Looking for your next pom, jazz or lyrical shoes? Look no further, we have a range of recommendations for you, plus we give you links to find more inclusive dance shoes for more skin tones, and vegan shoes. CFHTT Dance Writer Emma has had seven years of testing many out and she gives you a list of her favourites, from cheap too expensive dance footwear that will perform all season.
My favourite dance shoes (Pom, Lyrical and Jazz)
I’m Emma and I am delighted to be writing up some more dance content for Cheer From Head to Toe. I was introduced to this world in 2010 when my school started up a Pom team which I was never on but I really loved watching them. I started Performance Cheer in 2012 at university at UEA and fell in love with it, working very hard to learn everything I could. I went from a reserve in my first year to eventually president of cheerleading dance in my final year. On graduating and moving to London, I felt I still had more to learn and achieve so I joined the Sparks Allstars Pom, Jazz and Lyrical teams in 2016 and have been very happy there ever since. I have competed in Pom, Jazz and Lyrical over the last seven years (I wish I was cool enough for hip hop – it might happen yet!).
I’m a marketer for financial services businesses in the City of London, where I live with my Scottish boyfriend, and my cats.
I’m lucky enough to live in London (in case you couldn’t tell by the intro) which means every time I buy new shoes, it’s down to the dance shops in Covent Garden I go to wear, try and judge alllll of them – I am very lucky. In non COVID times anyway. I’ve metaphorically kissed a few frogs over the years and found my perfect dance shoes. Make sure to also check these shoes out on www.dancewearcentral.co.uk or www.dancewearsolutions.com as they can often come up cheaper and I would always recommend bulk ordering for a team if you can because you can sometimes get deals. Worth noting dance shoes tend to come up small. I am normally a ladies shoe size 3, but I wear a 5 or 5.5 when wearing dance shoes.
Bloch Pulse Leather Jazz Shoes
£44 (But make sure to check the websites mentioned above!)
Black and Tan. I’ve had this shoe for three years for jazz and lyrical and I love them so much. Perfectly moulded to your foot, supports my arches well and never budged – just feels like it’s part of my foot. They worked perfectly for me on floorings at Legacy and Future Cheer, BCA I remember the soles feeling a tiny bit on the slippy side compared to my pom shoes but nothing I couldn’t control. The lack of a heel means it wouldn’t be my shoe of choice for Pom (this has no solid heel and I personally like having a little more support under my heel in Pom) but the lack of a heel actually really helps with accentuating lines.
Bloch Neo Flex slip on leather dance shoe
Bloch Neo Flex slip on leather dance shoe
£34 (but cheaper on Move Dancewear! Capezio and So Danca also have similar styles to the Neo Flex but I own the Bloch one)
Black and Tan. These were my previous shoes for Pom, and I was not looking to replace them as I really liked them. Sturdy, flexible, versatile – Maintained a decent sole grip for two years – perhaps too good. While it was the perfect shoe for turning at BCA and Legacy, I found the shoe stuck a little on Future Cheer floors and meant I needed slightly more power than I did in the Pulse shoes to get round for extended turn sequences. Another very slight minus is that this shoe I have sometimes found to slip during any hyperextended jumps over 90o from the floor or when I went into box split. This could be because I have tiny feet? Largely though these were really amazing shoes.
Bloch Ladies Elasta Jazz Bouties
between £22-£50.14
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bloch-Womens-Elasta-Jazz-Shoe/dp/B0041IXIME?th=1
Black. I discovered these a year ago and not to be dramatic but my life has been forever changed. It’s everything I love about the Neo Flex but the side elastic design makes the fit to the foot snugger and the minor hiccups I was having of the shoe slipping in box splits or jumps are no longer are an issue. This is my current Pom shoe and to be honest don’t think I’ll change any time soon! I only don’t have it for our lyrical team as it only comes in black. I’ve only competed on a Legacy floor with this so far (thanks COVID) so looking forward to see how it fares with the other floors! Please note this style is missing on some websites at present – I think they might currently be sold out.
Capezio Split Sole Jazz Shoe
Normally £38 on the date article is written the shoe are currently £7.20.
https://www.capezioeurope.com/split-sole-jazz-shoe
Black and Tan. I tend to choose to not have laces for convenience when dancing these days, but if you like to have laces on your dance shoes, this was the staple shoe I grew up with. I tried many lace ups before settling for this Capezio pair which had sturdy strings that wouldn’t wear over time, I like that the back doesn’t go too high on the heel – lessens chances of rubbing or irritating when pointing your toes which I found was a constant problem with other lace up styles as I was growing up.
Move Full Sole Leather Ballet Shoe
£7.50
https://www.movedancewear.com/move-dance-full-sole-leather-ballet-shoe-pink-p2614/
Black and Tan. When I was at uni, I wouldn’t have dreamed to have the more expensive dance shoes I have now. My third year of uni pom, I had a pair of ones super similar to these after a couple of years of a cheap badly made ballet shoe that fell apart after competing in them twice. I can’t prove they’re the same as the ones I have as the tag on mine has rubbed off from overuse but it looks identical and Move are a good maker of shoe! I used to compete at ICC and BCA with these (admittedly before BCA had a non-sprung dance floor) and they worked well – just make sure to wear dance tights or socks to cover the gap over the foot so you have a nice uninterrupted line!
I don’t personally use half-shoes, Turners or Footundeez, but there’s a really good selection on the Capezio and So Danca websites. There’s a lot of dancers who swear by these but I much prefer shoes! www.capezio.com www.sodanca.com if you want to have a nosy.
Looking for different skin tones?
Looking for different skin tones?
The dance industry as a whole is slow in evolving their shoe range for a variety of skin colours and to be honest the market is still lacking in many options. Please let me know if you’ve seen more elsewhere so I can update this article! While I haven’t personally tried any of these shoes, I’ve put together a list of more inclusive brands! Shout out to my friend Laura who is a pretty accurate walking dictionary when it comes to just about anything for helping me research this.
Jazz shoes beyond “tan” and “black” are pretty much impossible to get in the U.K. BUT we can order some from the US, and this beautiful Balera Slip on is $18.99 at the time of writing and comes in three different colours:
https://www.dancewearsolutions.com/shoes/jazz/b80.aspx?position=0
Ballet shoes, you have a little more choice and are stocked in the U.K. These £19 Bloch Canvas ballet shoes for instance: https://uk.blochworld.com/collections/adults-dance-shoes-ballet/products/ladies-performa-stretch-canvas-ballet-shoes-white-canvas
but the award for best variety of shades goes to Freed, who have a couple of different choices and a choice of satin or leather: https://www.freedoflondon.com/aspire-ballet-shoe-now-available-in-ballet-brown-and-ballet-bronze/ PLUS they also stock different skin colour dance socks and tights.
You can buy them here, currently on sale for £12.15: https://www.adancersworld.co.uk/freed-aspire-brown-satin-full-sole-ballet-shoe—medium-or-wide-fitting-31268-p.asp?_=&variantid=31315&gclid=CjwKCAiA_Kz-BRAJEiwAhJNY72751WrfR6_fRAskS4qZlXd9ivkPYSZAyVTK7hj16vRa3t4dtURt2hoCcbIQAvD_BwE.
Generally, though, there is a gap in the market here to do a greater variety of skin tones so if any businesses were interested in stepping in, let us know, we would be happy to support you.
Want Vegan Ballet shoes?
Yes they’re a thing and they look beautiful. Have a look at this selection on Dance Direct: https://www.dancedirect.com/dance-shoes/ballet-shoes/vegan-ballet-shoes
Hope this is helpful, remember these are my preferences over what I have tried over my lifetime for my feet: I have really tiny feet and what might work for me might not work for you! I’d recommend trying them on if at all possible, but definitely give the above a try! Disclaimer prices are correct at the time of writing.
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