10 Best Ballroom Dancing Shoes for Beginners

So you’ve decided to start ballroom dancing? Congratulations! Now that you’ve taken the plunge and booked in at your first lesson, it’s time to get the appropriate clothing. In this review we’ll be focussing on the best ballroom shoes for beginners.

There are 5 main dance styles under the umbrella of ‘ballroom dancing’; Waltz, Viennese Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot or Quickstep. Over time this has expanded to over more styles of dance such as American Smooth and Lindy-Hop.

Whichever dance style you’ll be dipping your toe into, it’s important to dress appropriate for class. As well as looking good, your dance shoes should give you protection, support and durability.

But, the most important factor when choosing the right ballroom shoes (especially as a beginner) is comfort!

Choosing the Best Ballroom Shoes for Beginners

The ballroom shoes we’ll be reviewing are all excellent for beginners and all available to purchase online. We’ll be including a range of prices and styles to suit everyone’s needs.

But, we realise not everyone wants to spend money on shoes, especially if you’re just testing out ballroom dancing for a lesson.

So, if you’re looking to save money and choose something you already have, here are a few rules of thumb.

General Rules to Follow:

Try and avoid open toe. As beginners, you’re likely to get trodden on regularly, protect your toes with covered shoes.
No backless shoes. Your shoes must be snug to your feet at all times, if you’re wearing backless shoes they’re likely to slide off every other turn or kick.
Keep the heel low. It’s tempting to want to put on your best, flashy heels for ballroom dancing because they look so elegant. Keep the heel small, even if you’re used to wearing them. We will include heels in our review, but they’ll be small, so they’re suitable for novices.

Best Closed-toe Ballroom Shoes for Beginners

TDA Womens T-Strap Glitter Dance Shoes

First up on our review of the best ballroom shoes, are these beautiful T-bar shoes. TDA produce high quality but affordable dance shoes for a range of different styles.

The closed toe makes them perfect for a Salsa, as they have an elegant appearance and protection for your toes.

The sole is semi-padded with medium flexibility.

The best thing about these shoes is that they are incredibly versatile. You can have them with a rubber sole, perfect for dancing outdoors or if you’re going to an event. Or, if you’re using them for dance practice you can have them with suede. The suede is soft enough to allow you to glide along the floor, but has enough traction to keep your movements fast and precise.

These shoes can be worn for Tango, Waltz, Foxtrot, Rumba, Cha Cha Cha or Samba. They’re available in so many colours that you’ll be spoilt for choice!

Another great feature of TDA, is they allow you to choose your own heel height. 10cm, 8.5cm, 8.3cm, 7.5cm, 7cm, 6cm, 5cm or 3.5cm. So no matter your confidence in heels, there’s an option for you.

Joocare Cross Strap Dance Shoes

These ballroom shoes offer amazing comfort and support. The double ankle strap means that you feel secure, without fear of them sliding off. This is a really important aspect of dancing shoes, the addition of the buckle means you can have them as tight or loose as necessary.

Joocare Cross-strap shoes also have a padded insole to protect your feet after a long session training. These really are amazing ballroom shoes for beginners.

They’re designed with a supple leather vamp and feel incredibly lightweight. To keep your feet cool; the material is brushed with a moisture absorbing lining. These professional ballroom shoes also come with a suede sole, so they’re perfect for practicing indoors.

The heel is moderate (2.5inches) enough to make you feel elegant but without causing you to twist an ankle. It is however, a thinner heel than some might like. I find the best ballroom shoes for beginners tend to have a wider circumference heel, unless you’re already confident dancing in heels.

GetMine Ballroom Dance Shoes

Now, who doesn’t love a bit of glitz? These glittery ballroom shoes by GetMine are ideal for those who want to add a bit of sparkle to their dance class.

They’re made from a faux-leather material covered in high quality sequins. These shoes are durable, comfortable and fabulous! The sole is covered in a wool material, this isn’t as ideal as suede.

But these heels do have skid resistance, this makes them perfect ballroom shoes for beginners. They also come with resistance controlled insoles, which are durable.

GetMine Dance shoes have an ankle strap, but it’s quite thin and they’ve got a 2 inch heel. So these may be better for a lady more confident in heels.

They’re available in Black, Gold and Silver and they’re suitable for many dance styles such as Latin, Salsa, Tango, Rumba, Foxtrot, Quickstep and Cha Cha Cha.

Lovely Beauty Ballroom Dance Shoes

If you’ve got a long night of dancing ahead of you, these are amazing ballroom dancing shoes for beginners. They’ve got a small and wide heel, for hours of dancing.

These are great for more casual dance practices and come in four fun designs; Denim blue, Lipstick print, Tan and Black. The fact they’ve got a 1.4inch, non-slip heel and suede soles makes them perfect for ballroom dancing. The suede sole is thick (2.5mm) so its more durable than other suede soles.

In terms of support, these are excellent. They’ve got elasticated criss-cross straps so they sit snug to your feet like a sock.

These are the perfect shoes for Latin, Quickstep, Viennese Waltz, Salsa, Tango, Waltz, Foxtrot, Rumba, Cha Cha Cha, Swing, Samba and Jive!

The lining is breathable and moisture absorbing.

GetMine Ballroom Dance

Another great pair of ballroom shoes for beginners, from GetMine. These are similar in function to the glittery pair above, but have a 2.2 inch heel if you’re feeling a bit more brave!

These have an elegant appearance, made of satin fabric and bright PU. They’re available in either Black and Gold or Black, Red and Gold for a splash of colour.

For those of you that have worn GetMine shoes before, they’re perfect for ballroom. That’s why We’ve included two pairs in our review. They come with a non-slip suede sole which is perfect for practicing on wooden or cement dance floors. You’ll be able to glide along the floor with grace, but the suede also has amazing skid resistance and balance.

For amazing comfort, they have cushioned insoles which don’t suppress easily. You can easily add another insole of your own as well, if you require more cushioning.

We reckon these are for a more confident beginner, the heel is reasonably high and thin, and the criss cross straps are slim. It would still be possible to twist an ankle in these, so if you’re purchasing these shoes for your first lesson, do take care.

Best Open-toe Ballroom Shoes For Beginners

Now, all the of shoes we’ve discussed this far are suitable for Latin, and we would recommend them all if you prefer a closed-toe dancing shoe.

We’ve simply separated the two by open-toe and closed-toe. The one’s we’ll talk about here are not really suitable for other ballroom dancing styles, other than Latin.

TTDancewear Latin Dance Shoes

These show-stopping Latin dance shoes are covered in beautiful rhinestones and perfect for beginners. TTDancewear make amazing shoes in many different styles. We’ve chosen these for our list because they’re available in so many different colours, Black, Nude, Red, Gold and more! But be sure to look at more of their range online.

These open-toed dance shoes have a 2.5inch heel as standard but you can also request a 3inch heel if you’d prefer. The heel is slim, but they have great traction on the bottom.

These are amazing ballroom shoes for beginners, they’re extremely comfortable and need barely any break-in time. As needed, the sole is flexible to really exaggerate your point.

JZNX Latin Ballroom Shoes

JZNX have made an extremely well rated pair of Latin dance shoes. As with other shoes in their range, they’re made with quality materials,manufacturing and design. The material is a lovely satin, with a sweat absorbing inner liner.

They have perfected the sizing of the shoes, so you can order your street size and know they’ll fit perfectly. As said by many people, they’re much comfier than other Latin shoes, which makes them perfect for beginners

The sole is made from a soft, suede leather and it’s very flexible. The sole is also thin enough that it feels like you’re barefoot, whilst in-fact having a cushioned insole for support. Amazingly, they don’t require much breaking in and are comfortable straight out of the box, this is a real winner if you’ve got your first dance lesson soon.

They’re available in a choice two colours, either Black or Nude.

Capezio Rosa Ballroom Shoe

Capezio is a well-renowned dancewear brand for creating quality ballroom shoes, and these shoes certainly live up to their reputation. We’ve added these to the review as a more simple pair of Latin shoes, if you’re not wanting to go all-out glitz, on your first dance class.

Rosa Ballroom shoe comes with a 2.5inch, flared heel and shank for support. The shoes feature folded edges, padded collar and achilles notch for ultimate comfort. The shank is ¾ length in size, this gives the shoes amazing flexibility.

These shoes are also extremely comfortable as they’ve got a cushioned insole. They’ve got criss-cross ankle straps and a slender buckle which ensures the perfect fit. The buckle

As well as being comfortable and supportive, Capezio know how to make a durable pair of dance shoes. If you’re taking care of the leather sole, the shoes will last a while.

They’re available in either a satin material in Camel colour (comes out as a light pinkish tone), or Black PU leather.

Capezio Eva

Here we’ve got the second in our list of Capezio, open-toed ballroom shoes. These come with a 2.5inch heel, which is flared to give a bit more stability. They’ve got similar characteristics as the pair above, quality suede sole and around the foot straps. The sole moves smoothly on the dancefloor, as it should.

The material is a soft PU leather, either Black or Camel satin. Having a ‘quick release’ buckle, makes these shoes perfect for your first ballroom performance. It’s secure and adjustable.

They’re lightweight, with a great shank and excellent heel support. We recommend these shoes to be worn for Latin, but they can also be used for many different ballroom dance styles.

Best Ballroom Shoes for Beginners - The Verdict

We think the best ballroom shoes for beginners, are the GetMine ballroom dance shoes. The sparkly surface of the top is beautiful, and perfect for the ballroom.

GetMine is an amazing brand for latin shoes or any other ballroom, but especially for beginners.

You can be confident that your feet will be protected and the low, wide heel keeps you stable. Their quick connect buckle makes them easy to take on and off. We’re certain these glittery ballroom shoes will get you tons of compliments.

Thank you for reading our review of the best ballroom dancing shoes for beginners.

We hope you found a your perfect pair of ballroom heels from our list. If you have, check out this great article on how your ballroom shoes should fit and how to properly care for ballroom shoes.

If you’ve got your first class coming up, check out the video below for some basic Waltz moves, these will get you feeling confident and ready. Good luck in your dance journey ahead!

FAQ's

What is the Best Type of Sole for Ballroom Shoes?

The difference between dance shoes and normal shoes, is the sole. A really important aspect of ballroom dancing is the ability to freely glide along the floor. To manage this, you’ll need to make sure the sole of your shoes is the correct material.

Rubber

Rubber has a lot of traction, this can be good for fast-paced dances such as the quickstep or even Foxtrot. But it must be the correct style of rubber, with limited traction.

Too much traction and you’ll be sticking to the floor, unable to spin or move freely. Rubber soles are handy if you’re planning on dancing outside as it will not wear down like a suede sole will.

Suede

Suede soles are perfect for wooden or polished dance floors, they assist you in moving quickly and with twists and spins. However, they’re not always the most suitable option.

You’ll need to be aware of the material you’ll be dancing on, if it’s a sticky material it may damage suede soles. Alternatively, if the floor is over-polished, you’ll be skating on ice.

The best ballroom shoes will suit the floor that you’re working on, so go check out the space before you make a purchase!

Depth

The deeper the sole, the less flexibility you’ll have in the shoe. For many ballroom and Latin dances, it’s important that you can fully point your foot. The best ballroom or latin shoes will have a thinner sole, to enable you to do this.

You want the shoes to move with your feet to exaggerate your point, for this you’ll need a thinner sole. This can be uncomfortable for some people who require a bit more support, so we’ll show you a range of thicker and thinner soles to suit your needs.

What is the Difference Between Latin Shoes and Standard Ballroom Shoes?

Latin dance shoes are traditionally open-toed, strappy heels. The heel can range from 1-3 inches depending on your preference.

The partner footwork in Latin dancing means that there is less chance of toe-stepping, this is why it is not required to have closed toe shoes. The sole of the shoes in Latin is also very supple, this means the shoe follows your foot and shows off your point.

If you’re practicing multiple styles of ballroom and latin, but you only want to commit to 1 pair of shoes. It’s recommended to choose a Latin style.

Ladies ballroom shoes will usually be closed toe, as it is easier for your partner to trod on your toes.

Now we’ve discussed what you can look for, let’s get started on the best ballroom shoes for beginners!

Where to Buy Ballroom Dance Shoes?

Dance wear stores are few and far between, that’s why lot’s of people are now heading online to buy dance shoes.

Just like anything else online, there are a number of websites to choose from. Amazon is always a great option because you can read other people opinions on the product, this way you know whether the ballroom shoes will be durable, true to size, and suitable for ballroom.

From here you can search by ‘Top Rated ad Reviewed’.

Best Ballroom Dancing Shoes for Beginners