2010-04-08T19:33:00.000-07:00

Shoe Hunting.
Shopping for shoes to dance in is a like a treasure hunt. One needs patience and determination. Here are some places I shop for the heels. The best one so far has been DSW (there is a good one on Powell St. in San Francisco). Most of the shoes I dance in come from there. They have a variety of styles and labels. Their prices are very good. And did I mention there is a clearance basement! There are other few places I search, Macy's and Nordstrom Rack sometimes have shoes but it always depends on what's in style. Unfortunately, this year it's platforms. If you are looking for practice shoes, go for Aerosoles. Very comfortable and now they have styles that look good :)
But be prepared to spend another $35 on re-soling them since they all have soft rubber soles.
This brings me to the next subject: Shoe adjustments.
Not all shoes are created danceable. I'm sure you've come across a pair that you loved but the heel was too high, or the soles where rubber, or the color was wrong. Well, after years of shoe shopping and dancing, I have discovered that most of these problems are easily fixed. Heels can be cut. My cobbler charges $15 for the job. Just make sure you have a good cobbler. Cutting heels is tricky and not all of them are amenable to that. Your cobbler will be able to tell you if it can be cut and by how much without destroying the integrity of the shoe. If you bring in a 4" heels and want them cut down to 2" you may as well throw them out. The arch on a 4" heeled shoe will not work for the 2". But if you need them cut down by up to 1/2", that should not be a problem.
Speaking of the arch, it's one of the most important things when you are trying on the shoes. The arch of the shoe needs to match or come extremely close to the arch of your foot when you are standing up. Otherwise, there is no support. If you can't find shoes that fit your arch, you may need to see a podiatrist and have arch supports made for you.

Well, that's it for tonight.
Pictures coming this weekend.

2010-04-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

Few weeks ago Homer put me on the spot and announced that I'll be sharing my non-tango-dance-shoe secrets with the community. I was surprised how much interest there was since there exists an unlimited resource for tango shoes all over and getting shoes made in Argentina "specially" for tango dancing is a snap. But there it was, tanguera after tanguera came to ask where they can find regular street shoes for dancing, which brands are good, how to decide heel height and thickness is best, etc. I don't know if I can answer all of them but I'll try to shed some light on at least a few.
If you are reading this and have no idea what I'm talking about, let me clarify. I dance tango on average 4 times a week and yet, I do not possess a single pair of "tango" shoes. When I started dancing, finding specialty shoes for tango was extremely difficult. Ballroom shoes had low heels and stiletto heels only came in 2" height. That meant only one thing: a hunt for a non-tango dance shoes. I love shoes!!!!! Always did. Grew up wearing heels on a daily basis. So, I had some idea about how to spot a comfortable high-heeled shoes. The challenge was now to find comfortable heels that I could dance in. Slowly, I started to realize what the requirements were.
here is the short list (I promise more details later):
1. Find your comfortable heel height
2. You need to be able to spread your toes when you are standing. This means no narrow-nosed shoes
3. They need to have a leather or non-slippery plastic sole. Although, there is a fix for rubber-soled shoes.
4. Same as with any shoes, straps come in different varieties. Figure out which you cannot wear.
5. Heel position is very important. Best place is for the point of the heel to be under the middle of the heel of the foot.

I hope this sheds some light and I promise more later.
Also, I'm thinking of organizing a shoe-swap. So, if you are in the Bay Area and have some shoes you are tired of, let me know.

Rina's Shoes