Why Get Specific Dancing Shoes?

Sometimes specific shoes are required for certain types of dancing styles. Special dancing shoes will enable dancers to dance safely and efficiently. Pay particular attention to the types of shoes that need to be worn with your particular dance style.

Dancing shoes should not be worn on the street. You want them to have the best upkeep, so only wear them for practice and recitals. Here are a few of the many different types of shoes worn with dance.

Ballet Shoes- Ballet dancing shoes are made to protect the ballerina's feet and ankles. Beginning or moderate ballet dancers will normally wear a ballet slipper. Ballet slippers hold up best if they are leather, and they normally are either full sole to mimic pointe shoes, or split soled to accentuate the arch of the dancers foot.

Pointe shoes - Pointe shoes are ballet slippers for the advanced ballerinas. They are called pointe shoes because the front of the shoe has a place called a toe box, which tightly fits your toes together so that your body weight can be supported once you are on the tips of your toes. The still insole allows the extra help to support the feet from underneath the arch.

Jazz shoes - Jazz dancing is different than ballet, though the shoes are very similar. The major difference between the two shoes are that jazz shoes have a small heel to support the dancer. Jazz shoes are full or split soled, depending on the style, and should be very flexible.

Tap Shoes - Tap shoes are what make tap dancing possible. Taps are placed on the heel of the shoes with screws, and the dancers use the heel when they dance to make the tapping sounds and movements. Tap shoes are very crucial to the success of this dance style.

Hip Hop and Lyrical Shoes - This type of dancing is one of the few that allows a lot of lee-way with dancing. Most people wear tennis shoes or a flexible dance sneaker. It's important to find a shoe that is not too slippery, but still gives you room to slide a little.

Latin and Ballroom Shoes - Latin and Ballroom normally require women to wear pumps or sandals that have at least 2 inch heels. The most important part of choosing ballroom shoes is to find ones that are both light weight and flexible. Suede soles, for both men and women, provide the best grip and slide that is needed in this type of dancing.