Ballroom Dance Shoes & Dance Clothes – What You Wear Matters

Just starting out learning to ballroom dance is very exciting. I know because I took my first steps at the beginning of this year 2012 and decided to tackle a course of private lessons. I work at Sheffield City Hall on day duties during the tea dances and I have been overwhelmed with the support and advice I have received ever since I started to learn.
I’m so lucky as we have a real ballroom here at the City Hall plus the bonus of one of the more experienced dancers deciding to teach me to dance. I’m told I show promise.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to wear the correct dance clothes from head to toe. Most tea dances or social dance afternoons offer a mixture of ballroom, Latin and sequence dancing, and the session lasts around 3½ hrs. That’s a long time to dance full on and for anyone thinking it’s just a saunter around a room you couldn’t be more wrong. There is so much to learn and remember and some of the dances can be taxing so, if you’re thinking of dancing for most of the time it’s not difficult to work up a sweat. Let’s take a look at some ballroom dance clothes ideas.

Ballroom Dance Shoes: Your feet will hurt for the first few sessions in the early stages of learning for all the obvious reasons. Even if you are used to wearing heels, stick to 2in heels or under to start with. I’m basing this advice on my own personal experience and as someone who was used to wearing heels for long periods of time. The open-toed sandal styles are lovely, but it has taken regular beatings and torture on my poor feet along with weekly holes appearing in the toes of my quite expensive tights to make me seriously consider a change in footwear until I gain a little more experience.

My teacher, Alf, dances a dance the way it should be done and certain dances demand long, graceful and beautiful strides, eg: foxtrot. I’m not complaining, but my poor toes have suffered enough so I have invested in what are called character-style shoes. Full shoes, made of soft leather, with a Spanish-look to them and so comfy to wear, and on top of that a quick nudge on my feet by the man goes unnoticed, although these days it’s a heck of a lot less than it used to be. They are available in a range of great colours as well, so perfect if you want to match them to a favourite outfit. I’ve also invested in a closed-toed sandal style as well. Different skirts and lengths look better with some styles of shoes more than others. Ballroom dance shoes do not come cheap, but you do get what you pay for. TIP: I have picked up some tremendous bargains on eBay, so good, in fact, that I may never pay the ludicrous price for new ballroom dance shoes ever again. I’m talking new as well. People sell for many different reasons, so perfect for anyone just starting out. However, as someone who has been a standard size 5 all my adult life, I’ve discovered that it’s best to go up half a size when buying the Superdance ballroom shoes.

Whether you prefer a dress to a skirt and top is a personal preference. To be fair, although trousers are OK, not many people wear them. Important to remember is there are lots of twirls and swirls in ballroom dancing so, unless you are really young with legs to die for, please bear this in mind. You will need to make sure your outfit has a slight flair or some give around the bottom, allowing you the freedom to take the long strides that are required in some of the dances. There are some lovely styles of skirt that you can go for away from the norm that will have you feeling and looking great. Skater-style dresses look good, too, as they have a slight flair in them, but make sure they’re not too mini.

Even if you are going to a special dinner dance and will be seriously dressing up, the rules for wearing the right dance clothes are still the same. Ensure there is some give and/or flair in the dress and wear shoes that will support you dancing all night. Ignore this at your peril and ruin a good evening.

By following these tips to choosing the correct dance clothes and ballroom dance shoes, you will not only be fashionable, look fabuous, but comfortable – the most important factor in any type of dancing! Ballroom Dance Steps

WALTZ – A dance that became popular in the UK in 1912, it was one of the first where the male dancer held his partner close with his arm around her. Now one of ballroom’s most popular and romantic dances, usually the first dance for a newly married couple. An ideal dance to learn for beginners because of its slow tempo and basic steps. Once they have mastered it, a couple will be able to add those little extra moves that turn this dance into something special. Always has been, and always will be the dance to hold the one you love at the end of a night.

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