I get asked this question a lot. Once you start getting into the swing dance scene, you need a good pair of dance shoes. They’re not exactly available at every Wal-Mart, so where do you go?
First off, what makes a good pair of dance shoes? You want something snug but not tight, and fairly lightweight. Padding helps, especially if you’re like me in wanting to dance for 8 hours at a stretch. Small heels can help with your posture, for both guys and gals, but tall heels are generally bad news. Not only do they affect your balance, but if you misstep and land on your partner’s foot, they can really, really hurt. Flat soled allows you to slide, especially if it’s suede. Durable, comfortable, and stylish as can be.
Since I’m offering my recommendations, let’s start with what I use personally. The dance shoes I wear are made by a company called Bleyers. They are a German manufacturer, designing shoes specifically for swing dancers. Some have a leather sole, but most of designed with the Bleyers specialty sole, a rubber base with thin, “fade-away” tread. This means that once they’ve been broken in, the places that get used the most are flat, allowing you to slide. The rest of it still has tread so that you can stop on a dime when you need to. Bleyers are also designed with a smooth pivot point under the ball of your foot, which helps to balance and speed up your spins. I wear a black and white Boogie Woogie style shoe with a hard, patent leather finish. I’ve had them for many years, and I take them in to a repair shop when needed to get the eyelets around the laces replaced or the sole reglued. I always wear the additional insoles for comfort. They are not available for wholesale, but you can find them through retailers online. Expect to pay upwards of $130 for the shoes, the insoles, and shipping. See http://www.bleyershoes.co.uk/ for some good information.
The professional shoe manufacturer of choice for swing dancers is Aris Allen. They are amazingly light, so much that it feels more like wearing socks than shoes. They have a soft or hard leather sole, and are available in a greater variety of styles than Bleyers, including a lot of colorful choices for the ladies. They run about half as much as Bleyers do, which makes them much more popular for the college crowd. You can see their line at http://www.dancestore.com/.
In the major cities with long running swing dance scenes, the option of choice is something a little different. Take an old pair of sneakers, one you’re about ready to retire anyway. Take them to a shoe repair shop and have them replace the sole with suede. It usually costs somewhere between $30 and $50 depending on where you have them done. You already know that you like the style, and it’s comfortable, broken in, and it fits. It might not look like a professional dance shoe, but it works just as well.
As a last minute solution, duct tape fixes everything. Wear sneakers out to the dance floor, and stretch duct tape over the sole. It’s not a great long term solution, but it does make them slick. I’ve known people who have gone this route for years.
Try to stay away from jazz and ballet shoes. They are generally to thin to be comfortable on a hard wood or concrete dance floor. Ballroom shoes are usually designed more for style than comfort, and I don’t think they’re worth the price. Heavy boots are risky as a misplaced kick can injure your partner. And even though this should be obvious, I see it on the dance floor way too often… don’t ever wear flip-flops.
