You treated yourself to a new pair of dance shoes and you can’t wait to use them. Since you likely paid anywhere from $40 to $120 AU and up, you’d like to have your shoes for a while. How long do dance shoes last?
How long dance shoes last varies based on the type and how often you use them. For instance, pointe shoes have a lifespan of about six months while tennis-style jazz shoes can last a year to a year and a half.
If you have more questions about dance shoe duration, I’ve got answers. In this guide, I’ll go through the different types of dance shoes and describe how long they should last. I’ll even share tips for increasing dance shoe longevity, so check it out!
How Long Will Dance Shoes Last? Recommended Timeframes for Different Types of Shoes:
If you read my post on the types of dance shoes, you should recall that dance shoes come in all shapes, sizes, and styles. Some are made of hard materials, such as pointe shoes, while dance footwear like ghillies is often leather-based.
Since dance shoes run the gamut, there’s no one prescribed timeframe for their duration. As I said I would, I want to take this section to share the average lifespans of different dance shoe styles.
Ballet and Pointe Shoes:
I must make it clear that ballet and pointe shoes are two different shoe styles.
The latter has a hard box and a shank throughout while ballet shoes have neither. The construction of the box and shank usually include natural materials such as burlap or cardstock.
These materials can break down, and with the fervency that pointe dancers follow their routine, the lifespan of a pair of pointe shoes is astonishingly short. I’m talking 12 to 15 hours for professional ballerinas! For non-professionals, maybe you get six months out of a pair of pointe shoes.
Ballet shoes don’t have a much longer lifespan, especially if you’re on your feet spending hours in rehearsal. After 10 to 20 hours of use, pro ballerinas will have to start shopping for another pair of ballet shoes.
Non-professional ballerinas who are less hard on their ballet shoes can enjoy months of use from them.
Jazz Shoes:
With so many shoe styles falling under the jazz shoe umbrella, their lifespan also varies.
If you wear slip-on jazz shoes, since there’s less shoe on your foot, you can’t expect these to last as long as an Oxford-style or tennis jazz shoe.
You might get several months out of a slip-on shoe, whereas for jazz tennis shoes, the least amount of time you should expect these shoes to last is six months. Some dancers even get a year or longer out of some jazz shoes!
Flamenco Shoes:
Men’s and women’s flamenco shoes, which are technically referred to as flamenco heels, are available in different heel styles.
You might remember from my post on dance shoe styles that flamenco shoes are graded as well.
It’s this grading system that’s the key to the longevity of your flamenco shoes. The lower the grade, usually, the lower-quality the footwear, but the grading system does vary by manufacturer, so you can’t always go by that.
Even if you happen to buy a low-grade pair of flamenco shoes, they tend to last for a surprisingly long time, up to several months in some cases.
Once you get into professional flamenco shoes, which are reinforced six ways to Sunday, you’re looking at a pair of shoes that can withstand plenty of passionate, rigorous dancing.
You could have these flamenco shoes for years. Some dancers even proclaim that a good pair of flamenco shoes can last for life.
Tap Shoes:
Maybe tapdancing is more your style. Whether yours is a Mary-Jane style or a flashy yet classic Oxford tap shoe, your tap shoes should hold up well enough for at least a year.
It’s not unheard of for dancers to have tap shoes for several years at a time.
If your tap shoes are longer-lasting, do keep in mind that that’s just the shoes themselves, not the taps underneath. That’s right, despite that tap shoes usually feature metal taps, the taps don’t hold up forever.
Every couple of years, you’ll need to replace your taps with new ones. Doing this is beneficial in other ways too.
For instance, the longer they’re on your shoes, the looser the taps become. Although a loose tap is preferable to some dancers, others prefer tighter taps.
The sound of new taps is also a lot crisper and cleaner, which makes tap dancing all that much more enjoyable!
Dance Sneakers:
With their streetwear spirit and their appealing urban looks, dance sneakers have something in common with other street sneakers: longevity.
The rubber soles, leather outer, and high-quality construction of most dance shoes increase their lifespan.
If your dance sneaker has a thinner heel to improve your groundfeel (a term that describes your ability to feel the ground with your feet through your shoes), then it might not hold up for as long as a dance shoe with a thicker heel.
Then again, a thick heel sacrifices your groundfeel, so if you’re not compromising in one area, you’re doing so in another. You’ll have to decide what’s most important to you when selecting a dance sneaker.
The Factors That Affect Dance Shoe Longevity:
I want to make one thing clear: the above lifespans for dance shoes are all estimates. Your dance shoe lifespan is dictated by several factors, so let’s talk about them now.
Materials:
One of the top reasons that professional pointe dancers go through so many pairs of pointe shoes is due to the natural materials used to make these shoes.
The materials add to the hard construction of the box and shank that pointe shoes require, but they don’t last a tremendously long time.
More durable materials such as rubber, wood, and leather can usually increase the longevity of your dance shoe, although not always.
Style:
The style of your shoe is important too. I don’t mean the type of dance shoe, but a tennis jazz shoe versus a slip-on jazz shoe are two examples of shoe style.
As I established in the section above, lighter and flimsier shoes don’t tend to hold up well over the long run. That’s the price you have to pay for the ultimate in flexibility so your toes can splay and your feet can curve unencumbered.
Thicker, heavier-duty dance shoe styles such as dance sneakers, flamenco heels, or Oxford-style tap shoes are known for their tremendous lifespans of around a year or more.
Usage:
Without a doubt, the biggest factor that influences the lifespan of your dance shoes is how often you use them.
If you dance every day for two hours a day, then your shoes will wear down faster than someone who dances twice per week for four hours apiece. That’s a difference of 14 hours versus eight hours.
Since most dancing is done on hard surfaces, the longer you’re at it, the more your shoes wear away little by little. This isn’t to say you should shorten your dance rehearsals or practice times; I’m not recommending that at all.
You just have to be realistic about how often you’ll replace your dance shoes. Stick to the lower lifespan estimates and find a favorite place to buy dance shoes, as you’ll probably be there often.
How to Make Your Dance Shoes Last Longer:
It can put a real hurting on your wallet to have to buy dance shoes too often. While replacement is inevitable, you can squeeze some extra months out of your favorite pair of dance shoes with the right care.
Here are my top tips for extending the lifespan of dance shoes of all styles.
Purchase High-Quality Shoes from the Get-Go:
The premium expense of buying high-quality shoes can turn some dancers away, but I recommend sticking to your guns and getting good shoes from the very beginning. You’re ultimately saving money.
How so? If you buy cheap dance shoes, you’ll be lucky if you get a few months out of them. Let’s say your dance shoes last you three months on average. In a year, you’d replace your shoes four times. At $40 AU a pop, that’s $160 AU you spent. At $120 AU for a pair of dance shoes, now you’ve spent $480 AU in a year.
If you buy more expensive dance shoes, you probably won’t have to replace them throughout that entire year. That’s more cash in your pocket.
Buy More Than One Pair:
The only way to keep dance shoes in pristine condition is not to wear them, but it’s not like you can do that, right? Well, sort of, you can.
When you find a pair of dance shoes you really like, buy doubles. Each time you dance, alternate the pairs.
For example, if you dance three times per week on weekdays, then on Mondays and Fridays, you’d wear Pair #1. On Wednesdays, it’d be Pair #2. The next week, you can switch it out so you wear Pair #1 on Monday and Friday and Pair #1 on Wednesday.
Rotating your dance shoes like this wears down both pairs about evenly so they both last longer than they would if you wore only one pair.
Don’t Wear Dance Shoes Unless You’re Dancing:
I know, this sounds like an obvious tip.
When you’re rushing to catch the train so you can get to the dance studio on time, you can forget that you’re wearing your nice dance shoes. Well, you’ll forget until you step in a big puddle. Then you’re all too aware of what you’re wearing on your feet.
You likely bring a gear bag for dancing anyway that might include a uniform or a change of clothes. Store a change of shoes in the bag as well.
Even if you wear slides or cheap sneakers, anything is better than traipsing around town in your nice dance shoes. The asphalt and concrete will wear down your shoes quick!
Store Your Dance Shoes Properly:
Speaking of shoe bags, if you don’t have one (or several) already, I can’t recommend them enough.
The best bags for dance shoes are mesh. The mesh will allow the sweaty, stinky air emanating from your shoes to exit the bag. Fresh air will easily be able to enter.
All the bacteria that develop on your dirty dance shoes do more than cause stench. The bacteria can also begin to degrade some dance shoe materials. That’s especially true of ballet shoes, pointe shoes, and other slip-on dance shoes.
A mesh bag will let your shoes dry out so bacteria can’t linger on your footwear.
Know How to Dry Dance Shoes:
Your dance shoes will inevitably get wet, either from the aforementioned puddle splashing or sweat. If yours are pointe shoes, the fabric, glue, and cardstock all begin to soften when soaking wet, so you can’t leave the shoes damp for long.
The most obvious solution seems to be to toss your dance shoes in the dryer, right? Not exactly.
All that tumble-drying and heat from the dryer can further degrade some shoe materials, causing them to fall apart sooner than they should.
Flipping your dance shoes inside out (if they’re flexible enough for this, that is) and filling the shoes with absorbent cloths is a much better drying method.
The other drying method is time. Yes, you have to be patient and wait for your wet dance shoes to dry on their own. Forcing it along with methods like a hairdryer or a space heater can shrink some materials and damage others.
This is where it really pays off to have a second pair of dance shoes.
Conclusion:
The longevity of dance shoes depends on the style, materials, and how often you use them, but you should get at least several months out of the shoes on average.
Now that you know how to keep your dance shoes looking and smelling better longer, you’ll always have a reliable pair to wear whenever the urge to dance strikes!