Dancing: What’s With the Shoes?

With the steady increase of dance related television shows popping up, it’s only natural that more and more people are choosing to study dance. Like any sport, dancers are required to make certain investments, including proper dance attire. Dance attire is relatively simple, but rather specific. Most dance styles require form-fitting clothing such as leotards and tights, while other styles such as hip hop suggest more loose and casual clothing. A dancer’s shoes, however, are often essential to successfully executing the instructed steps. It’s interesting to ponder which types of shoes are right for each style and why they are used. Here’s a look at a few popular styles of dance and the shoes that should be used.

In the world of ballroom dancing, most dance shoes require a rather high heel. The high heel contributes to the elegance that the costume typically emits. The high heel shoe pushes a dancer’s weight forward onto the balls of the feet, therefore creating a different type of posture and presence as reflected in this style of dancing. These shoes are often fabulously sparkly and/or bright in color, not unlike the typical ballroom costumes.

The shoes a ballet dancer wears are quite different than ballroom shoes. These shoes are soft in order to allow for exceptional flexibility, flat to the ground (no heels), and often matte unless produced in satin. The design of ballet shoes stay consistently similar over time, which demonstrates their suitability for the task at hand. Ballet shoes feel very light and fit snug to the foot. Dancers wearing ballet shoes must work through all of the tiny muscles in their feet, including the toes, and the softness of the shoe allows one to fully connect with and work through the floor. The beautiful arch of the foot is an attribute that ballet dancers wish to show off, and the ballet shoe should allow this to be seen.

Jazz shoes are similar in nature to ballet shoes, but often come with a very low heel. The heel is intended to indicate the jazz style. The soles of a jazz shoe should be soft in order to allow dancers to point their feet and execute turns. Popular jazz shoe style has evolved over the years almost as much as the style of dance itself has evolved. Jazz shoes in the past often required laces to keep the shoe snug to the foot. Current day jazz shoes are often a slip-on style, composed of leather with enough elasticity to remain tight on the foot. Many of today’s dancers prefer to wear a style of jazz shoe called the “gore boot.”

The type of tap shoes a person may wear can vary quite a bit from studio to studio, and will depend on the specific style of tap that the instructor favors. However, all kinds of tap shoes will have two metal plates attached to the sole to produce sounds. Some tap shoes are essentially a “character shoe”, meaning they are a high heeled shoe with a buckled closure and taps attached to the bottom. This style of shoe correlates to a more classical style of tap that you may associate with traditional Broadway Musicals. Other tap shoes may include a more Oxford style lace-up shoe that is lower to the ground for maximum intensity of sounds. Some of the styles of the flat tap shoes can vary as well, while some contain a flexible sole and others are more structured and stiff. Low heeled tap shoes like this are associated with Hoofing, or Street Tap.

  

It’s important to seek out the advice of a professional at a dance attire store when fitting for dance shoes, as an improper fit could affect one’s performance. If there is not a specific type of shoe required from your instructor, it’s still a good idea to speak with him or her to decide the best option for you. If you want to think outside the box, sometimes dance shoes can be customized by colors, fabrics, and design so you could have some fun with it! Most of all, functionality should override appearance if you are looking to do your absolute best as you learn your craft. Choose wisely, as you’ll want a quality brand of shoe that holds up over time.