How do you shop for a good pair of dance shoes?
As a general guideline, a good dance shoe is light in weight and offers good stability and support to the dancer. A soft padding in the shoe also provides comfort to the foot.
How do you determine if the fit is right?
Dance shoes generally need to fit tighter than street shoes. A snug fit is desirable when the shoe is brand new. Once the dancer wears the shoe for a few times, it will stretch out and the fitting will be more comfortable. If the shoe is loose, it won't provide enough support to the foot. Movement of the foot inside the shoe will also cause blisters.
For an open-toe style sandal, the ideal fit is when the toes reach the end of the shoe while the heel is securely sitting in the heel cup with no or very little room. Some dancers prefer their toes hang over the edge of the shoe a little bit to achieve an even snugger fit. To determine if the shoe is the correct size/length, the dancer must push the foot to the back of the shoe as much as he/she can and check if there's a lot of room in the toe box area. If there's very little room, then the size is right.
What is the correct fit for a Latin shoe?
Latin shoe is the open toe sandal style shoe. They need to fit snuggly on the foot. When the dancer's heel is sitting securely in the back of the shoe, the toes should reach the front end of the shoe. Quite a few Latin dancers prefer a much snugger fit and will purposely buy their shoes half size smaller than their shoe sizes to achieve this goal. In that case, the toes will hang over the front edge of the shoe a little bit and that is very common among Latin dancers. In Latin dancing, the dancer is trained to point their toes like a ballet dancer would. Therefore Latin shoe needs to be more flexible. When the toes are pointed, the front of the shoe will be pressed downward and thus create some room in the front of the shoe. Since in Latin dancing, one of the two feet will always be pointed, a lot of dancers prefer to have the shoe very tight when they stand flatfooted on the floor. And when they point their feet, there is very little room in the front end of the shoe. The foot and leg action and fitting for the shoes are the same for both male and female Latin dancers. Most female dancers prefer a heel of 3"; some wear a 2.5" heel. Male dancers wear the 1.5" Latin heel.
What is the correct fit for a Ballroom shoe?
Ladies' ballroom shoe is the closed toe pump style shoe. In International style (Standard dances), ladies are required to wear closed toe, closed side pump style shoe. They can be without any strap or with a single strap on top of the shoe to keep the shoe on the foot. If the shoe doesn't have any straps, the dancer usually wears a clear plastic strap over the shoe to hold the shoe in place. In American style (Smooth dances), ladies can also choose to wear closed toe shoe with open side and a crossed straps. The rules for American style are not as strict as in International style. Most female ballroom dancers prefer a heel of 2.5" heel. Male ballroom dancers wear a 1" heel ballroom shoe either in plain black leather or the shiny patent leather. Competitors usually wear the patent leather ballroom shoe. A lot of male ballroom dancers like their shoes a bit on the stiff side but in the past few years, many of them prefer the shoe more flexible so they can do the line figures more easily. But it's a personal preference whether one wants the ballroom shoe more flexible or not.Shipping
We ship everything via USPS priority mail. Generally, it takes 3 to 4 business days for merchandise to arrive. The shipping charge for the first item is $9.00 (USD) and $2.50 (USD) for any addtional items. For shipment outside the U.S., we will quote the shipping cost prior to completing the transaction.
