How to make suede soles temporarily more slippery?

[Wangcincay]

Hello!
Im doing latin with my ray rose, and though their sole has the perfect balance of friction on a typical wooden floor, my studio uses ceramic tiles, and i find it very hard to glide on it. Does anyone has any idea how to temporarily make suede sole slippery without damaging it?
The standard for competitive events is wooden floor, which is why i dont want to sand the suede off or anything permanent.

Im sure this is something most dancers face. How would you solve this problem? By buying more shoes? Or just practicing to use more power to glide? (But won’t that wear your shoes faster?)

 

[opendoor]

..my studio uses ceramic tiles, and i find it very hard to glide on it..

Change studio quickly. Does not sound to be professional besides the money.

..Does anyone has any idea how to temporarily make suede sole slippery without damaging it?

Use tape

 

[Wangcincay]

Change studio quickly. Does not sound to be professional besides the money.
Use tape
View attachment 4104

Thank you for your reply, really appreciate it!

Though i have a question, as far as i know the type of tape in the picture leaves a lot of adhesive residue. Do you think it‘s safe for the suede naps?

 

[opendoor]

You can reduce the adhesive power by striping on a carpet first, if you want. But on the other hand the tape will clean the suede too when you strip it off.

 

[ProgressNotPerfection]

If you search the threads here, you’ll find lots more info about adjusting the slipperiness of suede soles (both less slippery & more slippery). Lots of info about what leaves residue on the floor etc.

But I’m more concerned with the ceramic tile studio floor. I’ve never heard of any dance floor other than wood. Ceramic tiles are going to be very hard on your joints & possibly even dangerous/damaging. It’s not terribly expensive to get wood flooring installed on top of the ceramic tiles...if the studio hasn’t done so yet, & isn’t planning to, I’d be looking for a different studio immediately.

 

[raindance]

If you are stuck with ceramic tiles at the studio, I would consider completely separate shoes for the studio. I'm not sure what would work best on ceramic tile, you'll have to experiment. Old well worn suede bottomed dance shoes that haven't been brushed tend to be more slick, so you could start with that as a trial.

But I strongly doubt you can adjust your "good" shoes back and forth to be good on ceramic tile for lessons and practice, and then good for wood floors for a performance.

And I agree that the ceramic tile is not a good long term solution for studio flooring. If you're going to spend a lot of time (and money) doing ballroom and/or latin dancing, you'll want to find a wood floor somehow for most of those hours. Having trouble gliding or turning can turn into serious knee or other injuries, sometimes over time, and sometimes in a single incident (blow out a knee on one turn). And your technique isn't likely to transfer well to the wood performance floors, either.

 

[raindance]

Also, regular smooth leather shoes can work for dancing on some surfaces. It may be challenging to find ladies shoes with that type of sole that will stay on your feet properly in latin dances. But it may be an option.

Keep in mind, too, that the other side of the risk is shoes that are too slippery. That can lead to slips and falls, etc. You want the floor and shoe combination to give you the right amount of traction and gliding.