In a world where people are moving less and less, dance is a fantastic way to get some fun and exercise back into your life, and it’s also a great way to socialize. If you’re just starting out, then you will not need to invest heaps of cash on professional dance shoes. Dance shoes for beginners are plentiful in cost, styles, and designs. Depending on what kind dance you’re interested in will determine what kind of dance shoes for beginners you’ll need to purchase.
For example, you’d hardly be slipping into a pair of ballet shoes if you want to get into break-dancing, bopping, romantic, or any of the show off type of dance styles, and visa versa. If in doubt, ask at you dance class if you’re taking lessons from qualified professionals (recommended). You’ll discover there are general purpose men’s dance shoes, ballroom dance shoes, Latin dance shoes, swing dance shoes, salsa dance shoes, and so on. In fact most types of dance have footwear specific to it.
Of course, there are more types of dance around the world than there are shoes accommodate, and what’s more, new dance styles are always being invented. Therefore, manufacturers of dance shoes for new styles of dance are constantly playing a game of catch up as they evolve their footwear.
It’s not possible to cover all the various types of dance shoes in this short piece, as each style of dance and the footwear associated with it deservers an article all to itself. However, let’s just cover some footwear for popular styles of dance to give you an insight into why wearing the right shoes is so important.
Jazz Dance Shoes (can be used for other dance too)

Jazz shoes are actually quite simple in design. They are primarily a soft shoe and consequently quite supple. Mostly found in black color the jazz dance shoe will have a medium grip sole so that the dancer is able to spin easily.
Hip-hop (Take your pick, but choose quality!)

Although there is no shoe specific to hip hop, it’s still important to wear safe footwear for this type of dancing. Most appropriate for hip-hop are good quality sneakers of jazz dance shoes. Both these types will enable you to practice with accuracy and safety.
Ballroom Dancing Shoes (As smart as you like)
Once considered the fuddy-duddy of dance, ballroom dancing is now becoming a bit hit across the generations. There are many styles and types of ballroom dancing shoes which will be suited to traditional ballroom dances such as the waltz, foxtrot, swing, cha-cha and so on. If in doubt, simply tell the store professional what type of dance or dances you want to focus on and they will help you find the best shoe for your needs.
Ballet Dancing Shoes
Timeless and ever popular the art of ballet dancing never dwindles. When it comes to ballet dance shoes for beginners, usually a simple soft beginners shoe with a slight strap across the shoe’s bridge will suffice for the first 2 years of practice. The shoes you see the professionals wearing as they gracefully tiptoe around the stage are called pointe shoes. Pointe shoes have hard toes and are for advanced dancers. Nothing for any budding armature to worry about at this stage.
So there we have it. A brief introduction into dance shoes for beginners and the importance of wearing shoes specific to your chosen dance. Property fitted and manufactured footwear for dance will make your learning experience more fun, easier to grasp, and most importantly, safer. |