Dancing is an activity which largely depends on your foot work. Take any dance form into consideration - kathak, ballet, ballroom dance or any other; you will clearly realize how important the movements of the feet are in all these types of dances. After you are done with your dance dress and rehearsals, you finally have time to select the most important equipment for your dance and that is nothing else but the dance shoes. It is not as easy to pick your dance shoes as you pick your street shoes. Selecting a pair to wear for your dance performance is a serious issue which requires much thought and consideration.
Following are some of the features that the shoes especially designed for dancing must have:
It is important to examine your dance shoes through their soles. A street shoe will have sole made of rubber or leather, whereas the sole of a pair of dance shoes will be made of thin suede leather. The thin sole enables the dancer to have a direct contact with the floor which helps to take the dance steps easily and comfortably.
These shoes are more flexible from both upper and lower portions of the shoes. Flexibility is important as it provides the dancers a high range of motion.
A metal tang for arch support is the best feature of these shoes, as they help prevent any pain and aches in feet, ankles, back and knees of the dancers. A greater arch will support more; which will eventually result in a better dancing experience.
There are two main categories in which ballroom dance shoes are available:
Standard or Smooth shoes
These shoes are for both men and women. Men's shoes in this category have the type of heels similar to street shoes while women's shoes under this category are quite similar to ladies' pump shoes with slightly lower heels and wider bases.
Rhythm or Latin Dance Shoes
Men's shoes under this category have heels ranging from 2 to 2.5 inches whereas ladies' shoes have about 2 to 3 inches thin and tall heels with sandal-like look and open toe style.
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