Originally Posted by AmiraStar

oooh I had not thought about ballroom shoes. I have seen people dance in character shoes but I would think they would kill your feet after a bit. I have been dancing barefoot so long I am a little nervous about heels but I walk in heels all the time so I guess it won't be so bad. I normally wear foot undeez to protect the balls of my feet but I figured for a restaurant or club I was going to want more protection...you never know what is on the floor...its kind of gross to think about really
soooo have to get some shoes before I come visit Sonja in January... lol

I love ballroom shoes myself, but I don't recommend wearing suede soles in a restaurant environment, unless you have a separate stage area, or unless you get a cheapie pair that you don't mind ruining. There's so much crap to potentially step in, and suede soles suffer if you step in things like spilled liquids. I'd rather use a cheap character shoe, hermes sandals, or even street shoes.

I had the Capezio "Footlight" ballroom shoe recommended to me by someone who said all the "sooperstars" wear them. I haven't tried them yet though. I think they run about $130.

I'm selling a pair of cute red ballroom shoes in the swap meet, if you're looking for some at a discount!

- Leela

I wear hermes sandals or ballroom shoes for performance. I wear ballet slippers or ghilles for class. I am looking into a pair of t-strap character shoes in tan.

{{{HUGS}}}

Originally Posted by flimflamgirl

I'm selling a pair of cute red ballroom shoes in the swap meet, if you're looking for some at a discount!

- Leela

Are they a deep red? I have a red and gold costume that I wear all the time because its my favorite but I just had a purple one made in egypt (its in the shipping system somewhere) that I hope to wear soon.... **runs to swap meet to check it out**

This is reminding me that I have some shoes to list on the swap meet, too!

It is possible to wear dance shoes in a restaurant setting...I've done it. My former Highland dance/pipe/drum group used to go to bars and such to play/dance on St. Patrick's Day. I used to wear my old shoes, yes, but after having been requested to dance for the cooks in a restaurant kitchen once and coming out with the soles of my shoes greasy, I put duct tape on the bottoms, having heard that Irish dancers sometimes use it to keep from slipping. I just used the silver type as it was a quick fix, I didn't much care what it looked like, and I didn't figure the drunk folks would either, but you could find duct tape in a color to match the soles of your shoes (or the rest of the shoe if you like), or even use the clear stuff so it'd be less noticeable. It would take a bit of work to cut it to fit the sole--again, I didn't make much of an effort with mine--and you may want to glue it rather than relying on the adhesive of the tape, but it might work. Alternately, you can get that stuff you put on the bottom of women's dress shoes to make them less slippery and cut it to size, or even go to the hardware store and get the stuff you can attach to your steps. That would make the bottoms a bit more durable.

You could also perhaps try the lightweight Chinese Mary Janes? They're not proper dance shoes per se and won't fit really closely and show a beautiful point if that's what you'd like, but the thin soles are definitely flexible enough for demi-pointes and the like. And the rubber soles will keep you from slipping and are something you could wear indoors or out, rather than having to change to and from street shoes or slip clogs on and off over your dance shoes or whatever. Plus they're cheap so you can have as many different pairs as you like or you won't feel too bad if you DO ruin them or forget them at a venue.

You can get the plain cotton ones (I've seen them in black and colors) and decorate however you'd like (sequins and Bedazzler, anyone?), or the fancier lace or brocade or velvet or embroidered pairs.

The fancier ones will probably have to be ordered online as I've only seen plainer ones in shops (and maybe not even that anymore; they were in style a couple years ago but I'm not sure that they still are); here are a couple links:

Pearl River

Slippers Section: Offering Chinese, Japanese, Asian, Oriental Mesh Slippers and Shoes (on this site the Mary Janes seem to be interspersed with other types of shoes on the page, so scroll down)

Just tried my new Stephanie Ballroom Your Destiny (low broad heel, very strappy open toe sandal) in performance last night - would highly recommend. Only downside is they come in only 2 colors, black and tan. Other styles in higher heels come is more colorsl.

I am still on the shoe hunt:)

Originally Posted by Kat144

It is possible to wear dance shoes in a restaurant setting...I've done it. My former Highland dance/pipe/drum group used to go to bars and such to play/dance on St. Patrick's Day. I used to wear my old shoes, yes, but after having been requested to dance for the cooks in a restaurant kitchen once and coming out with the soles of my shoes greasy, I put duct tape on the bottoms, having heard that Irish dancers sometimes use it to keep from slipping. I just used the silver type as it was a quick fix, I didn't much care what it looked like, and I didn't figure the drunk folks would either, but you could find duct tape in a color to match the soles of your shoes (or the rest of the shoe if you like), or even use the clear stuff so it'd be less noticeable. It would take a bit of work to cut it to fit the sole--again, I didn't make much of an effort with mine--and you may want to glue it rather than relying on the adhesive of the tape, but it might work. Alternately, you can get that stuff you put on the bottom of women's dress shoes to make them less slippery and cut it to size, or even go to the hardware store and get the stuff you can attach to your steps. That would make the bottoms a bit more durable.

This is a great tip! Do you have any trouble with the adhesive from the tape gunking up the suede?

Originally Posted by nisaasaintlouis

I love ballroom shoes myself, but I don't recommend wearing suede soles in a restaurant environment, unless you have a separate stage area, or unless you get a cheapie pair that you don't mind ruining. There's so much crap to potentially step in, and suede soles suffer if you step in things like spilled liquids. I'd rather use a cheap character shoe, hermes sandals, or even street shoes.

You make a valid point about the suede. I always use ballroom shoes when dancing in restaurants and clubs, and the bottoms eventually do become un-suede-like. I have found that I can still wear the shoes just fine in other venues, though, so in my experience, the funky floors don't kill the shoes.
I wanted to point out a thread that I have in the Retail Swap Meet section:
http://www.bhuz.com/forum/belly-danc...tml#post297599
I have my own line of customizable ballroom shoes, and they can be made with street soles, which would hold up more in a restaurant setting. Even with the street sole, they are still much more flexible and easier to dance in (and more comfortable) than street shoes.

My first ballroom dance shoes were by Capezio and by Freed, but once I tried Celebrity Dance Shoes, I never looked back. They are sooooo comfy because the innersoles have athletic density foam that cushions your foot and absorbs shock. You can custom order them in a TON of styles, fabrics, and heel heights and thicknesses (from flats to 3" heels). They are expensive (about $120 to $140 per pair), but worth every penny.

Celebrity Dance Shoes

I dunno Nisaa, cuz I never took it off. Otherwise, yeah, I imagine it would cuz duct tape's awful that way. I wasn't too worried about it though, since I figured if I ever take it off, it'll just be to replace it with more. But, it's partly why I suggested gluing down the tape, so the edges don't peel up and pick up dirt and junk--ew!