Stylish women's dance shoes?

January 13, 2009 7:35 PM

Swing dancing shoes for the beginner please.

I'm going to be taking swing dance lessons soon, and I already do some contra dancing. I was hoping get a nice pair of women's dancing shoes good for both. Right now, I do contra in hightops that have the bottoms worn off. While this sometimes suits my mood, I'd like something more stylish. I normally would ask a woman there who's shoes I like, but there aren't any. Please tell me I'm not doomed to orthopedic looking dance shoes!

Flats and low heels are fine, no heels above 2 1/2 inches though. Either online or brick and mortar store is fine. I'm in Houston, if you know of a good place.

posted by Attackpanda to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (8 answers total)

Best answer: I wore character shoes.

They come in a variety of heel heights and there are a few different styles, most more closed than what I link to (that just happens to be the last style I bought). They're most commonly found in black or a kind of taupe, but a little searching will lead you to snazzier colors.

Incidentally, they were not only my go-to shoe for swing class and theater nerdery, but also for working retail, working at trade shoes, and tromping around the hills of San Francisco. Very comfortable and sturdy.
posted by padraigin at 8:30 PM on January 13, 2009

My solution, recommended by my dance teachers, was to take a pair of shoes I already had and liked to a local cobbler to get the soles re-covered with suede. (You can also do leather, but I like suede better for dancing.) A good cobbler can do it with pretty much any pair of shoes, and the cost was quite reasonable -- I think I paid $35, in Berkeley.

As a side note, have fun dancing! I took a Lindy Hop class on a whim a year and a half ago, and was hooked within two months. About to go out dancing tonight, in fact...
posted by not me at 8:32 PM on January 13, 2009

2nd character shoes. You'll feel like a character!
posted by crinklebat at 10:11 PM on January 13, 2009

I've been wearing Promenaders Majestic for contra for the last eight years or so. I dance at least twice a week, and only recently had to get a second pair. Cheaper pairs often come up on eBay. I'm afraid I have no idea how they'd do for swing, though.
posted by nonane at 5:14 AM on January 14, 2009

When I was swing dancing, I wore a pair of sturdy, Steve Madden-ish Mary-Jane style shoes with a nice broad heel. Cute, but I could land on them solidly. (And I found them on sale somewhere -- nice character shoes can get expensive.)
posted by desuetude at 6:29 AM on January 14, 2009

Best answer: I went to our local dance store and got the cheapest beginner Capezio dance shoes they had -- $30ish, fwiw. I believe they are this pair. I told the salesperson that I did contra and swing, and she said that they would be great for both, and she was right. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised at how they instantly made me a better dancer simply by making my footing more secure. I also do ballroom, English country dance, Irish and Scottish in these shoes -- they're very versatile, in other words.
posted by obliquicity at 6:29 AM on January 14, 2009

You can absolutely cover the soles of any pair of shoes you like with rubber cement and the suede you can buy at a shoe repair shop, or just take them in and have them done professionally like not me recommended. I've been doing this for years.

On the other hand, there's always these if your tastes incline more towards traditional dance shoes and your budget is a bit larger.
posted by you're a kitty! at 7:20 AM on January 14, 2009

Seconding finding a cobbler and getting a comfortable pair of shoes chromed (putting suede on the soles). It gives you a much larger range of shoes to choose from, and if you don't want to commit to 'dancing shoes' you can also have the suede taken off. I did a lot of swing and lindy hop for several years in a pair of chromed Pumas and loved them. The added advantage is that it gives some more cushion to your feet. The majority of dancers I danced with would do the same thing. If there are dance web forums in your area, you might be able to find out if there's a cobbler in your city who specialises in this; often most of the dancers will go to the same place. You also may be able to ask the people you're taking the class through.
(On preview: You're in Houston, which has a big dance community. Check with the Houston Swing Dance Society.)
posted by the luke parker fiasco at 7:22 AM on January 14, 2009