shoes for ballroom dancing - question
 

do people use non-ballroom dancing shoes for ballroom dancing? if so, what brands/qualities do you look for in using a shoe not necessarily designed for ballroom dancing?

To take lessons or dance socially, no, not necessarily. The wax buildup on 'regular' dance floors really gunks up the suede bottoms on ballroom shoes FAST. When I first started, it was recommended to wear a shoe with a leather bottom.

To compete, ABSOLUTELY. To make it easy, you'll see all the shoe vendors stalking the dance competitors at the competitons...

If you end up needing dance shoes, I bought Dance sneakers from Discount Dance Supply and was pretty happy w/the service & price. (Although, I knew what size shoe I was, as I had already tried them through Zappos. I just couldn't justify paying $15 more dollars w/Zappos.)

I did a ballroom/swing class once that inspired me to get a pair of swing dance shoes. Wore the things once and never again. Sneakers or even just regular street shoes were much more flexible and comfortable. A lot depends on the height of your partner, actually. My hubby is a full foot taller than I am, so I have to wear heels or we wind up not being able to tango comfortably.

If you feel you must get "special" shoes, do a search for "character shoes." Those are shoes you often see chorus line or show choir dancers wearing. They have a small heel and much easier to break in than swing dance shoes, which have a lower arch and simply require more time to become flexible. I actually wore a pair of character shoes for my wedding reception and was able to dance the night away quite comfortably. :D

Edited to add that I echo the dance sneaker recommendation. I actually use those for aerobics and they're super comfy.

hi everyone - thanks for posting. the whole reason i had to ask is that i was selling a bunch of shoes for my aunt. some were leather-soled ballroom dance shoes, others were regular sandals (very dressy) that she used for social dancing.

i asked the question because i was wondering if ballroom dance people ever even consider buying "social" shoes. when i sold them, i did not tout them as ballroom dance shoes based on everyone's replies, since that would be wrong.

I took ballroom dancing way back in the seventies. I had the special dance shoes with the suede soles for lessons and for competing. But for social dancing I just used shoes that had a leather sole. You have to have a leather sole at the minimum for dancing because you need to be able to slide across the floor easily.

What is the purpose of having suede soles?

Being able to pivot, twist, etc.

But you can pivot and twist with leather soled shoes. Perhaps suede is less slippery so gives you more control?

From my other salsera friends' experiences, suede is by far better for multiple spins. One of my friends had a terrible time learning to spin with leather soles. I've always been a suede gal myself. ;)