Showtime Dance Shoes

[ProgressNotPerfection]

Reply from Carrie at Showtime:

Thank you for such a thorough reply! That is extremely helpful information!

Side note on your court shoes, have you tried the clear straps? It might help you keep them on since they are loose now.

My court shoes from International are the “ICS Round Toe SingleStrap flesh satin shoes,” so they already have a diagonal strap across the top. They do (just barely) stay on my foot when I dance, but there’s a lot of extra space around the sides now (leading to discomfort and even blisters if I’m not proactive about prevention), and I’m able to slide the shoes off my feet without unbuckling the straps.

Ok, I think I’m sold on the Heather split soles. @DanceMentor - anything else I need to know or do before placing the order? I’ll use the coupon code you put in the OP.

If I have the timing correct, and if these are satin shoes, I suspect this has as much to do with your successfully losing weight as with the shoe stretching.

Yes, you do have the timing correct, and yes, they are satin. My daughter said the same thing - that I lost weight even in my feet. I’d never considered that but it makes sense...my engagement and wedding rings are also much too loose now.

 

[j_alexandra]

The other ones I’m considering are the International Heather, split sole, black air mesh. Anyone have experience with those?
Because I already have experience with International, I’m inclined to order these in a US 8.5...but I’d like to know if they tend to fit more like the sandals or more like the court shoes...and if they stretch...and if they’re supposed to fit as snugly as comp shoes.

I was very happy with the Heather (until I bought a pair of epically cute Aida practice shoes, but that's neither here nor there). They lasted a long time. I bought an 8, which is my street shoe size, which I tried on at the Showtime booth at a competition. They stretched some, but not as much as you might expect. They do not fit as snugly as court shoes (extra points for correct "snugly" ). FWIW, the pair I bought to replace them *not from Showtime* years later, were not as well made and did not fit as well. Eyelets popped out of their holes; shape of the forefoot slightly different, with a "lip" of extra space in front of first two toes. I brought them back to Worldtone, where I bought them, and they repaired, as the problem happened within *two weeks*.

 

[ProgressNotPerfection]

I bought an 8, which is my street shoe size,

That makes me nervous. If I had bought my street shoe size in either of my dance shoe styles, they’d be HUGE. Are your comp shoes also your street shoe size?

 

[j_alexandra]

That makes me nervous. If I had bought my street shoe size in either of my dance shoe styles, they’d be HUGE. Are your comp shoes also your street shoe size?

Yes, I buy an 8/39/5andahalf/25 in a court shoe or practice shoe. Depending on manufacturer, style, heel height, width of toe box, rounded vs. pointed toe, country of origin, placement of heel, placement of arch, length of forefoot, yada yada and if I had a quarter back for every dollar I spent buying the wrong shoes, I'd be rich. but really, just call Showtime. They're nice folks, and they want you to be happy with your shoes.

ETA it strikes me that you're thinking a Supadance/International 8, which is in UK sizing. That would indeed have been huge. I buy a US 8. Shoe manufacturers have conversion charts. Very important info, those conversion charts.

 

[ProgressNotPerfection]

ETA it strikes me that you're thinking a Supadance/International 8, which is in UK sizing. That would indeed have been huge. I buy a US 8. Shoe manufacturers have conversion charts. Very important info, those conversion charts.

Yes...that’s why I’m careful in my posts to specify sizing like “9.5 US” and “8.5 US,” bcs my International sandals are 6.5 UK (8.5 US) and they fit perfectly. But my street shoe size is 9.5 US, which is 7.5 UK. And 7.5 UK would be HUGE for both my sandals and my court shoes.
So I’m afraid that if I buy practice shoes in my street shoe size (9.5 US/7.5 UK), they’ll be much too big.

Reply from Carrie at Showtime:
The closed toe practice shoes will fit more like court shoes than latin shoes. However since your court shoes are too loose now, then you probably needed a half size smaller than you got. Based on the information you gave, it seems like you should go with US size 8.5.

The practice shoes will stretch just like your court shoes. You want them to start as snug as possible without causing you pain.

i think I’ll take her advice. Worst case scenario is I might have to pay a little to return/exchange them if they don’t fit.

 

[DanceMentor]

Yes...that’s why I’m careful in my posts to specify sizing like “9.5 US” and “8.5 US,” bcs my International sandals are 6.5 UK (8.5 US) and they fit perfectly. But my street shoe size is 9.5 US, which is 7.5 UK. And 7.5 UK would be HUGE for both my sandals and my court shoes.
So I’m afraid that if I buy practice shoes in my street shoe size (9.5 US/7.5 UK), they’ll be much too big.

i think I’ll take her advice. Worst case scenario is I might have to pay a little to return/exchange them if they don’t fit.

Okay, thank you so much. I did not hear back yet from Carrie at Showtime, but if I get any more replies I will let you know. And also want to thank you for helping to support our main advertiser which also helps us to pay the monthly expense to keep this forum going. You are so helpful and I appreciate you! If you have any problems with exchange or sizing, I can't surely pull a few strings for you. Haha let me know.

 

[raindance]

and if I had a quarter back for every dollar I spent buying the wrong shoes, I'd be rich.

At this point, I'd be happy with a quarter back for each wrong pair of shoes I bought! Sigh.

(Certainly not the fault of Showtime, BTW, they're great - just a general comment from a dancer with feet built differently than how dance shoe designers seem to think feet should be built.)

 

[ProgressNotPerfection]

I placed my order yesterday evening! My first pair of practice shoes. Int’l Heather split sole air mesh. Also a pair of “Insole Sizing Adjusters” to put inside my satin court shoes to see if they will help the shoes fit better (the website description suggests they will).

Based on Carrie’s advice above, plus my own experience with International brand, I ordered the shoes in 8.5 US which is same size as my perfect-fitting Latin sandals, and a half-size smaller than my too-big court shoes. Am nervous about them being too small (length) due to being closed-toe instead of open-toe, since the tips of my toes do extend just barely past the end of my sandals, but I think they’ll be all right. My court shoes are closed toe and are slightly too long AND slightly too wide, so I definitely needed to size down for this pair.

We shall see....

ETA the coupon code worked. Thanks @DanceMentor!

 

[DanceMentor]

I placed my order yesterday evening! My first pair of practice shoes. Int’l Heather split sole air mesh. Also a pair of “Insole Sizing Adjusters” to put inside my satin court shoes to see if they will help the shoes fit better (the website description suggests they will).

Based on Carrie’s advice above, plus my own experience with International brand, I ordered the shoes in 8.5 US which is same size as my perfect-fitting Latin sandals, and a half-size smaller than my too-big court shoes. Am nervous about them being too small (length) due to being closed-toe instead of open-toe, since the tips of my toes do extend just barely past the end of my sandals, but I think they’ll be all right. My court shoes are closed toe and are slightly too long AND slightly too wide, so I definitely needed to size down for this pair.

We shall see....

ETA the coupon code worked. Thanks @DanceMentor!

That's awesome, and so helpful. well obviously I have no control over the fit, I worked for showtime for a few years and have a good relationship with them. If you have any problems I'm sure they will help, and you can also ask me I think you have to wait till I get back in the office though during the week.

 

[ProgressNotPerfection]

Verdict on my new International Heather air mesh practice shoes (and some stream of consciousness rambling about my personal foot anatomy):

Undecided. But it’s not the shoes’ fault.

IFP enthusiastically approves of them; it was she who recommended at our very first lesson that I invest in a pair of practice shoes. She had no specific brand recommendation, but emphasized the importance of high-quality, well-made shoes.

They arrived VERY quickly. My initial reaction was “wow! These are great!” Soft & stretchy around the sides of the feet and toes, but with nice arch support (unexpected due to the split sole). And it is disconcertingly easy to move wearing wide, square, 1.5 inch heels. I love the way the suede on the heels wraps all the way up the back of the shoes. Sizing is spot on, AFAICT so far.

My concerns aren’t about the shoes themselves, but how they rub on my feet. It’s not a size problem; most of it is probably (hopefully) just a newness problem. The material is noticeably rough & scratchy around the mouth of the shoe, and I’ve had to wear bandaids in several spots due to the chafing. I’ve also had to put moleskin pads across the inside of the back, where it rubs against the part of my foot just below the Achilles tendon, to prevent against blisters starting to form there.

And while those things are likely to resolve once the shoes are broken in, here’s the issue for me: the top of my foot, at the base of the first metatarsal (or on the medial cuneiform [admittedly, I’m just guessing, based on pictures I’ve studied of the anatomy of foot bones]), is very easily irritated by any pressure against it. And when I say irritated, I mean a hard swollen bump forms in that spot which is very painful to the touch. For this reason, my entire adult life, I have chosen shoes that do NOT press against the top of my foot. When that is not possible, like with hiking boots or tennis shoes/trainers, I use skip-lacing so that the tongue of the shoe puts no pressure on the top of my foot. I doubt it’s arthritis, since I’ve had the problem as far back as I can remember; I have no bone or joint pain anywhere else in my body; and the only time it causes pain or swelling is when I wear shoes that press on that part of the top of my foot. It’s probably a little bone spur (cool! I can use that to avoid military service!). I have very high arches, which I know contributes to the problem. I’ve never consulted a doctor about it, bcs there’s no pain or swelling except when I wear problematic shoes.

But these practice shoes need to be laced tightly to hold them snugly around my foot. And after the first hour of dancing in them, the painful bump started to form. I tried skip-lacing but that isn’t tight enough, and when the shoe is too loose, it rubs even worse in all the usual places. When I changed into my Latin sandals, I noted the irony that a pair of 2.5 inch-heeled strappy sandals is way more comfortable to me than a pair of low, square-heeled supportive practice shoes. I didn’t wear the practice shoes the next day, and the painful bump went away. I tried them again the following day (which was yesterday), and it came back.

But as I said, it’s not the shoes’ fault that I have screwy feet. I’m going to try a protective pad for that area, with a cut out in the center so the tongue of the shoe can’t press on the sore bump. I’ve never bothered with that before...I’ve just relied on different shoe styles and alternative lacing. So...keeping my fingers crossed, bcs I really want these shoes to work.

 

[raindance]

When we get back to normal times, I'd suggest a consult with a podiatrist. Might be helpful to at least know what you are dealing with for that foot.

Meanwhile, I hope the padding and lacing strategies help!

 

[Joe]

Socks?

 

[ProgressNotPerfection]

Socks?

I’m Goldilocks still looking for the right bowl of porridge. “These socks are too thick” so the shoes are too tight. “These socks (liners) are too thin” so they are ineffective. Some socks, somewhere, someday, will be juuuuuust right.

 

[raindance]

I’m Goldilocks still looking for the right bowl of porridge. “These socks are too thick” so the shoes are too tight. “These socks (liners) are too thin” so they are ineffective. Some socks, somewhere, someday, will be juuuuuust right.

When it's a particular spot like that, a thin socks over some padding or other protection (bandages, tape, bunion pads, blister pads, cotton balls, or whatever works) can help.

 

[Well Rounded]

I, regretfully, did not take good enough care of my feet while I was breaking in several pairs of shoes. Now I have a heel spur that can only be resolved with surgery that severs my Achilles tendon. I developed a few blisters where the rubs against the part of my foot just below the Achilles tendon. Little did I know I was developing more than blisters while I was trying to tough it out. Now, if any shoe rubs any part of my foot, I don't wear them unless I can find a way to stop the rubbing. Maybe I might wear them to sit around and look pretty. The freed sienna model has been my best practice shoe for several years now. I highly recommend them. I tried several other similar models from different brands. I think Supadance makes something similar.