Can we talk shoes?

[Sania]

Any suggestions on where to buy shoes in the Boston area? One of my students is going to MIT this weekend and is badly in need of a new pair of standard shoes. It's not clear from MIT Ballroom's website whether or not they will have shoe vendors at the comp
Any input would be most welcome!

 

[fatherdowling]

Okay another shoes question. Do they make practice shoes with a shank and not a split sole. I dance just standard and I have been using my EF court shoes or my Freed Roma practice shoes (they have a more narrow heel which I thought would be beneficial as I’m learning to dance with not such a big change), I’ve been thinking about getting a pair of practice shoes with a Cuban heel. Not sure how I feel about a split sole though. Feels like my foot is naked. Or at least not that well supported. Does anyone else find this to be a problem or do I just need to get used to it?

 

[raindance]

Okay another shoes question. Do they make practice shoes with a shank and not a split sole. I dance just standard and I have been using my EF court shoes or my Freed Roma practice shoes (they have a more narrow heel which I thought would be beneficial as I’m learning to dance with not such a big change), I’ve been thinking about getting a pair of practice shoes with a Cuban heel. Not sure how I feel about a split sole though. Feels like my foot is naked. Or at least not that well supported. Does anyone else find this to be a problem or do I just need to get used to it?

It's been a long time since I bought dance shoes, but there are ladies practice shoes available (if I recall correctly you're a lady?) with split as well as full soles, depending on the model. A lot of the "cuban" heels are latin practice shoes and will have split soles, but there are other chunky heel models that have full sole (or have both options available for that model).

I'm not sure where you usually shop, but for example:
Heather model in full sole (also available in split sole) from International Dance Shoes:

Heather Full Sole – Black Leather – Ballroom Dance Shoes by Showtime

Ballroom dance shoes for the social dancer, amateur competitor and professional. Over 10,000 pairs stocked in our US warehouse

showtimedanceshoes.com

Supadance 1026:

1026 – Black Leather – Ballroom Dance Shoes by Showtime

Ballroom dance shoes for the social dancer, amateur competitor and professional. Over 10,000 pairs stocked in our US warehouse

showtimedanceshoes.com

Hopefully others with more recent practice shoe shopping experience will chime in, too.

 

[fatherdowling]

It's been a long time since I bought dance shoes, but there are ladies practice shoes available (if I recall correctly you're a lady?) with split as well as full soles, depending on the model. A lot of the "cuban" heels are latin practice shoes and will have split soles, but there are other chunky heel models that have full sole (or have both options available for that model).

I'm not sure where you usually shop, but for example:
Heather model in full sole (also available in split sole) from International Dance Shoes:

Heather Full Sole – Black Leather – Ballroom Dance Shoes by Showtime

Ballroom dance shoes for the social dancer, amateur competitor and professional. Over 10,000 pairs stocked in our US warehouse

showtimedanceshoes.com

Supadance 1026:

1026 – Black Leather – Ballroom Dance Shoes by Showtime

Ballroom dance shoes for the social dancer, amateur competitor and professional. Over 10,000 pairs stocked in our US warehouse

showtimedanceshoes.com

Hopefully others with more recent practice shoe shopping experience will chime in, too.

Thank you! that’s very helpful. It seems like the IDS that come with the full sole might be ideal for my purposes. I’ll have to hope that they’re in stock nearby to try them on in person.

 

[HappyLilac]

After months of searching, I finally found shoes that I like for both smooth and rhythm!!!! I have kind of wide feet with bunions and low arches (thanks to the running shoe store for scanning my feet).

Smooth I have the ray rose Nevada, which will need some breaking in but are significantly more comfortable than the IDS American Flex I tried (which were way too narrow) and the pair I bought used from Celebrity.

For rhythm I have the ray rose Pavo with the buckle front - it’s the exact same size as the ray rose moonglow that were both too tight and too long. This was also the only pair out of several I tried at the comp that were wide enough in the toe box, and had a big enough heel cup to not hit the side of my foot in a weird place.

TBH I should have just driven up to New York to go to Worldtone and just saved myself a lot of time and shipping $$$.