diamant, werner kern VS supadance, int'l, ray rose, DN

[redHOT]

I have been posting and waiting to get shoes for a long time...small feet. I Finally got shoes online. Glad to be rid of the Very Fine speed buckle...the hook would hook into the strap in the wrong place and it was a PIA to get out and buckle/hook into place. But the heel is high, an adjsutment I will make slowly & they are too big sometimes .

Then my friend found some guy to whose house we could go and try on shoes :woot
They are all Elegance. What an experience! I went w a lower heel and a practice shoe...of course I found lots of shoes I may get in the future. I was liking the 2" heel...with small feet there is not a lot of room to where a high heel KWIM. And one of the styles was narrow and did not fit. But the next size up was comfortable. Not sure how much I like the shoes, now that I wore them to a class. The heel feels low and the shoe feels hard on the floor.

I think I will just take all my shoes and change them when 1 pair starts to annoy me.

 

[tanya_the_dancer]

I use internationals for competing and their more basic version, dansport for practice. I have used elegance, celebrity and equity (british brand, seems to be discountinued) in the past, but so far internationals & dansport are the most comfortable brands for me.

 

[Mawmaw]

I have wide feet in the front but a narrow heel. I found supadance to be way too wide in the heel cap even in the regular width. For standard, I wear Paoul (an Italian brand endorsed by Augsto) and have found them to work really well with my feel. For smooth, I either wear the same Paoul pair that I have, or I like Dance Natural.

For latin, I am ok with Supadance, but have been wearing mostly International. I have tried Werner Kern and while they are very supportive, especially in the arch, they are harder to band (and hence, harder to point the feet). I like to use my old pair of WK as practice shoes though for their good support and comfort.

Just so you know.... Werner-Kern has just changed the sole of their some of their shoes to a more "flexible, competition" style. You would need to specify when ordering that you would like the newer sole as I am sure the existing stock is still in the older sole. Previously they only offered social shoes, albeit very well made, social shoes. Now they are designing for competitors.

 

[lcdancesport]

interesting. there must be some ancient chinese wisdom or something that analyzes such things, like length of arch, narrow heels, and such... i wonder how what it'd say about this bunch.

Ha count me in that bunch. I like my Ray Rose more now, the front of the shoe is going to be too big for me soon though unfortunately, but I bought some heel grips to try out in a lesson today just to make them a little more snug, I read Monsoon and Blizzard are more narrow than my Cyclones anyways, but the arch has been great so far I must say.

 

[lcdancesport]

Anyone own the Ray Rose Carmen shoes? Just seeing how narrow they are since they're not strappy.

Also, what benefit does the "t bar" have on latin shoes?

 

[Mawmaw]

Anyone own the Ray Rose Carmen shoes? Just seeing how narrow they are since they're not strappy.

Also, what benefit does the "t bar" have on latin shoes?

Good question about the T-Bar. Basically the more shoe that is contact with your foot, the more secure it is. Although, I do not think the difference is that substantial. Arch straps are the same way. Both helps in keeping your foot in contact with the shoe when pointing. The professional couple we sponsor is 5' 1.5" tall and she only wears T-Bar shoes. She says it makes her legs look longer. After looking at her pictures, I think she may be right.

I've never performed in the Carmen's so I can't answer from personal experience. I know that the ladies that we see have regular width feet and wear them just fine. I would not recommend them for a wide foot. If your foot is narrow, it should work ok if it isn't very narrow. The toe box is more open than most shoes so if your foot is very narrow, it is more likely to slide forward.

 

[lcdancesport]

Thanks Mawmaw! That's interesting about the t-bar, I like to wear my strap criss-cross over my foot and it really helps. I'm only 5'3" (and a half ), so maybe I'll try a t-bar next time and see how they look and feel too.

 

[sprifty]

t-strap

Has anyone with a high arch found any problems with a t-strap? I've been tempted to buy a pair but with my arch, I'm afraid that the shoe won't fit properly.

Also for the ladies who have tried supadance and international, have you found a difference with how flexible the shoe is? I own both and I think that supadance makes it quite a bit easier to flex your toes. However only international comes in wide width without having to special order. I'm currently trying to find a new shoe for my wide feet and it's becoming a lot more complicated than I thought.

 

[danceronice]

Has anyone with a high arch found any problems with a t-strap? I've been tempted to buy a pair but with my arch, I'm afraid that the shoe won't fit properly.

Also for the ladies who have tried supadance and international, have you found a difference with how flexible the shoe is? I own both and I think that supadance makes it quite a bit easier to flex your toes. However only international comes in wide width without having to special order. I'm currently trying to find a new shoe for my wide feet and it's becoming a lot more complicated than I thought.

I have had to quit wearing T-straps. I have a very high arch with a wide ball of the foot and t-strap Latin sandals were EXCRUCIATINGLY painful.

I can't wear Supadance for Latin/Rhythm and I'm planning to ditch them for Smooth as well--the shanks are hard as iron and they run the whole length of my arch, meaning I can't point and flex anything BUT the tips of my toes. Ray Rose unfortunately runs too narrow as a rule, but I have a pair of Capezios that look great, are soft and flexible enough to satisfy even my Latin/Rhythm pro, and are lasting quite well. My only complaint about them is that while they swear it's a 3", I think they're measuring from a different part of the shoe and it definitely doesn't feel as high as a 3" in Supadance. Given they don't feel like walking on razor blades, I'll accept the tradeoff. The Supadance rep at Ohio claimed they are bringing out a shorter shank that will allow for more flexibility, but they aren't readily available yet.

Internationals I've only worn for Smooth. They were okay. Definitely less painful than the Supadance. I haven't worn them in a while, though.