When dancing, the shoes you wear are almost as important as your technique. It’s not always a matter of fashion but maneuverability. There’s a shoe for every style of dance you’re into. What are all the types of dance shoes?
These are the 8 types of dance shoes:
- Jazz shoes
- Flamenco shoes
- Pointe shoes
- Ballet shoes
- Ghillies
- Foot thongs
- Dance sneakers
- Tap shoes
This guide will be your introduction to dance shoes of all styles. You’ll learn more about each type of shoe, how it augments your dancing, and when to wear which shoe when.
The 8 Types of Dance Shoes – How and When to Wear:
Jazz Shoes:
Are you into jazz dancing or acro dancing (which is a combination of dancing and acrobatics)? If so, then you’ll notice that most of the other dancers are wearing specialized footwear.
These are jazz shoes.
A jazz shoe does not prescribe to one look only. Some have an upscale Oxford style with laces for customizing the fit and tightness. Others slip right onto your feet so you don’t have to risk tripping over your laces. Both styles have advantages.
Some jazz shoes are low-rise so they leave your foot unobstructed while others are high-rise. Split-sole jazz shoes are among the most flexible type due to the slit in the shoes. Your toes will enjoy a greater degree of movement.
No matter which jazz shoe style is calling your name, they will usually have a rubber sole. The sole serves two purposes. First, it cushions and cradles the foot so it doesn’t take the brunt of all your physical impact. Second, the rubber sole helps with traction.
The heel of a jazz shoe varies. If you want a thicker heel to augment shock absorption, that’s one option. Other dancers like having a thin heel so they can feel on their feet better.
Do you do a lot of turning as you dance? You’ll want jazz shoes with a suede patch underneath, as your turns will then be as smooth as butter.
If you’re hoping for color variety, jazz shoes aren’t really known for that. Your options are usually black or tan, that’s about it.
Flamenco Shoes:
The majesty of flamenco dancing is a lot easier to achieve when wearing the right type of footwear. You need flamenco shoes to perfect the intricacies of this Spanish dancing style.
As an FYI, flamenco shoes usually refer to women’s shoes only. The shoes are technically called flamenco heels.
More and more, flamenco heels are becoming available for male dancers as well. If you can’t find a pair of flamenco heels as a male, you’ll have to wear short flamenco boots, which feature a heel too.
Flamenco shoes have a suede or leather outer, but synthetic materials are becoming more common as well.
The heel of the shoe is another distinguishing factor, as you can select from three different types of heels.
The first is the Cubano or Cuban. This heel is thicker and shorter for stability when dancing and twirling. The carette heel has a nice curve while the standard flamenco shoe heel is tall yet not razor-thin.
The average heel length is 1.5 inches to 2.7 inches, so we’re not talking high heels here.
Depending on the material of the outer, the heel will usually feature that material as well. This gives flamenco shoes a uniform look. The heel can also be exposed, which will turn heads.
Most flamenco shoes are decorated with ribbons, laces, buckles, or straps. Underneath the shoe is a series of nails. The nails are embedded in the heel and toe. Don’t worry, you don’t feel the nails.
They’re there for a reason, and that’s to make each step you make audibly delightful!
Flamenco shoes come in varying grades, but the criteria used to establish the grades are dependent on the manufacturer.
The quality of flamenco shoes goes up by grade. The highest-quality flamenco heels are for professional dancers. These shoes feature more reinforcements.
Whether you’re an amateur or professional-level flamenco dancer, you can find shoes for you.
Pointe Shoes:
The delicate art of ballet dancing requires specialized footwear. In this section and the next, I’ll delve into two types of ballet shoes. The first is the pointe shoe.
Pointe shoes are used for a specific ballet technique called pointe dancing. When a ballerina stands on the tips of their toes and supports their body weight, this is pointe dancing.
In a good pair of pointe shoes, you can stay on your toes longer.
Pointe shoes might look delicate and dainty, but I can assure you they’re neither. The shoes feature a shank in the sole that’s made of glued burlap, cardstock, plastic, or leather so the sole is nice and stiff. That’s how pointe shoes support a dancer’s foot arch when they’re on their toes.
The shank might be ultra-thick or less so depending on the material. Some shanks even have varying degrees of thickness across the shoe. A shank with demi-pointe slits allows for better roll-through.
The box on the shoe’s front end is often squared for balance. It too is hard to provide a protective layer between the dancer’s toes and the ground. Most pointe shoe boxes feature a combination of fabric and paper layers glued together.
Beneath all those hard materials are an outer fabric such as pleated satin. Pointe shoes are usually available in varying shades of pink, but other colors are sometimes an option as well.
Ballet Shoes:
Although at first glance, ballet shoes and pointe shoes might look alike, there are key differences between them. Ballet shoes don’t feature a hardened toe, nor do they have a shank.
A ballet shoe boasts a leather sole, possibly a split sole. The inclusion of split soles is to a ballet dancer’s benefit, as their foot shape is much more distinct if they do pointe. Like with the split soles of jazz shoes, ballet shoes with this sole style are also ultra-flexible.
Satin isn’t the only outer material option for ballet shoes, which is good. Although satin ballet shoes look great, they don’t last long. That’s why you’ll see ballet dancers only wear their satin dance shoes during competitions or performances.
Otherwise, ballet shoes might be canvas, which is inexpensive but short-lived. Leather is costly but durable.
Elastic crisscrosses most ballet shoes; some shoes feature a single band of elastic to keep the shoes secure.
Ghillies:
In the ballet shoe style are ghillies, although you can use these shoes for so many dance styles than pointing and ballet. Ghillies are the shoe of choice for Highland dancing, Scottish country dancing, and Irish dancing.
Even better? Ghillies are unisex shoes!
The style of a ghillie looks like it’s taken a page out of the ballet shoe’s book, but then again, not quite. The shoes cover more of the foot than a ballet slipper does. Laces crisscross over the entire front of the foot for a cool look. You can tie the laces the same way you would a pair of shoes.
Other ghillies are all elastic, but laces are usually required for dancing competitions.
Most ghillies are made of body-molding leather. The primary color of this dance shoe is black, but when dancing in costume, dancers will wear ghillies in hues like pink, red, and blue.
The exception to that rule is Scottish ghillies. These dance shoes might have colored eyelets but are always black.
Ghillies have a leather sole that might be split near the ball of the foot and the heel.
Foot Thongs:
At the start of this guide, when talking about jazz shoes, I mentioned acro dancing. Besides jazz shoes, foot thongs are the footwear of choice for this inspiring dance style.
Although in gymnastics, performers usually are barefoot, that’s because they’re on specialized floors with springs and cushioning. Acro dancers perform on hard stages, so they need protection without feeling obstructed.
Foot thongs are preferable since they check both those boxes.
Okay, so foot thongs aren’t really shoes, per se, but rather, they’re footpads the dancers wear. The thongs feature leather cushions sewn into the thong material that safeguards a dancer’s feet from painful impacts. The pads also enhance traction.
Dance Sneakers:
One of the most stylish dance shoes by far is the dance sneaker. At first glance, it looks like a trendy sports shoe or streetwear sneaker, but it’s neither.
Dance sneakers are designed for pointing, twirling, and really just about any dancing you want to do. Street dancers and urban dancers favor dance sneakers especially, but you’ll also see them on ballroom dancers (during practice, at least) and jazz dancers too.
The arch support of dance sneakers is enhanced to preserve your feet no matter your dancing technique.
You can select from low-profile or high-profile dance sneaker styles. I’d say pick whichever one you prefer, as one style is not more advantageous than the other.
Shock-absorbing technology built into dance sneakers is one of their greatest features by far. You also have versatility in how you wear them, as in dance sneakers can be worn with socks or without.
If you do decide to skip the socks, you’ll have to deodorize your shoes regularly to keep them from stinking up the joint.
Dance sneakers are available in all sorts of colors and styles so you can pair them with your dance outfit or mix and match.
Although they’re so nice-looking that they’re tempting to wear as an everyday shoe or even as a running shoe, dance sneakers should really only be used for dancing.
Tap Shoes:
Tap dancing has been around since the 19th century and tap shoes have seriously evolved since then.
Whereas once, tap shoes were built with wooden soles (ouch, right?), today, leather soles are much more common.
Tap shoes don’t fit into one specific style. For all ages, genders, and experience levels, you can find a tap shoe that’s right for you.
Some have straps, such as Mary Jane styles for girls and women. Other tap shoes lace up such as the Oxford style.
While Oxford lace-up tap shoes are intersex, the strap-style tap shoe is only for women and girls.
All tap shoes have heels, but the height of the heel varies. For beginners, you can find a lower-heeled tap shoe to familiarize yourself with this dancing art. Then you can move your way up to higher heels.
It’s not your heels that make the distinct tap, tap, tap noise as you dance. That’s a piece of hard material under the shoe that’s called a tap.
In their earliest days, tap shoes had wooden taps, then metal ones. It’s that material that’s still common in modern tap shoes.
Manufacturers produce taps with different characteristics. Some taps weigh more but make a stronger sound. Others are thinner and weigh less but are quieter as well.
The thickness of the tap isn’t the only factor that influences its tonality. How tight the screws are as well as its material can also make taps more audible.
Conclusion:
The world of dance shoes is as vast and varied as the styles of dance are themselves. Some forms of dance call for formal heeled footwear, other styles require specialized shoes such as pointe shoes, and other dance styles still allow for unique footwear like foot thongs and dance sneakers.
Having the right dance shoes will instill confidence in your abilities. You’ll also find that your techniques and maneuvers are amplified, as you have support, cushioning, and protection where you need it.