Dorothy knows best: the right shoes are everything

Having the right footwear can really make or break an act. From my perspective it’s more important that you feel comfortable on stage than have the highest or sparkliest shoes around. Honestly, the amount of performers I’ve seen look pained onstage……When you look like you are in pain it’s uncomfortable for both you and the audience.

Solution? Get yourself some good footwear.

There are plenty of cheap dance shoes on Ebay. Or of course you can go and pick up a pair of heels at your local store. But I’d recommend splashing out on proper heels from a dance store. It’s perhaps not as exciting as a sparkly bra or a nice boa, but investing a bit upfont will save your wallet and your feet in the long run.

A good nude character shoe is a staple.

You can’t go wrong with some classic character dance shoes in nude. You don’t need to go for the little girl ones - you can grab a 2.5” or 3” heel. So it’s not a towering stiletto - but I challenge you to be more comfortable or at ease on stage.

I find if you have just one pair of shoes (unless all your costumes are black!) to splurge on, get them in a nude colour.

The sucky element of this is that dance companies are only really slowly catching up with the idea that nude shoes need to be different for everyone. My nude or tan is not going to be yours. (GASP)

Solution: Most dance shoes are fine to be spray painted or can take on a colour change shoe paint. This can be a good solution if you need to get a customised colour or a better nude. Or better still ,breathe some life into some old shoes or a pair of secondhand ones with a quick coating.

But my plea to the major dance shoe brands. It’s the 21st century people. Can we all get some new nudes please?

Want some Pleasers?

Sure. But pick the right pair. Don’t run before you can walk. I would definitely steer away from the extreme platforms and go with a more moderate platform toe and something with an ankle strap or a boot style. They will keep you a bit more stable if you aren’t used to dancing in them.

And there are lots of burlesque and pole artists that do bulk orders for Pleaser shoes - do some research in your State or Territory. This is a great way to support a local business -but often to get a better deal.

Or do a quick Google search for any discount codes that might be going. I find there is always something on offer!

On a massive budget?

Okay before you hit up Ebay for cheap quality ballroom shoes (we’ve all been there! No shame!), I’d definitely suggest checking out your local Facebook marketplace, Gumtree (or Ebay) for some second hand dance shoes. At the moment a lot of people are doing some de clutters of their homes, so it can also be worth just popping the word out to your own networks and see what is about.

If you have a local dance studio check out if they are having any clean outs You will be surprised by the deals you can grab as dancers can go through shoes quite quickly or have shoes that have just been used on performance days that they are ready to retire.

Wider feet or problem feet?

I get a lot of students that complain about mainstream brands not catering for wider feet or for older bodies that need a lot of support - either for injury recovery or just needing more stability in their range of motion.

If you need really supportive footwear or have a wider foot, Big W’s “Grosby’ range is not a bad budget option. Kmart and Williams will also have in store some of their ‘comfort’ ranges that will have more padding in the shoe and a bit of a wider fit. Often these are just shoes designed for people in professions where they are on their feet all day. But they’ll double up well for a dance class. I’m not going to kid you and pretend that they are the sexiest out there (you might want to try a little rhinestone action on the heels to jazz them up a bit!) - but they will do the job.