Let's talk about dancing shoes

As a ballroom and Latin dancer, one of the most important things that you need to have is a nice and comfortable dance shoe to practice and perform in. While my first dancing shoe was okay, it wasn't as comfortable as it should have been. I really should have paid attention to all the tips that I had browsed through before actually purchasing my first pair of latin shoes.

One of the things that I should have especially paid attention to is the fact that dancing shoes are made of leather. As a result, it is important to get a slightly smaller size to allow for some stretching. Obviously you don't want your shoes to hurt you and to make you uncomfortable so your discretion is needed. My first shoes got really stretched within a few months and dancing in them made life a bit too difficult.

Knowing the styles to buy is also important for all dancers especially beginners as they tend to buy just one pair. Ladies generally buy latin shoes whereas males generally buy standard shoes. My first pair were 2 inch heels but I found that a bit short for me. I currently have 2.5" heels now which I'm very comfortable with. Obviously, everyone has to work with what's more comfortable for them.

Heel sizes and the different types

Ladies heels can vary from 1-3 inch heels. However latin requires a slightly higher heel in order to bring your weight forward onto your toes. Males can only choose between 0.5-2 inch heels i.e 0.5-1" for ballroom and 2" for latin.

Male dancing shoes generally look like this:

Standard ballroom

   

Latin/ Rhythm

You don't get a lot of variety in style with male shoes (As much as i know anyway). 

Female dancing shoes generally look like this:

Latin/Rhythm

Standard Ballroom

The reason that most girls tend to just buy latin shoes is because you can manage to dance standard ballroom in Latin shes but the same can't be said for ballroom shoes. It is very difficult (impossible even?) because standard shoes are not flexible enough to allow you to point your feet. I don't really know much about that though as I'm only an intermediate and we just use latin shoes. 

There are many different styles for ladies to choose from. Standard ballroom has a lot less variety compared to latin though.

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Practice shoes: 

I've been seeing a lot of people in my dance class wearing practice shoes and I've been wondering weather they're worth buying and what difference they would make,

This is what I found: 

Practice shoes are essentially just standard or latin shoes, but with perforated leather so your feet breathes better. I actually need to ask a few of my friends about this as I didn't get a lot of information on the internet. But this is how they look:

Male 

Female 

Dancing shoes are so pretty. I can't wait to add another pair to my small collection