Why Get Specific Dancing Shoes?
Specific shoes are used for specific dancing styles. These various types of shoes are made to enable dancers to dance safely and efficiently. It’s important to know the different types of dancing shoes that are available, and why they are important to that dancing style.
One thing to remember about dancing shoes is that they are not meant to be worn everyday. Don’t wear them on the street, but only to practice or recitals. Below are some different dancing shoes that are worn with different dancing styles.
Ballet slippers – Ballet shoes are easily the most recognizable dancing shoes. Beginning to moderate ballet dancers most commonly use ballet slippers, which help protect the ballerina’s feet and ankles. Ballet slippers come in full sole styles, which easily coincide with the type of stylepointe shoes have, or they are split soled to work best with a dancer’s arch of her foot.
Pointe Shoes – Pointe shoes are what the advanced ballerina wears. The front of the shoe has a toe box, which encases the toes tightly so that the dancer’s body weight will be supported when she dances on her tippy toes. The shoes are meant to support the feet from underneath the arch by a stiff insole.
Jazz shoes – Jazz shoes are similar to ballet slippers. The major difference is that they have a small heel for support. They normally are very flexible, and can be full or split soled.
Tap Shoes- Tap dancing is made popular by the taps on its shoes. Tap shoes are very crucial to the success of this dance style. The taps of the shoes are attached with screws to the heel, and dancers use the heel when they dance to make tapping sounds.
Hip Hop and Lyrical Shoes – Hip Hop is one of the few styles that allows a lot of room for the types of shoes that are worn. The most popular shoes for this style are tennis shoes or a flexible dance sneaker. Unlike modern dancing, most people choose not to do it barefoot because they are able to move more smoothly with tennis shoes.
Latin and Ballroom Shoes – Latin and Ballroom shoes are normally pumps or sandals with at least a 2 or 3 inch heel. Suede soles, for both men and women, are best because they provide the best grip and slide needed for this type of dancing. When looking for this dancing shoe, remember to find ones that are both lightweight and flexible.