If you plan to dance regularly, proper dance shoes will make an enormous difference in your moves and performance. Many people don’t recognize the difference until they put on a pair of dance shoes. In this article, I will discuss the importance of dance shoes for dancing, among other things.
Why are dance shoes important? Dance shoes are important because they are explicitly made for dancing. Proper dance shoes will give you the right amount of traction while allowing you to create effortless moves on dance floors.
Proper dance shoes are also crucial for safety reasons. Dance shoes are like a piece of safety equipment because if the shoes are not tight and snug around your feet, you could injure yourself or your dance partner.
Dance shoes have a unique sole and heel shape that allow you to dance with confidence while being secure and safe. The heel is perfectly designed to place your weight over the proper part of your foot.
Regular street shoes have a rubber sole, whereas dance shoes have a suede sole that allows friction and sliding without slippage.
Dancing in regular street shoes with rubber soles feels like glue on the bottom of shoes, making your moves more challenging.
Trust me; I have experienced this first hand because I was dancing in regular heels, not knowing that I should wear dance shoes, and had no idea the benefits of the proper dance shoes.
Once I switched to dance shoes with suede soles, I noticed a massive difference in my performance. Suddenly, my moves seemed effortless, and I could slide across the dance floor with ease.
What Are Dance Shoes?
Suede sole dance shoes will help you turn, move, and feel the dance floor much better than any other shoes. Dance shoes have a metal shank in the arch for support, and they are also very flexible and lightweight. These are all characteristics that you want to see in dance shoes to help you dance comfortably, smoothly, and correctly.
Proper dance shoes help you balance better, feel the floor better, manipulate the footwork better, and relieve the stress on your joints.
Dance shoe soles are designed for standard dance floors to allow you to get the right amount of grip without putting stress on your joints.
Dance shoes also have flexible soles that allow your foot to point and move quickly.
Ladies’ dance shoes have a strap around their ankles for better stability while dancing. Make sure that the shoe strap is not too loose or too tight. If it is too loose, you could twist your ankle, and it will be a painful experience on your skin if it is too tight.
Can You Walk In Dance Shoes?
You are not supposed to use your dance shoes for walking because you will ruin the suede sole, and then the shoes will not be suitable for dancing anymore.
The soles of the shoes will get worn out quickly, and when they get dirty, they may not slide as easily.
Also, it is not safe to use dance shoes for walking because they are slippery and you could injure yourself. They are made for floors such as wooden dance floors.
Also, I am sure that your dance studio would not appreciate if you scratched their dance floor with the debris or stones you brought in with your shoes.
Carry your dance shoes in a shoe bag and put them on when you get to the class or a social event.
How Are Dance Shoes Supposed To Fit?
Dance shoes should fit tight around your feet but not be painful. They need to be snug and comfortable around your feet. Dance shoes should provide you with lots of balance by shifting you slightly forward on the ball of your feet while standing.
Dance shoes are designed to provide you with flexible movements while supporting the ankle, arch, and heel.
Your toes need to be at the edge of the shoe, and there should not be any space there. If there is a little bit of space, that means that the shoe is too big. If you are trying to curl your toe just to fit in your shoes, that means that the shoe is too small.
There should not be any room at the heel cup, and it means that the heel cap should hug your heel nicely without leaving any space.
The strap over the toe box must be very tight. There should not be any gap between the toe box and foot, and it should be very tight. If this area is loose or unstable, it can result in an injury.
If the shoes are too loose, you need to change the width or the size. It would be advisable to measure your feet before ordering the shoes online.
The heel size and shape are essential when looking to purchase dance shoes.
It would be best to choose the heel height that you are the most comfortable with. If you wear high heels regularly, you should select a higher heel if you feel comfortable. However, as I covered in the most recent article, “Best Latin Shoes for Beginners,” the heel height should not be higher than 2 inches if you are a beginner. You will be more comfortable with a lower heel, and you will have more control over your moves.
I prefer a lower heel because I am not comfortable with high heels, and I am also very tall, so I don’t like being much taller than my dance partners, haha. I have tried wearing high heels in the past, but I just end up not wearing those shoes because they are uncomfortable. Lower heels can look stunning too!
Also, you could purchase something called a heel protector. These are usually available for purchase from the manufacturer you bought the dance shoes from. These heel protectors are made from suede usually and prolong the life of your heels.
If you need a suggestion on what kind of shoes would be suitable for dancing, please check out this link here.
Should I Buy Dance Shoes?
If you dance regularly, I would suggest purchasing dance shoes. If you know you will be dancing for a while because you love it and it is your hobby, it is worth investing in a pair of dance shoes.
If you are committed to learning to dance, purchasing a pair of dance shoes will help improve your performance and help you learn dancing faster.
Dance shoes are constructed differently than regular shoes, and you will notice a difference immediately.
Whether to buy dance shoes or not comes down to how long you have been dancing and planning on sticking to it.
If you have started dancing just recently and you have been dancing only for less than three months, perhaps this is not a time for you to invest in dancing shoes.
Once you are sure it is something you would like to continue doing and have spent enough time dancing, you could decide if it is worth investing your money in.
I wrote an article recently that talks about how you can alter your regular shoes for dancing purposes. Some of the solutions are temporary so that you can change them back to your regular shoes once done dancing.
Please visit the article called “10 Ways How To Make Shoes More Slippery For Dancing.” This article will provide you with great ideas on how to make your regular shoes slippery for dancing.
Final Words
In a nutshell, dance shoes are very important for dancing, and they are essential for safety, comfort, and performance, and they are mainly made for dancing and nothing else. I hope that this article has helped you understand the importance of having a proper pair of dance shoes while dancing.
Happy dancing!
