As promised, here is the full (if slightly belated) report on my dance shoes’ tripping the light fantastic into the CYC Day Spa! (If you want the seriously truncated version, look here.)
You must be wondering, “Lindy, why would you want to change your dance shoes??” Here’s the reason: I’ve not been active in ballroom dancing for a couple of years, but (fortunately) I’ve held on to my ballroom shoes, all of which are the usual gold-tone satin color. However, I wanted them to look more like fashion shoes, rather than dancing shoes per se. Hence the makeover!
A word (or several) about dancing shoes: First, in ballroom dancing (particularly for competition), women typically wear shoes that are more or less skin-tone, to visually extend the line of the leg. Second, shoes made specifically for ballroom are constructed differently than street shoes (and they’re never worn on the street, only on dance floors). They have suede soles to slide on the dance floor and make smooth pivoting possible. And third, in the case of shoes for the Latin dances ( cha cha cha, rumba, samba, jive, and paso doble), like the ones I’ve used in this project, the soles are extremely flexible, which facilitates toe-pointing.
My Latin dancing shoes before their makeover:
Dance shoes, pre-makeover: The classic ballroom gold satin is pretty, but it’s time for a change!
Changing Your Clothes 