Ideally, wear shoes that have a leather sole or a soft sole. For ladies, wear a shoe that you can comfortably walk in and can wear without injury. Avoid wearing shoes with rubber soles (tennis shoes, hiking boots), stilettos, and shoes without backs (flip flops, sliders, clogs).
If you want to dance regularly or competitively, we encourage you to invest in a pair of practice shoes or heels. The soles of ballroom shoes are made of felt which allow for greater speed and strides. Practice shoes for men and women have heels no higher than 1” or 1.5”. Practice heels add height and add to the aesthetics of dance lines. For your first pair of ladies’ practice heels, purchase a shoe that is no taller than 2.5”.
