Quick question about practice shoes.

[Magdalenka]

Hi, Im new to this forum thing, but I'm so happy that I found one for ballroom!
I have a quick question about practice shoes. I dont want to wear my dance shoes to every class. Recently I saw someone wearing practice dance shoes that resembled ballet/jazz shoes. My question is, is it better to get the practice shoes that have a heel? instead of flats?
Also do the ballet/jazz? shoes have a suede bottom? and what is the difference between a full sole and a split sole, which one would be better for ballroom?
I cant post a link here just yet, but here is a visual of the type of shoes that I saw this person wearing. I fount it at jays dance wear and they are the
Capezio swing and push practice shoes CG02 split sole jazz shoe.
Thanks,
Any advice would be wondurful!!!

[Twilight_Elena]

First of all, welcome to DF! I hope you'll stick around and participate in our discussions. :D
Many teachers over here wear jazz sneakers to class. That's mainly because they can't dance in high heels for so many hours in a day. But you have to note that wearing sneakers is a very different feeling than wearing heels. I always reccommend to my friends that they wear their heels as much as possible: in groups, privates, socials. Now, if you sometimes feel tired, coaches are a good idea. They've got low (cuban) heels and are worn by many instructors.

Twilight Elena

[fascination]

magdalenka...let me echo TE in welcoming you and in affirming her advice...if you compete, it is best to practice in the same shoe in which you compete...that having been said...yep, sometimes our feet get sore and want a break...and/ or the situation merits sometihing different...it also isnt a bad idea to change to different shoes from time to time so that you dont get the "omg, I can only dance in this particular shoe phobia"...as I have seen many people become psychologically un-hinged over a doggone shoe change....

[DancingJools]

If you are a beginner to ballroom (no matter what your other dance background is, if any), I suggest you avoid split-sole shoes. By all means avoid the flat split-sole shoes for ballroom, whatever your level. If you already trained your feet for the Latin ballroom movement, you can take a break during lengthy or non-demanding sessions (like group classes) and wear dance sneakers, which do have a split sole, but also thick cushioning all around to support your foot. Ballet/Jazz split sole shoes don't offer that support. If you are doing Standard, don't wear any kind of split-sole shoes, flat or sneakers or whatever, because you will cause serious injury to your foot, and the split sole anyway will never give you the support your need to take even one good step in Standard.
So, in short:
1- Standard - no dance sneakers, jazz (flat) shoes, split sole shoes, etc. EVER
2- Latin - no soft, flat or split-sole Jazz/ballet shoes. Dance sneakers OK after you have trained your feet for the proper movement. And not good for serious dancing. Just really hanging around in group class doing the occasional movement, or for some drills (practicing the jive action or the samba action, for example, until your knees get used to it. Then you gotta move to the high heels to make sure you still maintain your proper balance in them).

On the other hand, there are practice shoes specially for ballroom, and you could try these to spare your expensive shoes during group classes. Practice shoes are made by Supadance (best quality), Freed (which run a bit narrow), International (also good quality but harder to find), and Very Fine Shoes (sensibly priced). I'm sure there are a couple more brands out there. Capezio just came out with a practice shoe (I think it's called phantom), which interesting-looking lacing. I tried them on and they felt fine. They're cheaper than Supadance, more expensive than Very Fine. A lot of people actually do their practice in these shoes for quite a few years, until they are more comfortable with the movement, or until they are really into regular competitions and need to maintain the feel of the proper comp shoes.
If you do Latin only, you may prefer to buy a practice shoe just for Latin, meaning it has a more flexible sole. They don't make ones for women's sizes, so I get the Capezio boys latin shoes (available in the US, but you really need to look for them), or Supadance boys latin shoes (I've only seen them in England). I'm a size 7 American, and size 4 in boys shoes fits me perfectly.

[caityrosey]

If you are a beginner to ballroom (no matter what your other dance background is, if any), I suggest you avoid split-sole shoes. By all means avoid the flat split-sole shoes for ballroom, whatever your level. If you already trained your feet for the Latin ballroom movement, you can take a break during lengthy or non-demanding sessions (like group classes) and wear dance sneakers, which do have a split sole, but also thick cushioning all around to support your foot. Ballet/Jazz split sole shoes don't offer that support. If you are doing Standard, don't wear any kind of split-sole shoes, flat or sneakers or whatever, because you will cause serious injury to your foot, and the split sole anyway will never give you the support your need to take even one good step in Standard.
So, in short:
1- Standard - no dance sneakers, jazz (flat) shoes, split sole shoes, etc. EVER
2- Latin - no soft, flat or split-sole Jazz/ballet shoes. Dance sneakers OK after you have trained your feet for the proper movement. And not good for serious dancing. Just really hanging around in group class doing the occasional movement, or for some drills (practicing the jive action or the samba action, for example, until your knees get used to it. Then you gotta move to the high heels to make sure you still maintain your proper balance in them).

On the other hand, there are practice shoes specially for ballroom, and you could try these to spare your expensive shoes during group classes. Practice shoes are made by Supadance (best quality), Freed (which run a bit narrow), International (also good quality but harder to find), and Very Fine Shoes (sensibly priced). I'm sure there are a couple more brands out there. Capezio just came out with a practice shoe (I think it's called phantom), which interesting-looking lacing. I tried them on and they felt fine. They're cheaper than Supadance, more expensive than Very Fine. A lot of people actually do their practice in these shoes for quite a few years, until they are more comfortable with the movement, or until they are really into regular competitions and need to maintain the feel of the proper comp shoes.
If you do Latin only, you may prefer to buy a practice shoe just for Latin, meaning it has a more flexible sole. They don't make ones for women's sizes, so I get the Capezio boys latin shoes (available in the US, but you really need to look for them), or Supadance boys latin shoes (I've only seen them in England). I'm a size 7 American, and size 4 in boys shoes fits me perfectly.

I have the Phantoms. They are ok initially but the arch support is gone now and my feet hurt if I dance for more than a couple of hours. I have heard good things about Supadance practice shoes...my next purchase probably.

[Ithink]

I wear my jazz shoes (split sole) to socials because they're super comfortable. Thus, I dance both standard and latin (and west coast swing/salsa for which they are great!) in them and it's totally fine for social dancing. But I NEVER wear them to practice (I'm a standard dancer) or lessons because: a) they don't give me enough height to match up well with my 6'3" partner, b) they feel completely different from my standard shoes in which I both practice and compete.

[DancingJools]

Here are some examples of ballroom practice shoes:
http://www.supadance.com/images/Index%20Shoes/Practice/1025BrwL.gif http://www.supadance.com/images/newindex/1026BEL.jpg
http://www.supadance.com/images/newindex/1224%20beige%20lea%20mesh%20high.jpg
Supadance just came up with this model, to appeal to Latin dancers (it's open toe). I've seen similar styles from other manufacturers, also.
http://us.st11.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/dancegear_1886_25069647
That's the Capezio Phantom

[DancingJools]

(Since I can only post four images per reply)
http://www.discountdance.com/image/250x300/s0538.jpg
And that's a pretty dance sneaker (I have it in blue and in pink - and often wear them on the street). These are Bloch. Capezio makes quite a few models. Sansha also has them (their prices are great and some of the colors outta this world - have a few of them myself, too).
Yeah, and I totally forgot about parties - practice shoes are great for these. I don't think I ever wore anything but practice shoes to any party - my feet would kill me otherwise. Not to mention the idea of a partner stepping on my toes. Ouch.
(Jools - "Just call me Imelda")

[Magdalenka]

Thank you guys so much for your help!
you guys are awesome! and to think, I thought no one would reply!