Best dancing shoes for women

Last updated June 14, 2021

Dancing requires a special type of shoe. Depending of the kind of dance it could be high heel flexible shoes like Capezio, salsa shoes with low heels, zumba or hip hop sneakers or really high heel platform shoes for pole dance.

We have picked the best party, ballroom, latin, tango and salsa dance shoes. No matter if you are a beginner dancer or a professional one, you should have a shoe that:

  1. Is lightweight and comfortable.
  2. Has very flexible and smooth sole to be able to dance freely.
  3. Has stable heel with a height of approximately 2″-3″.
  4. Has straps to hold the shoe on a foot at every time.
Product Widest size Heel height Price Sole material Smallest size Overall score
Very Fine Women's Salsa Ballroom Dance Shoes 1620 Adjustable Width Very Fine Women's Salsa Ballroom Dance Shoes 1620 Adjustable Width B, M 3" Amazon suede 34 EU / 4,5 US 4,5
Amazon B, M 3" Amazon suede 34 EU / 4,5 US 4,4
Capezio Women's JR. Footlight T-Strap Dance Shoe Capezio Women's JR. Footlight T-Strap Dance Shoe M 2.5" Amazon scored leather 34 EU / 4 US 4,1
TDA Womens Mid Heel Dance Shoes TDA Womens Mid Heel Dance Shoes M 2"/2.5"/3" Amazon suede 34 EU / 4 US 4,3
Honeystore Women's Latin Dance Closed Toe T Strap Glitter Mary Jane Dance Shoes Honeystore Women's Latin Dance Closed Toe T Strap Glitter Mary Jane Dance Shoes M 2 1/3" Amazon suede 35 EU / 5 US 4,3
Capezio Women's Jr. Footlight Character Dance Shoe Capezio Women's Jr. Footlight Character Dance Shoe N-W 1.5" Amazon leather 34 EU / 4 US 4,1
Ellie Shoes Women's Lucille Dress Pump Ellie Shoes Women's Lucille Dress Pump M 2.5" Amazon leather and rubber 36 EU / 6 US 4,1
Capezio Women's Manhattan Character Shoe Capezio Women's Manhattan Character Shoe M-W 2.5" Amazon synthetic 34 EU / 4 US 4,0

Wearing dance shoes

Dance shoes are very comfortable as they are designed for extreme wearing conditions. It can be tempting to have them on outdoors in regular life or at the wedding. When considering this, make sure you know what type of dance shoe you are dealing with.

There are mainly two types of soles that dance shoes are soled with: leather and suede.

Suede is very flexible and soft and is meant to be worn indoors only. Wearing dance shoes with suede soles outside will damage them and make the shoes unwearable. Suede shoes are best for spinning and active dancing as they will make you feel the floor and spin as you wish. Suede soles will be worn out in minutes if your wear the shoes outside on asphalt.

If you still want or need to wear suede soled dance shoes in regular life consider resoling them or adding an extra rubber sole at the cobbler.

Hard leather soles are more durable, but less flexible. They can be worn outside, but may be a problem in a dance class due to their extreme slipperiness.

Rubber soled shoes are best to wear outside. They are meant for special types of dancing like swing and are not suitable for ballroom dance or salsa.

If you are afraid that your shoes will fall off during dance, choose T-strap shoes. Very Fine makes the best T strap ballroom dance shoes.

Dance shoes for wide feet

Not all dance shoes are suitable for girls with wide feet. But there are some options. Very Fine brand in particular makes their dancing shoes with an adjustable width. Also the famous Capezio has some models with wide ballroom dance shoes. A brand Floral makes some shoes with width E.

Capezio make also the best narrow ballroom dance shoes.

Also remeber to check out document.write(”);ebay. They have often what you need for better price.

Dance shoes hurt

Dancing on high heels may be hard on your feet. There is especially the ball joint area that gets a lot of pressure, so you feel like it burns and hurts after a while. If you are a beginner dancer or just started wearing professional dancing shoes then it is quite normal. Your feet need time to adjust and your shoes need time to break in. Put your feet in an ice-cold water when you come home and have it there for 30 minutes. This will cool down the burning sensation and help your feet adjust faster.

If it goes on for a while try the following:

  • Check if your shoes fit well. If a dancing shoe is loose in the heel or a toe area it will make your foot slide down and make more pressure on the ball joints. Dancing shoes should have a tight fit, both in the front and at the heel.
  • Use insoles for the ball joint area. They have different colors and can be worn with all kind of shoes.
  • Decrease heel height.
  • Try switching to jazz shoes after a couple of hours.
  • Protect your sensitive areas with band-aids or moleskin before your get blisters! Especially if you have new shoes.