Everyone has their own preferences for shoes. I want my shoes to grip a little and also slide well. Floor surfaces can vary widely. For lindy hop, I look for a dance shoes with short heels (1.5 inches) or boots. For balboa, I prefer a vintage-inspired shoe with a low heel (1.5-2 inches). I recommend keeping heels at 3 inches or less for balboa. There are a lot of great short heel and flat options for balboa these days. Follows in particular need a sole that isn’t too sticky for spins. Spinning with sticky soles can wreak havoc on knees and ankles. A lot of swing dancers like to wear shoes they find at any regular shoe store but there are many great swing dance shoe companies out there these days. I often add insoles and cushions to make my feet more comfortable. If I buy regular shoes, there are things I can do to make the soles more slick. I elaborate more on adjusting the sole below. You can expect a good pair of dance shoes to cost you around $150-250. A lot of the great companies are overseas so you will have shipping fees as well. I find many of my swing shoes at the websites below.
Dance shoe company options:
www.saintsavoy.com (lindy hop and balboa) Vintage-inspired shoes for men and for women with multiple heel options. These shoes have a nice amount of cushion under the ball of the foot. These are my shoes of choice for lindy hop.
www.volareshoes.com (lindy hop and balboa) Very cute vintage styles with multiple heel height options. I have not tried these myself but I consistently hear how comfortable they are.
www.balboazinshoes.com (balboa and lindy hop - custom) Vintage-inspired and comfy custom shoes for women; Men’s loafers.
www.swivells.com/en (lindy hop) Ankle boots and derbies. So cute and comfy! These are great for slick and sticky floors.
www.swing-it.eu (lindy hop and balboa) Shoes for men and for women. Vintage heels, boots, and derbies. The boots I prefer are from here. Highly recommend them. Light, flexible, and comfy.
www.remixvintageshoes.com (balboa and lindy hop) Vintage shoes for men and women
www.fromchloehong.com (balboa and lindy hop) These come from Korea. Check the sizing section for the right fit. Chloe often goes to ILHC and brings her shoes to try on there. Chloe sells great clothing and vintage/custom suits also!
www.swinginshoes (lindy hop) Boots and derbies for everyone in a variety of color options. Custom shoes options available.
www.dancestore.com (lindy hop and balboa) These are good starter shoes
www.discountdance.com (balboa – the shoes I love are Very Fine) These are lower end ballroom shoes. Very comfy, light, and affordable. You can find various styles on Amazon.
www.worldtonedance.com (balboa) These are higher end ballroom shoes
www.fuegodance.com (lindy hop) Dance sneakers and hightops
www.swaydshoes.com (lindy hop and west coast) Dance sneakers
www.pulsedance.com (lindy hop) Dance sneakers
www.taygra.shoes (lindy hop) Dance sneakers
Regular shoe options:
www.keds.com (lindy hop) Canvas sneakers are a staple of lindy hop dancing. Keds are great quality canvas shoes. Soles can be very sticky. I recommend taking them to a cobbler. You can also try out different brands of canvas shoes for soles that aren’t as sticky. Some, like Toms and Grasshoppers, often have better soles for dancing without major adjustments.
Chelsea Crew (balboa) I love these shoes and the manmade sole works great for slick and sticky floors. The inventory changes often so shoe styles I used to recommend are no longer available. If you find a style you like, buy many of them at once. You can find these on Amazon.
Adjusting the sole:
If you are buying regular shoes (“street” shoes) you may want to make the sole more slick for pivoting and spinning. A lot of swing dancers like to have chrome leather (suede) on the bottom of their shoes. Chrome leather picks up wax and dirt from the floor and becomes slicker over time as you wear it. You can use cement or a wire brush to scrape off the wax if they become too slick. Some dancers prefer hard leather on the soles of their shoes, which can be even slicker than chrome leather. A cobbler can do both of these things for you. You can also buy chrome leather and glue it to the bottom of your shoe.
A really cheap option for making your sole slick is duct tape. I generally add the duct tape lengthwise down the shoe rather than across, but it has been years since I have used it. Across may work better. I have heard of people using Moleskin also on the soles of shoes, which is very slick. In a pinch, another temporary option is to use clear medical tape. Again, you can buy this for a few dollars at the drug store. I place a few strips right to left directly over the ball of the foot for spinning. It usually lasts only one night of dancing but it won’t stick as permanently to your shoes as duct tape if you decide you don’t want it on there any longer.
Arch support:
I personally can’t dance for long without arch support of some kind. For my balboa heels I love this Superfeet orthotic that you can buy on amazon.
For canvas shoes I usually buy a cheap arch support like this one that you can buy at the local drug store. I buy slightly larger shoes so that I can fit the arch support in the shoes with my feet.
Further resources:
One really great resource on Facebook is the group “Women’s Swing Dance Shoes Hunt!” You can find shoes here and also get lots of great information about how shoes fit, what other dancers like, etc. https://www.facebook.com/groups/819377521406334/
For men there is a similar group called “The Gentleman’s Corner Shoe Exchange”. https://www.facebook.com/groups/204522953626337/