Ballroom Dance

J M (Mike) Nelson
Email:jmnelson@cloudnet.com
Phone: 612-810-0157

Finding comfortable dance shoes can be a problem. Though some studios will order shoes, most do not stock dance shoes. Dance shoes have never been a big seller in adult sizes, and recently, with so many vendors on line, few local vendors carry much inventory.

Grand Jete' is one of the few, remaining local vendors of dance shoes. Grand Jete, 975 Grand Ave., St. Paul, MN, 651-227-0331, stocks a wide range of men's sizes in at least two styles, hard leather soles and suede soles. They have dance shoes with suede soles for both men and women, and they have many sizes in stock. They also have "Character Shoes," which are light weight shoes, much like dance shoes, but with a conventional leather sole, which can be worn almost anywhere and is particularly good for venues where you rather not wear your good, suede soles. They also stock a practice shoe for women which many wear for social dancing.

Debby Filler sells shoes out of her home in St Paul, by appointment only. Dancers who would like to make an appointment may call evenings: 651-642-9636 or email shoes@forfeetfirst.com. Her web site is: http://www.forfeetfirst.com/, and she has a reputation for doing a good job of fitting shoes for those of us who have hard-to-fit feet.

Celebrity Dance Shoes in Plymouth. This appears to be vendor for all three pair of my dance shoes, purchases almost twenty years ago, http://www.celebritydanceshoes.com/. In July, 2008, I received high recommendations for Celebrity Dance Shoes from more than one dancer. The site, http://www.deanconstantine.com/, also points to Celebrity Dance Shoes in Plymouth.

If you know of other local vendors who carry significant inventory, please let me know and I will add them to this page. Send email to jmnelson@cloudnet.com.

Internet Vendors

The links below have been provided to me by local dancers; most have been pleased with their products. A recent email inquiry resulted in the following responses. If you would like to share your comments, please send email to jmnelson@cloudnet.com

Comments from recent survey

http://www.ballroomdancingshoe.com Shoes have been wonderful - very comfortable from the first time putting them on and dancing; break in period for comfort was essentially non-existent; website was easy to navigate and the delivery was prompt; I would highly recommend the use of this website as a source for dancing shoes.
MSTD009 Men Ballroom Dance Shoe Black Leather, $58.00
LHCT006 Black Leather Low Heel Latin Ballroom Dance Shoe, Options: heel type: 1.3 inches, $56.00

*****

I've used Dance4less.com, capezio.com, and allaboutdance.com. Not really satisfied with any of them. I've talked to some instructors in the cities, and they said the Very Fine brand does stretch, and that they will only buy international shoes. Hope that helps some.

*****

I bought my shoes from: http://www.ballroomdancingshoe.com
I'm surprised that a 2.5 inch heel can be somewhat comfortable. They are stretching a bit, but I expected that to happen with leather.

****

The links below have been provided to me by local dancers; most have been pleased with their products. A recent email inquiry resulted in the following responses. If you would like to share your comments, please send email to jmnelson@cloudnet.com

Note. The following links will take you OUT of this web site.

http://www.dance4less.com/ballroom_shoes.htm

http://www.ballroomdancingshoe.com/ has had a summer, 2008, recommendation by a SCBDC member.

http://www.tiptoedancewear.com/

http://www.danceshoesstore.com/

Though more expensive, http://www.championdanceshoes.com/ indicates shoe makers, and the images seem to show detailed finishing.

Please continue to share information about shoes, and I will pass it along occasionally. Email: stcdancer@charter.net

Recommendations. A soft, comfortable dance show with the soft leather sole feels best on the dance floor. Even so, any comfortable shoe with a leather or smooth synthetic sole can serve as a dance shoe; just clean the dirt off the sole, put them in a sack, bring them as your dance shoe, and don't wear them outside the dance studio.

Caveat. If you get ballroom shoes, they will have a soft leather sole, so you should even be careful wearing them onto carpeted and lobby areas of a ballroom or studio where they might contact moisture.