How To Buy Tap Dancing Shoes
Tap dancing is an old age art form that can best be identified by mentioning famous names like Fred Astaire, Shirley Temple, and Sammy Davis, Jr. If you’re a tap dancer yourself, then you know that you need three things to excel in this art: music, nimble feet, and a good pair of tap shoes.
Just like athletic or dress shoes, there is a wide variety of tap shoes on store shelves today. If your budget is tight, you might opt for a low priced pair of shoes. These would be a regular pair of comfortable, leather soled shoes that have a suede upper. To make them into tap shoes, you can either take them to a shoe shop, or, you can buy and add taps onto them yourself. Taps are usually nailed or screwed onto the leather soles of both shoes.
On the other hand, if you want an actual pair of tap shoes, then you can choose from a light, suede type to a heavier leather, or imitation leather, upper. The heaviest shoes have a sole that are either double or triple thick. Most styles also have shock absorbing heel pads for added protection for your dancing feet. The heels can be made of leather, plastic, or rubber.
The best place to buy your shoes would be from a local shoe store. That way, you can go in and try on the different styles available. If you want custom made tap shoes, then the store should be able to order them to be made exactly as you want. Besides choosing the color, shoe size, and width, you can also choose the height and thickness of the heel. A pair of well-made tap shoes can set you back around a hundred dollars or more, depending on the specifics of the shoes.
If your local store doesn’t carry tap shoes, then you can probably find a store in a nearby city that does carry them. You can also perform a search on the Internet and order them online.
Buying a pair of tap shoes is just like buying any other pair of shoes because they come in men’s and women’s styles, and, you need to find the proper fit. Before you try a pair, make sure that you have the same type of socks on that you will wear when you are tap dancing. Also, if you use any kind of special insert or insole in your shoes, take these with you too. This way, the fit and the feel will be the same.
Once you have found a few pairs of shoes that you are considering buying, try each pair on, lace them up, and walk around in them. Check the toe of each shoe- is there approximately a half inch of space between the end of your big toe and the end of the shoe? If not, then the shoes are too short for your feet. If there is more than a half inch of room, then the shoes are too long. Besides finding the proper length, you’ll also need a pair of tap shoes that has the proper width. To do this, feel the sides of each shoe. Are the sides tight and bulging out? This is often a sign that the shoes are too narrow for your feet.
After you have found some comfortable shoes that fit properly, don’t forget to dance a few steps in them too! Shoes that may feel good when you are walking around might not feel as good when you are tapping your way across the dance floor!
When you find the perfect pair of shoes for you, you might want to stay with that certain brand. To reorder a new pair, you can probably then call the manufacturer and order them direct.
By: K Sprang
