Kindly take note, this post is just about general information about dance shoes and not necessary shoes that we sell at our dance studio, Five6seven8 is a supplier of the local shoes DanceWell
As the new year is on its way many of us dancers are looking at purchasing our next new pair of dancing shoes. In this blog we will be discussing various different styles of dance shoes we can find locally and also internationally, tips for when fitting your shoes and general information how to take care of your dancing shoes.
Fitting
When you visit a dance ware store there are a few things to keep in mind. Dancing shoes are made of leather, over course of time our shoes will stretch so it is very important to fit a half a shoe size smaller to allow for some stretching to happen. Your shoes must fit snug around your feet but not be crushed. For ladies when you are trying on a open-toed latin dance shoe your toes should be as close to the front of the shoe as possible (essential for when pointing your toes)
Stretching
When you get home, to help your shoe to stretch a little when they are new, you can take wet news paper and stuff it into the shoe to push the leather out a little. This is of course optional and not a must do for your shoes but something to keep in mind.
Styles
- Dancing heels come in different heights, ladies shoes can vary from 1-3inch heels and it is entirely up to your own taste which you will prefer, however for latin a slightly higher heel is required to bring your weight forward onto your toes. As you can see from the image on the right not only can you decide on the height but also the style of your heel. Gents only have the choice between 1-2inch, the 1inch is with the ballroom shoes which is quite broad and 2 inch for latin shoes.
- Choosing the style you want for your dancing shoe is personal taste but keep in mind for what style of dancing you are looking for; latin, ballroom or both? Below are some examples of the various styles you can find ranging in colour, height and style. These styles are not particularly available in South Africa.
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| Gent Dancing Shoes: |
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Shoe Maintenance
- All Ballroom and Latin shoes have suede soles to allow traction while you are dancing. It is very important to regularly brush your soles after dancing to remove most of the dust and to roughen up the suede. Any type of steel brushes can be used but the one in the photo is available at Dance Boutique, East Gate Mall.
- For the ladies: heel protectors, also found at Dance Boutique, basically help to protect your heels, as some of you might have noticed your heels scuff on the floor and has some wear and tear after a while. These prolong your heel life, just remember when you want to place them on your shoes soak them in hot water before hand, trust me it will take you much longer trying to put them on just like that. 😉
- Champion Shoe Repair – Anil Sewpersad. This man knows how to work with shoes, time and time again we have taken our shoes to him and they have came back brand new. From resoling your suede soles (seen in the picture above), replacing heel caps, closing the gaping mouth of your shoes and even fixing a broken heel. There is no one else we would recommend to help extend your shoes life than Anil. We know him from Hillfox Flea market but have heard he is looking at extending his business. He has recently opened up shop in Flore Centre. Our local shoe doctor 🙂
Local Shoe Stores
There are a few stores available in Johannesburg and from our shoe shopping experience prefer to go to Dance Boutique, although it is quite a drive they do have a nice selection of shoes and accessories.
- Five6seven8 Dance Shop – Contact us directly about your shoe order, can take up to 6 weeks.
- Dance Land – Clearwater Mall
- Dancing Shoes – Ontdekkers Road
- Dance Boutique – Eastgate Mall
Hope this gives you a little more insight to the dance shoe industry and happy shopping!
