Thread: Feet, shoes and carpeted dance floor surfaces

At La Danse Orientale this weekend found my performance was hampered by the carpet on the "stage" -- afraid of tweaking my knees, was timid about some moves and, gosh golly, was called on it by the judges. (Clearly not the only reason I failed to place, but a major one, for sure.)

Was wearing elderly Capezio (suede-soled) sandals -- had tried the night before in bare feet and found it even more difficult that way.

Thinking that a pair of Aruba's leather-soled sandals might help, but am concerned about the look -- any input??

Hi Maia, I was wearing my Aruba sandals on that stage and I'm glad I wore them. I had been thinking about going barefoot.... My Aruba sandals have the regular sold on them, they are super duper soft, soft leather and I wear them everywhere I dance! They cost around $70 but are so worth it. Did you notice them on me?

I'd love a link to a picture - the Aruba's I see look like running sandals!

I generall dance in ballet slippers, which go a long way in standardizing different surfaces. Capezio leather Juliets match my skin tone very well so they usually just disappear in plain view.

So sorry to hear your competition piece was less than you wanted it to be due to the stage surface! That's frustrating!

I danced barefoot on carpet, wood, linoleum, slate, plywood . . . you name it . . . in bare feet for years. Of course, I was mostly improving at party gigs, so I wasn't being judged if my 360 degree turn wasn't perfect!

For the last decade or so, I've been wearing my hermes sandals 100% of the time and, aside from the fact that I really don't like how they look, I've never had a problem with them on any surface . . . well, maybe a bit slippery on occasion.

Are your Capezios the hermes style?

Deborah

Jewels -- I didn't realize they were Arubas -- thought they were Capezios! They fit you very well and look lovely. Deborah -- Yes, they're Hermes, but the old-school silver NLA And there were plenty of other things I need to improve, but this one kinda hurt the most ..cr.:

Marguerite's "Turns & Spins" vid produced by IAMED: she has a section demonstrating all diff kinds of foowear for dance, holding close to camera so we can see, describing, etc.

I'm so happy to find that I am not the only one struggling with dancing on carpet. The troupe I dance with does a lot of assisted living gigs and I just don't feel comfortable dancing barefoot on the carpeting. Could someone please post a pic or link for the Aruba sandals?

Can I see what those Aruba's look like?

here's the link to aruba's site

Aruba's Oasis Sandals: Leather Lace-up Belly Dance Sandals

i have a pair in black rubber with silver laces. they are rather conspicuous, but i got them for outdoor festivals/parades where we dance on asphalt. i've also worn them wine-tasting ..g.:

she can do more 'nude' styles that won't be so obvious, you get to pick your own colors. also, i've heard she'll do custom soles by doing an outline of your footprint.

Aruba sandals look like Hermes or Capezios, but they are so much more comfortable and well fitting. Here is a photo of me in them:

Oooh, girl, look at that LEG! So pretty!

The sandals don't really show when you're dancing -- they sort of blend in with your feet. Hmmmm -- something more to budget for...

i have 2 pair of Hermes that i bring to unknown stages----old worn slippery one to move well on carpet, and new suedey ones so you don't slip on a slick floor.

Oh, Thanks (blush)

That's what I like about these. They come in different colors of leather and you can buy coordinating leather laces or contrasting.

I like the shoes that Tina Sargent sells over on the retail swap meet board. You can get any shoe with a hard rubber sole. They're not as flexible as a suede sole, but they work perfectly on surfaces like carpet because there's much less friction. They're ballroom shoes, though, so they'll have more of a heel than hermes type sandals. I have the lowest heel and they're still very stable.

Thanks everyone, for all the input. Aruba's for sure, possibly some of Tina's ballroom shoes for more elegant applications, assuming I can learn how to dance in heels without impaling my toes or crunking my ankles...:)

The shoes I like to wear on carpet are the ghillies made for use in Scottish and Irish dance:



If you can find a color that's close to your skin tone, then they're barely noticeable. I also find them to be very comfortable.

Does anyone have options for the girl who hates to lace things around her ample legs?

I use flesh colored ballet "teaching slippers". Make the foot look good and have a slit sole with elastic. they have a barely (and I mean barely there!) heel. Comfy to teach in as well!

Originally Posted by nadyasidhe

Does anyone have options for the girl who hates to lace things around her ample legs?

I've heard of people replacing the laces with elastic so it only goes around the ankle once....

Originally Posted by nadyasidhe

Does anyone have options for the girl who hates to lace things around her ample legs?

I learned this trick back when I was taking Scottish Highland dancing, and the shoes we wore were lace-up ghillies....

• Measure the length of your existing shoe laces.
• Buy a length of elastic that's long enough to function in two shoes.
• Pick a color that pleases you. I personally like beige because it blends in with my skin. I usually advise against white just because it tends to show the dirt (especially if you do any floor work).
• Buy a narrow width - for my belly dance shoes, I usually buy either cord elastic (which comes in gold and silver), or 1/4-inch-wide beige elastic.
• Put one shoe on without any laces in it. Beginning next to the ankle on one side, begin lacing the elastic through the holes of the shoe, going back and forth across the arch as if you were threading a traditional lace, and when you get to the toe come back up toward the ankle. Leave the ends long enough to reach behind your ankle, and cut.
• Tug a bit on the ends to achieve a comfortably snug fit - snug enough to keep the shoe on, but not binding or pinching.
• Overlap the ends behind your ankle enough to preserve the snug fit, and pin in place.
• Remove the shoe and sew the ends together.

Now, the shoe will easily slide on and off without the time-consuming hassle of lacing, and without the worry that the shoe will come untied while dancing.

If you'd like to see a photo of a beige ghillie shoe with gold cord elastic, see this link on my web site: To the Tips of Your Toes: Belly Dance Costuming for Your Feet and scroll down to the headline "Shoes with Flat Soles". Click on the photo to see more detail.

Maia and Jewels, you were both lovely at the competition!
I wore sandals as well but can't for the life of me remember where I got them or the brand. (That was helpful wasn't it) I have worn them all over dancing as well as around town so what ever suede they had to them is gone. They did just fine on the carpet last weekend. Now if only the balancing had been better...,f::

Wish I'd seen you perform, Linny! Darned cane!!! Thanks for the input, tho! :)

Shira, I just checked out your page on feet and shoes -- thank you for the encyclopedic reference! I hadn't thought of ghillies, so that's another option to consider. Time to take a trip to the dance shoe store...

Originally Posted by maiaraqs

Wish I'd seen you perform, Linny! Darned cane!!! Thanks for the input, tho! :)

OT - it's up on my facebook page if you want to take a gander.

Originally Posted by Linnyg

OT - it's up on my facebook page if you want to take a gander.

Going to check it out right now!

Originally Posted by *Shira*

The shoes I like to wear on carpet are the ghillies made for use in Scottish and Irish dance:



If you can find a color that's close to your skin tone, then they're barely noticeable. I also find them to be very comfortable.

I've been seriously considering ghillies for performing, too. They seem to offer a bit more support plus they're much more bend-y with that split sole.

Deborah