Heels Dance: the shoes you really need for your first class

You’ve booked your first heels dance class. In a few days’ time, you’ll feel strong, elegant and a little daring – provided your shoes let you express that. Ordinary high heels from a shoe shop may look similar, but they’re designed for something else: a stroll to a restaurant, not for turns, pirouettes, weight shifts and movements on the floor.

Three things define a genuine heels dance shoe: a suede or chrome-leather sole that allows you to turn on the studio floor without putting strain on your knees. A heel that withstands lateral pressure rather than buckling inwards. And a secure fit around the ankle that gives you support when you shift your weight. On this page, you’ll find out which design suits you best, what heel height makes sense for beginners, and how to recognise a shoe that still feels comfortable even after your third lesson.

Dance boots or open-heeled shoes: which suits you best

Two styles have become established in Heels Dance. Choosing between them is the first decision you should make, as it affects how confident you’ll feel during your first few lessons.

Dance boots enclose the ankle and are laced up. They provide lateral support for your ankle and are more forgiving if your technique isn’t quite there yet. For your first class and for technique lessons, this is the safer choice – you can concentrate on the movement rather than constantly trying to find your balance.

The open-toe dance heel sits lower and looks more elegant. It allows your foot more freedom of movement, but requires stronger foot muscles. It makes sense once you’ve been dancing for a few months or if you need a specific look for a performance.

We currently stock significantly more boots than open-toe styles in our Heels Dance collection. The reason is simple: in the classes our customers attend, there’s a lot of work on the floor and a lot of weight-shifting involved. In this context, ankle support is more important than elegance – at least until your technique is solid and you feel confident enough to swap protection for style.

Why heels dance boots extend above the ankle

In heels dance, you often shift your weight abruptly to the side and backwards. With a classic pump, the entire lateral load rests on your ankle joint. A laced shaft helps to distribute this load across the lower leg muscles. This has two effects: you stand more securely, and you tire later. This makes a noticeable difference, particularly in your first lesson, when you don’t yet know which muscles to engage and when.

A second effect is visual: the shaft elongates the line of the leg. In choreographies that rely on body lines, this is an intentional part of the look. But let’s be honest: this aspect only comes into play once you feel confident enough to think about lines.

Why many styles have an open toe

The open toe isn’t just a fashion detail, but a training aid. You can see and feel where your toes are. This gives you real control, particularly during floor exercises and when aligning your foot – you can correct your position without having to look down.

There’s also a practical aspect: with a closed toe, your toes constantly bump against the front of the shoe when wearing high heels. Not only is this uncomfortable, it also takes the joy out of moving. With an open toe, the forefoot remains relieved of pressure, and you can concentrate on the choreography rather than your aching toes.

Heels dance boots, pole heels and salsa shoes are not the same thing.

These three types of shoes look similar in photos and are regularly confused with one another. We often find that customers come in with their salsa shoes or search online for pole heels because they believe they are the same thing. They are not. The difference lies in the sole and the construction, and it is not merely cosmetic.

Pole heels have a high platform sole and usually a transparent plastic upper. The platform is useful for pole dancing because it protects the foot against the pole. In Heels Dance, however, it’s a hindrance: it takes away your feel for the floor and makes turns less precise. We deliberately do not stock pole heels, and if you come to us asking for them, we’ll tell you so straight away.

Salsa and Latin dance shoes also have a chrome leather sole, but they have a narrower, often inward-tilted heel and a significantly lighter construction. This is suitable for salsa because the movements are different. In Heels Dance, however, you’ll lack lateral support, and you’ll notice the difference immediately when shifting your weight.

Heels Dance boots combine a flexible dance sole with a stable heel and a laced upper. If you already dance salsa and want to bring your own shoes, please check with your class. They’re usually fine for a taster session, but not for regular training – and not because we want to sell you something, but because otherwise you’ll end up with aching knees after three hours.

Heel height: 7.5, 8.5 or 9.5 centimetres

In our Heels Dance collection, you’ll find three heel heights: 7.5, 8.5 and 9.5 centimetres. The majority of styles are 9.5 centimetres high, as this is the height used in most heels classes.

Nevertheless, we recommend 7.5 centimetres for your first class. A difference of two centimetres may sound small, but it significantly alters the angle of the ankle joint and, consequently, the amount of strength you need to stabilise yourself. Starting with a lower heel height helps you master proper technique more quickly, build confidence in your own balance and later move up to higher heels with ease. We see this time and time again: customers who start with 7.5 centimetres enjoy dancing more after three months than those who start straight away with 9.5 and feel nothing but uncertainty during the first few weeks.

A piece of honest advice: if 7.5 centimetres still seem too high to you, there’s no need to rush. Instead, start with a dance shoe from our ‘heels up to 5 cm’ category, build up your balance and switch later. A shoe in which you feel unsteady takes away the joy of movement – and that’s exactly what we want to give you, not take away.

A simple test here in our boutique: stand on your tiptoes in the shoe and hold the position for three seconds. If you can do this in a controlled manner, the height is right for you. If you wobble or need to hold on to something, we’ll choose a lower-heeled style. It’s as simple as that.

Incidentally, we explain how heel height is measured and why two shoes with the same specification can appear to be different heights in our article ‘How is the heel height of dance shoes measured?’.

The sole determines your safety

The sole is the feature that most clearly distinguishes dance shoes from street shoes. Our Heels Dance boots have a chrome leather, suede or dance sole. These soles are designed to glide across the studio floor when you turn and provide grip when you’re standing still. That might sound obvious, but it isn’t.

Why a rubber sole is dangerous

A rubber sole grips the floor. When you initiate a turn, the shoe doesn’t turn with you. The torque is then transferred to your knee, as it is the nearest joint that can give way. This is precisely what causes the typical knee problems experienced by dancers who train in street shoes. We’ve seen this far too often: clients come to us after their first lesson with sore knees and tell us they’d been dancing in their normal high heels. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Many studios also ban dark rubber soles because they leave marks on the parquet floor. But even if your studio doesn’t ban them, your knees will thank you if you start off with the right sole straight away.

We discuss in detail which sole is best for which surface, and why patent leather and suede glide differently, under ‘Chrom-Suede Leather Soles’ or ‘Smooth Leather Soles’.

An important point to note: do not wear your Heels-Dance boots on the street. Damp and tarmac will ruin a suede sole in just a few wears, rendering the shoe unusable for the studio. Carry the shoes in a bag and change into them when you arrive. Everyone does this, and it means your shoes will last much longer.

Fit and width: where most people get it wrong

A heeled dance boot should fit snugly but not pinch. ‘Snug’ means your foot doesn’t slide forwards in the boot when you shift your weight. If it does, your toes will hit the front of the boot with every step, and after twenty minutes it won’t be the boot that hurts, but your foot. Then even the most beautiful choreography won’t matter, because all you’ll be thinking about is your aching toes.

How to tell which width suits you: Does your foot often slide forwards in normal closed shoes, even when the length is right? Then you probably need . Do closed shoes often pinch you on the sides of the ball of your foot, even though the length fits? Then G is the right choice. If you’re unsure, our article ‘What does shoe width actually mean for dance shoes?’ will help – or simply pop in. Three points to check when trying on shoes:

• The heel area fits without you having to tighten the laces.
• There should be about half a centimetre of space in front of your longest toe, even when you shift your weight forwards.
• The upper should fit snugly around the ankle without cutting in.

A practical tip: try them on in the late afternoon. Feet are measurably larger in the evening than in the morning, and you rarely dance at eight o’clock in the morning. If the shoe fits in the evening, it’ll fit in class too.