Shoes shoes shoes ... and sneakers too!

🥾👟🥿 - where to start, and it is a question that comes up time and time again from new dancers, and even proficient dancers will talk endlessly about shoes!
 
I'd have to start with "Shoes are such a personal thing"!  My preferred shoe to dance in, isn't even a dance shoe - bought from TK Max, a discount store here in Ireland.  I am a size 40 European, and I found this preferred pair in the men's section.  They have leather soles, and make a great sound - from both the soles and the heels (quite low).  I had another great pair of shoes that had a hard resin sole and they made a great sound too, I was very sad when they wore out.  My advice is to look outside the box - 🙂
 
I have a pair of "Just for Tap" shoes, that are quite heavy, I tend to use them just for teaching or performance due to the weight.  Even after having the sole reduced, most people picking them up would think they are heavy - they came with taps - but I didn't attach the taps, I know a number of Irish dancers who use this shoe.  They are quite expensive, and as a consequence I asked my 2 brothers to buy me 1 each for my birthday!  The beauty of this more professional / expensive shoe, it will take a long time to wear out. 
 
For practice purposes, or if I'm attending a long day of workshops, I like to use a "dance sneaker", they're really comfortable, and make a good sound, here's a link to one site but all the dance accessory sites sell them.  The only downside, is that they get a bit hot.
 
Capezio sneaker:

I think you would enjoy this video that Siobhan Butler created in 2023: click here
 
Kieran Jordan on shoes: click here

Happy dancing everyone!  If you have any thoughts, comments or questions, just post them below.  🙂