It is great to get articles and advice from our students. Here is another guest blog post from Reshma Ramjattan regarding her experience shopping for shoes. Hopefully it will save you some time and money!
“Hey TDS family,
I wanted to let you all know about something I recently experienced in hopes that you won’t make the same mistake I made. The lesson I learned is: make sure your dance shoes fit you properly!!
As a new salsa dancer, I went out in search of a pair of salsa shoes a couple weeks ago. I didn’t know too much about dance shoes, I just assumed they’re supposed to fit like regular dress shoes. I looked on the TDS website and found a place. I’m normally a 5 ½ or a 6 so I tried on the 5 ½ first and it was way too tight. The size 6 fit a big snug so I tried on a size 6 ½. To me, they fit perfectly but I wasn’t sure how dance shoes were supposed to fit but the lady assured me that they fit fine and that I’d have no problems with them. I left there very happy, not knowing what was about to happen a few days later…..
I went to my regular Sunday dance class and I found that my feet kept sliding forward in my shoes, leaving my toes to hang over the edge. I found this to be very uncomfortable so I asked one of the instructors if this was normal. She said no and suggested that I get insoles to prevent my feet from slipping. I went to a shoe repair place a couple days later and I asked for insoles and the repairman advised me that insoles wouldn’t help me because my shoes were in fact too big for me. He said that because of the material and because they’re dance shoes, I need to buy them a big snug and as I dance, they will stretch out. He also advised me that the space between my shoes and my ankles was too wide. He said that there was nothing he could do for me and that I needed to go back to the place where I bought them and get a smaller size. I called the lady from where I bought them and she said that if I want another size, I have to buy a completely new pair of shoes.
I referred back to the TDS website to see if there was another place I could try. To my delight, I found Century Wide Shoes (www.cwdanceshoes.com). The saleslady Angela greeted me with a big smile and she was very helpful and very friendly but most importantly, she took the time to make sure the shoes fit the way they’re supposed to. I left there feeling satisfied and relieved. I took a few of her business cards as I was leaving and I promised her that I’d give them to my TDS friends as I was very happy with her service. I tried the shoes in my next class and they were perfect.
My fellow dancers, when buying dance shoes, it’s important that you make sure that they fit you the right way. Make sure they are snug and there isn’t too much space in the ankle area and your toes aren’t hanging over the edge. They are supposed to fit a bit tight when you first wear them, but they will stretch out. Happy dancing!”
Written by Reshma Ramjattan
