Dance Shoes


This is optional, but some students would rather dance with shoes instead of socks or bare feet.  You'll want very lightweight shoes with thin, soft soles.  Women, avoid high heels, which can be precarious, easily twisting an ankle, and possibly hazardous to someone that you step on.  Better yet, get some shoes that are made for dancing.

Your basic and safest inexpensive dance shoes are Jazz Shoes, sometimes called Jazz Oxfords, shown above.  They're thin leather, with soft leather soles and a very small heel, the same basic design for men or women.  You don't need split soles.  Character shoes and competition ballroom (dancesport) dance shoes will cost more.


1) Order online

Try Discount Dance Supply http://www.discountdance.com
You'll probably want their basic Adult Lace Up Jazz Shoes, in the $25 range.

You can also try Amazon and Google Shopping


2) eBay

This can be even cheaper but results depend on your luck.  I've found some very inexpensive good quality new dance shoes shipped from China with surprisingly inexpensive delivery.

For men, search "men's dance shoes"

For women, you can also search "women's dance shoes," but women have a more organized search possibility on eBay: Dancewear & Dance Shoes --> Women's Dancewear --> Dance Shoes


3) Shop locally

This may cost more, but you get instant gratification, and you can try them on.

Ballroom Connection
1111 W. El Camino Real #219
Sunnyvale
(408) 773-8833
http://www.ballroom-connection.com

Dancer Dejour
1283 El Camino Real, Menlo Park
(650) 321-4000
http://www.dancerdejour.com

Ballroom Dance Supply
4850 Harwood Road, San Jose
408-978-7922, 408-879-0522
http://bdsweb.ballroom.com

You can also go to Google Maps and enter "dance shoes" for more options.

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