Best Dance Shoes - Swing Dancing, Aerials, Competition

Links and Timestamps below so you can skip ahead in the video.
Still have questions? Comment below.
Practice Shoes 1:19
Aerials 2:33
Competitions 6:11
Brands 7:58
Social Dancing 13:55
Shag Shoes 16:40
Sizing and Pricing 18:55
- - All opinions are our own and are based off our own experiences and not to be taken as fact or as offensive - - -
-Music in video:
JiveMe
Sugarfoot Stomp
The Swing Shouters
Holly Street Stompers
-Dancers in Video:
Delilah and Kenny 6:50
Julie and Jeremy 8:56
Kendall and Ronnie 11:55, 16:40, 16:55
-Brands:
Madame Dynamite www.madamedyna...
Slide and Swing www.slideandsw...
Saint Savoy www.saintsavoy...
Hepcats hepcats.pl
Remix remixvintagesh...
Events Mentioned:
Camp Hollywood: camphollywood.net
Connect with us on Social Media:
/ live.collegiate.shag
/ live.collegiate.shag

[@ZeroBreathless]

Would love to see an updated version of this video :)

[@littlevintagemary337]

yayyy im so glad you did this! i saw the notification and just had to comment. I'll be able to watch it later hehe i just got too excited.

[@LiveCollegiateShag]

littlevintagemary I’m so glad!!! And thank you! Comments are always appreciated ❤️ I hope it helps.

[@xiaoliu311]

Love your video! I was wondering what you do with the leather sole shoes, since they’re pretty easy to be worn out after a while? Also the heel part (for the mid-heels) can lose its grip after a while, so it becomes too slippery on the wooden floor, have you done anything about that too?

[@madelinehoerner2993]

Thank you for making this video! Very helpful!

[@mariellegervais8825]

Madame Dynamite and Slide&Swing don't have the same sizing in their sizing charts though. According to the charts, a 38 in MD is 240mm whereas a 38 for S&S is 245mm.

[@dragonspike74]

Where is the video of y'all dancing in New Orleans. My friends think I'm a liar and none of my searches can back me up. Y'all were dancing in the rain. A whole website saw that video, and now it doesn't exist. Were we all tripping?

[@LiveCollegiateShag]

You can find it on my instagram, tiktok, and facebook account. I took it off my youtube because it was the only one without a watermark and people kept using it and not tagging us. It's all over on other peoples account, and I think you can find it if you search "couple dancing in the rain" but here is a link too. facebook.com/Live.Collegiate.Shag/videos/407514199955521/

[@MyNameIsHoward]

Hi , great vid , Im thinking of putting suede on my sneakers but wondered, did you have the suede glued to the rubber sole or was the rubber grip sole removed and the suede glue to the midsole which it looks like on the video ?

[@LiveCollegiateShag]

Hi Howard. We took it to a shoe guy and he did it for us. I'm not exactly sure what he did but he added it to the rubber sole. It has never come off after 3 years of dancing on them all the time. He did a great job.

[@zhiranwang7326]

That pair of flats next to your sneakers are very pretty! What brand is it?

[@bonniebelair8470]

But how do you suede them?

[@LiveCollegiateShag]

Thanks for asking! You can take them to anyone to does shoe repair and ask for them to either leather or suede your shoes on the bottom. The cost varies ($20-35 total) depending on who you go to. But some dancers do it themselves (though I hear it doesn't always last, if you go to a shoe person, it will not come off. If you want to try it yourself I found this DIY video on doing it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eaOaqoCLqsR1hbc

[@karlakolumna4638]

OMG you got a pair of grace Nougat from Saint Savoy.. I am so jealous.

[@cassandraharrington7189]

You suede them?? Just went to my first class last night so trying to get the shoe thing down. How did you attach said suede?! Thanks!

[@gardensenglishanddance]

You need to buy a pair of suede soles, most probably at a shop with ballroom dance shoes, and glue the soles onto the soles of your shoes if you are capable of doing that well enough. If you aren't, you need to find someone who can do that for you, e.g.a local shoemaker/cobbler.

[@fad23]

Back in the days we just used to bring the shoes to a cobbler and ask for chrome leather.

[@zandra7966]

Sadly the largest size that they sell mini dynamite (through your link) is US 8 :(

[@LiveCollegiateShag]

They must be out of stock because I know they have larger ones. She is super good about writing back on instagram within a day or so if you want to message her there :)

[@LiveCollegiateShag]

I'm glad you pointed that out. Her chart is actually not accurate. I wear a 40 and I'm a size 9. All the European shoes I've gotten, a 40 fits me. I'll talk to her about her chart but that is confusing. What size are you in US.

[@Marshswing]

No Aris Allens? Stacy Adams?

[@LiveCollegiateShag]

Marshswing I don’t have either of those but I’d love to hear more. What’s your favorite? Aris Allen’s?

[@Marshswing]

I'm all about Stacy Adams with a leather heel added. They've been made the same way since they started. I recommend The Madison in either boot or low cut. It's a simple captoe design and is classy af.

[@LiveCollegiateShag]

@@Marshswing Awesome! Where can you buy these?

[@Marshswing]

@@LiveCollegiateShag you can buy them at pretty much any men's department store. However if you live in Hollywood. Hollywood Suit Outlet has them for $99 in almost every color they're made!

[@pingpong4811]

Your assumptions are all based on marketing and not much on science: shoes will decrease your stability and balance at first greatly - then the body will adapt. Natures way (look at baby feet before shoes shape the foot): spread toes, no heal, walking via rolling your feet and running on ball of foot. Heels are only a social norm, as in "someone thought this is pretty" and put womens feet in very small toe boxes. Same goes with the "business shoe" look for men. You can google this easily: "barefoot vs business shoes" will give you nice pictures. The best training you can do is actually dancing barefeet: it trains your muscles, ligaments and joints. But start slowly, because you have atrophied a lot of your tissue by wearing shoes. This also counters all problems with: knee pain, hip pain, feet pain etc. Nature had millions of years to perfect your feet for walking and running, dont think 50 years of shoe marketing will make it better. Side note: a shoe never "molds" to your feet. Your feet over time have molded to the shape of the shoe industry. Again, look at baby feet and yours today...

[@LiveCollegiateShag]

I appreciate you taking the time to tell me your thoughts. Though please know, my assumptions are not based on marketing. I'm basing them off my experience in dance shoes on the market, that's very different. There are tons of studies but also studies disproving those studies so it really depends on the scientist you're willing to trust. I will tell you that dancing barefoot in my kitchen (with socks on) just for fun once in awhile, nearly destroyed my feet two years ago which is why I became passionate about shoes. Because I danced for fun in my kitchen without shoes (after a few months) I couldn't walk without pain and had to stop dancing for a month and I literally couldn't walk around the house without putting shoes on with supports. Maybe that's conditioning from the world we live in but many people are in that same situation. When I was a kid, I ran around through the forest without shoes on all the time but things changed when I started dancing 10-40 hours a week. Everyone's body is different and there is no blanket solution that will work for everyone.

[@pingpong4811]

​@@LiveCollegiateShag That is also a false statement: your natural body - unless you have a chronical condition like misaligments or birth defect - is pretty well made for getting around barefoot. Yes, this is natures intended blanket solution. Not for roads, so yeah, we always need some protection for our feet. Sorry to hear you hurt yourself. However, your body - if you learned to listen - will tell you when to stop before hurting. If you dont, then your mindset is damaging your body, not being barefoot while doing whatever you do.

[@LiveCollegiateShag]

@@pingpong4811 Unfortunately you can't do dance competitions without shoes on and so people do need to know what options they have for dance shoes. Also, have you ever landed an aerial without shoes on? It's horrible to land from a 4-6ft drop/throw onto bare-feet. Shoes were invented for a reason, though they aren't for everyone... this video is for the people who want shoes. Oh and not to mention, it sucks to get stepped on with someone who has shoes on... you can't just ask people to take off their shoes if they are going to dance with you at an event.

[@pingpong4811]

@@LiveCollegiateShag Nobody is talking about going out at comps or at night without shoes. If you cannot land without shoes on than you have a bad landing and jumping technique! Simple as that. The force is never absorbed thru your shoes (LOL?), but thru your bent ankles and knees and thus by your muscles counter acting the forces of your weight. You really should go and train - like we do - with licensed RnR trainers for aerials and the like. Also: ballet trains barefeet only and they have jumps. Also all tumble and gymnastics pros train barefeet.... you really should educate yourself a bit more.