How Are Ballroom Dancing Shoes Different From Regular High Heels?
June 20, 2010 by Ballroom Dance Lover
Filed under Learning Ballroom Dance
Is there any real distinction between official “ballroom dancing” shoes and your standard high-heeled dress sandal? I know that they are different, but I’m wondering what makes them so special that people go to dance stores to buy ballroom dancing shoes.
My interest was piqued by my own sorry-looking high-heeled sandals. I’m going to a dance in April (for the first time – and to actually dance!) and my shoes are pretty flimsy. I’m wondering if they fall so short of dancing shoes that I’ll need to buy a new pair.
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Dancing shoes are very flexible, so you can point your toes easily without resistance from the shoes. They have a sole that allows for easy turning, usually swead.
Latin dancing shoes (the strappy kind) usually only have a half shank, so they’re very flexible, to give you an idea I can bend mine in half. Also, they have a suede sole to allow you to slide across the floor. They’re also balanced differently to regular heels to push your weight onto your toes, which is where it should be if you’re dancing latin anyway.
Both ballroom and Latin shoes (yes, they ARE different) have sueded soles, so the shoe slides easily on the ground but doesn’t slip around like patent leather or something would.
Ballroom shoes are closed-toed. Latin shoes are open-toed. Also, in Latin shoes your big toe is technically supposed to touch the floor instead of the shoe (like what would happen if your toes were too long for your shoes or if your shoes were too small)…it gives you more control over the way your foot is moving, I guess.
But the way that dance shoes are “special” is mainly the suede soles, and the fact that the shoes are REALLY flexible.