Shoes for Competitions?

[Tessalicious]

Ok, all you shoe- and competition-afficionados, I need you!

For ballroom competitions, I know that the guidelines always say black shoes for men and flesh-coloured shoes for ladies - something to do with your feet being a natural extention of your leg rather than being a different colour. Does this rule apply to other dance competitions, such as (obviously) MJ?

If not, or even if so, what kind of styles/colours can anybody recommend as being good for attracting the right kind of attention in a competition situation?

[Zebra Woman]

Ok, all you shoe- and competition-afficionados, I need you!

For ballroom competitions, I know that the guidelines always say black shoes for men and flesh-coloured shoes for ladies - something to do with your feet being a natural extention of your leg rather than being a different colour. Does this rule apply to other dance competitions, such as (obviously) MJ?

If not, or even if so, what kind of styles/colours can anybody recommend as being good for attracting the right kind of attention in a competition situation?

Lily told me that flesh coloured shoes make your legs look much longer (whatever form of dance you're doing) and I think she's right. I would recommend either sparlky gold like my HDS Star shoes, or the ones Kate is wearing in the Masked ball photo, they are made by Freed.

[Yliander]

Ok, all you shoe- and competition-afficionados, I need you!

For ballroom competitions, I know that the guidelines always say black shoes for men and flesh-coloured shoes for ladies - something to do with your feet being a natural extention of your leg rather than being a different colour. Does this rule apply to other dance competitions, such as (obviously) MJ?

If not, or even if so, what kind of styles/colours can anybody recommend as being good for attracting the right kind of attention in a competition situation?

my choice has been for shoes that go with my costume - which has meant silver shoes and black & silver shoes.

most of the girls here seem to wear black shoes for comps.

In part I think it comes down to how confident to have people notice your feet if you are going to be doing some fancy foot work - but not sure you are going to nail it - maybe then flesh shoes would help not accent the fudging

equally it needs to fit with your costumes - black fishnets, flesh shoes ick!

[Andy McGregor]

And the other consideration is that you can actually dance in your shoes. I take a few pairs of shoes to competitions, obviously they all go with my outfit, but they have different soles so I can compete in the ones that suit the floor*.

*but I still don't take competitions seriously

[Lucy Locket]

maybe i might have something? www.seksidancewear.com/wip site isn't finished yet should launch easter but i have stock.

[Lory]

maybe i might have something? www.seksidancewear.com/wip site isn't finished yet should launch easter but i have stock.

Some of the trousers are really lovely but we need a size guide

[Tiggerbabe]

I only got one or two of the pics downloaded. BUT! Oh dear, I feel a spending spree coming on

[Debster]

Lily told me that flesh coloured shoes make your legs look much longer (whatever form of dance you're doing) and I think she's right. ...

Lily is right.

Of course

[Donna]

I only got one or two of the pics downloaded. BUT! Oh dear, I feel a spending spree coming on

Me too!!!


If you have short legs, then maybe flesh coloured shoes are better to wear. (I don't think I'll be wearing them then! Yuk!) I prefer to wear shoes that match my outfit. Going for Silver sparkly ones this time... to match my new outfit..... which I designed myself and is now being made by a company who made costumes for Celebrity Big Brother!!! (Will cost anything between £100 - £200!!!! I'm sure it'll be worth it though! )

[LilyB]

Lily told me that flesh coloured shoes make your legs look much longer (whatever form of dance you're doing) and I think she's right. I would recommend either sparlky gold like my HDS Star shoes, or the ones Kate is wearing in the Masked ball photo, they are made by Freed.

That is something I learnt from years of competing in ballroom/latin/theatre arts. You will never see a female ballroom/latin competitor wearing black shoes unless she is also wearing a black dress and/or (very rarely) black tights. Back in the 80s and 90s, most ladies would dye their (satin) shoes to match the colour of their dresses. Gold or silver shoes can also be worn if there is a predominance of gold/silver decorations on the costumes. In recent times, however, the majority of female competitors have chosen to wear flesh-coloured shoes.

I cite ballroom/latin dancers as role models simply because they almost always look fabulous and elegant. However, that style may not be to everyone's liking, hence I would encourage any lady who is willing to spend serious money on competition attire to take a good look at ladies in mainstream ballroom/latin, salsa, lindy and MJ competitions, to see what 'look' suit their individual style best. High-heeled flesh-coloured latin shoes look fab on ladies in sexy dresses whose style reflect their costuming eg. Yuko, Kate Hargreaves and Carol Haines, but dance trainers or two-tone lace-ups look equally good on ladies whose style is funky or swing-based, eg Taz, Melanie, Jenny Francois, Taina Kortelainen.

I personally prefer to wear 3" high flesh-coloured latin shoes for cabaret performances or showcase competitions, but favour 2" lace-ups (Freed's Roma) or court shoes with strap (Freed's New Yorker) in tan leather for freestyle competitions. The difference is that I prefer the added stability of lace-ups or court shoes in freestyle because of the unpredictable nature of that style of competition. This is where the need to feel absolutely confident about your balance and ability to perform under pressure takes priority over looking fabulous. Of course, for social dancing, I go for comfort and stability - 1" lace-ups are best.

For a few ideas on shoe designs and colours/materials available, have a look at the following websites:
http://www.supadance.com/
http://www.ids-danceshoes.co.uk/main.htm
http://www.freedoflondon.com/cat/index.php
http://www.heavenlydanceshoes.com/

At the end of the day, comfort and confidence is paramount in competition. You are not going to perform well if you don't feel happy in what you are wearing. If you are able to dance confidently in high-heels and you wish to wear a dress, my advice is that you would look best in flesh-coloured latin shoes with at least 2" heels. If you wish to wear a dress but do not feel confident in high-heeled latin shoes, try court shoes or lace-ups in tan leather with as high a heel as you can manage. If you do not feel happy in heels of any sort, wear trousers as they (fortunately!) tend not to draw attention to the feet.

[filthycute]

.


This is where the need to feel absolutely confident about your balance and ability to perform under pressure takes priority over looking fabulous.

This is exactly the reason why i didn't wear my fabulous new dress at Blackpool. I'm still a bit of a novice when it comes to latin shoes but i had hoped to wear them to try and make myself a bit more feminine for the competition. So off i go and have fabby gold sequined dress made and bought tan satin 2 1/2" latin shoes.......only to find the floor was much faster than i had reckoned on it being. I really didn't feel comfortable dancing in them and no dress is that fabby that i would have jepordised our dancing at such a big competition.
I'm determined to be a 'latin shoes pro' for next year.....although next year will be a new season.....i guess i'll need a new dress

Melanie x

ps....maybe new shoes too

[DavidB]

ps....maybe new shoes too

One post by Lily, and look at the effect it has...

[David Franklin]

One post by Lily, and look at the effect it has...

Hasn't she changed her signature to "Sponsored by Freed, premier dance shoe suppliers" yet?

[Donna]

Back in the 80s and 90s, most ladies would dye their (satin) shoes to match the colour of their dresses

.

And they still do! I dyed my satin ones red for Blackpool to match the dress. (Took me 2 hours! ) I'm going to dye them black now.

I would encourage any lady who is willing to spend serious money on competition attire to take a good look at ladies in mainstream ballroom/latin, salsa, lindy and MJ competitions, to see what 'look' suit their individual style best.

Well I'm working on that now! The last two costumes were just The first looked too cerocy (street style wear) and the second... well just wasn't right! So now I'm getting deadly serious when it comes to costumes by.. like you said, look at what others are wearing, see what's in but.. get it designed and make it look a bit different. (Save being accused of copying! )

but dance trainers or two-tone lace-ups look equally good on ladies whose style is funky or swing-based, eg Taz, Melanie, Jenny Francois, Taina Kortelainen.

Think I should sell my dance trainers! I never wear them because I think they are horrible! It makes your feet look heavy when you dance but something that actually shapes the foot nicely gives it that nice elegant look, and makes footwork look 100 times better.

For a few ideas on shoe designs and colours/materials available, have a look at the following websites:
http://www.supadance.com/
http://www.ids-danceshoes.co.uk/main.htm
http://www.freedoflondon.com/cat/index.php
http://www.heavenlydanceshoes.com/

Oooh ok, I feel another spending spree coming on here!

At the end of the day, comfort and confidence is paramount in competition.

You are not going to perform well if you don't feel happy in what you are wearing.

[drathzel]

I got a gorgeous pair of blue glittery dance shoes as a pressy from my mother for christmas, so Jammy and i arranged our costumes round them for the scottish competition in September just so i could wear them !

[Donna]

I got a gorgeous pair of blue glittery dance shoes as a pressy from my mother for christmas, so Jammy and i arranged our costumes round them for the scottish competition in September just so i could wear them !

Hmmm now blue glittery ones sounds lovely.....