I'm currently in the market for a pair of dance shoes. I need something that is not too slick, read leather soled shoes, to ensure nothing unfortunate happens during one of my dips. I would like something with some spin to it, as I've been wearing normal shoes to dance since I started (excluding the short lived Blyers days...), and I believe that has paritally created my style, if you can call it that :P . Hrm, other than that, I don't really have anything against or for split sole vs regular.
Should I shop local, or is there some amazing deal that is on the web?

Thanks,
Jonesin' to Swing

A few of us where Johnston and Murphy dress cap toes with Blyers in soles.

I also have a pair of Blochs. I actually wear three different pairs of shoes, it depends on the venue.

For the dances, dress shoes or Blochs. Depends on the venue and my mood.

For nightclubs, I wear street shoes. Frankly, when I am at Antones or Egans, I am not big fan bringing in "dance" shoes. That being said, it is good to have at least one pair of street shoes that you can dance in if you had to.

For dance class, usually Blochs.

My solution these days is to chrome everything. I don't like the Bloch jazz sneakers, but some people do...

I found that it's really easy to chrome your own shoes. You can buy blocks of suede leather at Michaels (like 6$ a sheet), and get some general epoxy like Barge Cement or E600. Just cut a general outline with 1/2" extra, glue both shoe & leather, wait a few minutes, press them together, then trim.

Hence, you can wear sneakers, which provide greater support/comfort, or you can even chrome dress shoes with rubber soles... Steven Mitchell would recommend just wearing leather soled dress shoes, but I find the Fed floor too live for these, and such shoes lacking cushion for long bouts of dancing.

The Aris Allen's, at dancestore.com are all very very popular. I'm currently breaking in my loafers. :<3: I love them. :<3: They're not as slick as HARD leather, and somehow they give you just the right amount of stick and slick. The floors I dance on here are very very slick, and there hasn't been an accident as of yet!!!!

From the dancestore website:
We carry the Aris Allen line of dance shoes because they are designed by swing dancers who understand the need for a shoe that allows you that is stylish, performance-oriented AND affordable.

The soles on these shoes are specially designed to let you feel the floor while being able to execute the manuvers swing dancing requires without sticking like you will with ordinary athletic shoes. Because of their thick cushioning and flexible soles they perform better than ordinary dress shoes.

There's a reason why our pages are filled with photos of some of the top swing dancers in the U.S. wearing these shoes. These are the shoes they wear because they are a dream to dance in

loafers: http://dancestore.com/1aaloafer.html
captoes: http://dancestore.com/1aacaptoe.html

I'll second Mike's suggestion of chroming a pair of shoes that fit you well, and add that if you want some extra traction, don't chrome the back half of the shoe - that way you can just put your heels down if you start to slip in a dip.

Careful with the split soles. I'm still putting my knees back together after mine. I talked to some people about it, and apparantly the front block is too short for a lot of guy's feet. It makes you carry your weight weird and does nasty things to your knees. If you don't have that problem, they're good shoes.

For chroming, I prefer the suede at the Tandy Leather Store, which is in the little shopping center just south of Capital Plaza on 35. They have a bunch of different kinds of suede, at a bunch of different prices. You can either buy it in large-ish sheets (in which case you can share with friends, or stockpile it for when you need to re-chrome your soles), or dig through the bargain boxes at the front of the store for pieces that are large enough to cover the soles of your shoes. You can also buy tubes of barge cement there.

I like it better because it's not as thick as the stuff you get at Michael's, and therefore it's more pliable. For me, that made it much easier to work with, especially when I got to the trimming part.

Weird, the stuff I got at Michael's seemed pretty thin and easy to cut. Mabye there's a different part of the store with some different types....

I didn't know you could get the Barge Cement there! How much was it? I paid a little under $5 for it at the Austin Shoe Hospital.

What do you guys use to trim the leather? I have an exacto knife that works pretty well, but it's slow. But I did just get an Olfa cutting mat for Roatary cutting, and can probably speed things along now by being able to put them on the mat instead of holding them while cutting.

Susan

If the leather is thin enough, you can just use scissors... that's why I like the thinner suede.

Though if you need, I've leather shears.

yeah, like shears made of leather would actually cut something. Good suggestion jeremy.

Kind of like a "sickle of leather" (used for spices).

The suede I have is pretty thick. Scissors usually just end up bending it. The exacto knife really does a good job of getting close, I just get impatient.

ah grasshopper. a true pair of chromed leather shoes requires training to achieve the proper balance of glue and leather, yin and yang, chi and uh...other stuff.

you must learn patience to reach shoe nirvana.

And how long has it been since you've danced in a pair of chromes...for more than a couple times running?

eh. i put in my 2 years perdition. I can speak about the dangers and joys of chrome.

I do have to say, the Fed floor felt wonderful in fresh chrome.

I have a new tube of barge cement, and resoled my regular ballroom shoes (which are getting absolutely HAMMERED) last night. I have one other pair to glue, and then I am done for a while. I can only take so much on the fumes. Not as pleasant as the rubber cement high...

Susan

i recommend sharpee or spraypaint.

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Extacy's ok with me.
On Airplane Glue you sneeze--Achoo!
Mowhawk girl with a needle in her neck
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but to try to hunt it down is a pain in the ass

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