Art of Stage Dancing — Chapter 35: Dancing Shoes

[Illustration] Each type of dancing demands its own fashion in footwear, and the novice while learning and rehearsing requires a foot covering differing materially from that to be worn later in the perfected dance on the professional stage.

It is very desirable for the newcomer into the dancing world to acquire knowledge of the correct shoes to be worn to facilitate action, make the learning as easy as possible and keep the feet in perfect condition.

In taking up this subject I shall tell in simple language what is the best and most practical way to dress the feet for the various occasions that arise in dancing.

One general rule can be laid down for everyone and all occasions: _Have your shoes fit your feet.

_ Do not simply "buy a pair of shoes."

Ascertain the size and width of shoes that correctly fit you, and ask for your shoes by these specifications.

Go to a first-class shoe dealer.

Don't buy a shoe merely because it is pretty.

Cheap shoes are often the most expensive, and if poorly made may injure the feet.

The above advice applies to every shoe you buy, for house, sports, street or evening wear, as well as for dancing.

For the courses, consider the type of dancing you are taking and dress your feet with shoes suitable for that kind of work.

If your foot is short and fat, buy a short vamp shoe; if your foot is long and narrow, get shoes with a long vamp.

Stiff soles being bad for the arches and hard to work in, be sure to get flexible soles.

[Illustration: TYPES OF DANCING SHOES TOE SHOE WITH PADDED BOX TOE, USED FOR TOE DANCING.

SOFT BALLET SHOE, FOR BALLET, LIMBERING AND STRETCHING AND ACROBATIC LESSONS.

STAGE SHOE WITH EXTRA FLEXIBLE SHANK, USED FOR HIGH KICK, ETC. CUT-OUT SANDAL, FOR ORIENTAL CHARACTER AND BALLET WORK.

"MARY JANE" TYPE OF SHOE FOR TAP AND STEP DANCING.

LACED TYPE OF SHOE FOR TAP AND STEP DANCING.

A SPLIT CLOG SHOE WITH FIBER HALF SOLE ATTACHED, FOR ADVANCED "TAP" WORK.

TYPE OF SHOE SUGGESTED FOR GIRLS DOING ACROBATIC DANCING.

"GREEK CHARACTER" LOW BALLET SHOE.

RUSSIAN BOOT.

"GREEK CHARACTER" HIGH BALLET SHOE.

TYPE OF MAN'S SHOE SOMETIMES USED FOR ACROBATIC DANCING.

] For the toe dancer there are toe shoes which have a padded box toe.

These come in black and white kid and in pink satin.

This toe shoe and the regular soft ballet shoe, which is used for ballet technique, should both be a perfectly snug fit, the toes of the foot coming to the very end of the shoe.

To do this requires a shoe about two sizes smaller than one's regular street shoes.

Nothing is better for the limbering and stretching foundation technique, as given in the Ned Wayburn courses, than the soft ballet shoe with a quarter-inch lift at the heel.

For acrobatic dancing this type of shoe is also recommended, though many prefer an elk sole cut out sandal, which is also the choice for Oriental ballet dancing.

These sandals if too large will bulge at the sides, hence care in their fitting is desirable.

The most commonly used shoe for girls doing acrobatic and soft shoe work and one that is excellent for this purpose, is a black kid flat, as it is known, which has a low heel and flexible sole; a sensible, comfortable shoe, such as your feet thank you for.

For tap and step dancing there are several types of shoes, the most common being that known as the "Mary Jane" or juvenile shoe with ankle strap and button or buckle.

Another favorite is the laced low shoe, known as the oxford, made for both men and women.

The solid clog shoe has a full wood heel, arch and sole, and is used for very advanced clog dancing; not to be worn by beginners, but only the most accomplished professional solo dancers.

There is also a low show for "Tap" dancing called the "Split-clog" shoe, used by very advanced pupils only, never by beginners, the half-sole being wood and the heel wood, as well, but most professional dancers prefer what is known as the "Haney" metal plate on the end of the shoe to bring out the "taps," or else a wood-fibre half-sole, but no beginner should be worrying about this.

Just remember, that you must never try to learn to dance in a French, Cuban or military heel, as they act as a handicap or "brake."

No one can learn with them because they pitch one forward at the wrong angle and impair the health.

[Illustration: Fibre Toe] [Illustration: Coin Jingle] [Illustration: Heel Jingle] There are several attachments, called "jingles," "taps," fiber half soles, and the like, that the expert dancer in this type of work will wish to have on his dancing shoes, and I shall tell you about them here, but it is best to avoid their use while you are learning the dances.

After you have mastered your stuff and qualified yourself without them, then have them put on, but not until after you have become a real dancer.

There is a "coin jingle," as it is called, a brass disc about the size of a quarter of a dollar set loosely on the shoe shank, that sounds like two coins striking together at every shake.

The heel jingle is a brass plate set into the shoe near the heel with a loose disc inside it from which extends a plug that as you step falls and hits the floor.

The regulation stage shoe has a very flexible shank and a French heel.

It is not a desirable shoe for the student of dancing because of the heel.

But for high kicking and similar types of stage dancing after one has acquired a knowledge of the art, it is very satisfactory.

Be sure it is comfortable and fits well.

There are other shoes that come naturally into use on the stage for certain types of dancing.

There is the low ballet shoe of the Greek type, and a similar one in the high ballet type.

What is known as the Russian boot finds its place in some dances.

It is often red, green, or white, to match the costume.

Variations of this boot are the Spanish, Gypsy or Hungarian, Cowboy, and others.

There is also a high-laced close fitting boot with a very low heel and soft sole used by men, as a rule, in certain kinds of acrobatic dancing.

When you get into theatrical footwear, there is practically no limit to the possibilities and the variations.

Period shoes of all times and nations--Grecian, Roman, Egyptian, etc. ,--make the list almost endless.

But really the only dancing shoes you will first concern yourself with are those I have designated as belonging to the learners' work for foundation technique, acrobatic, musical comedy, tap and step, ballet and toe dancing.

In the exhibition dancing the usual ball room shoes are preferred.

If the dance is done in character, that will determine the style of the shoes.

I want to sound a warning about French-heeled shoes and high-heeled shoes in general, such as ladies find so fashionable.

A pretty female foot is charming, and one's feet should be dressed in the most becoming manner.

But high-heeled shoes do not make a pretty foot.

It is impossible to walk gracefully or safely in them, and as for dancing, no one can ever hope to become a dancer who wears such clumsy foot-gear while attempting to learn the art.

The persistent wearing of high-heeled shoes does much to bring about female troubles.

It is conducive to ill health, crooked figures, weak ankles, and many internal ills.

There are crippled ladies of mature years whom I know, who frankly admit that their condition is due solely to the wearing of high-heeled shoes in their younger years, "to make their feet look pretty."

I want to make my abhorrence of high French heels as strong as I can.

You cannot wear them in my studios.

I will not permit them, for to wear them indicates that you will never learn to dance, and there is no use in wasting your time in trying.

After you have learned, in suitable and proper shoes, how to do your dances, then a shoe with a baby French heel will be permitted for musical comedy dancing, and a shoe with a low common-sense (not necessarily ugly) heel for tap and step dancing.

Fortunately, it is not necessary to wear French-heeled shoes in order to have pretty feet.

There are an abundance of attractive shoes on the market that one can choose with assurance of enhancing the beauty of their feet, without this deforming heel.

If one uses the words "sensible" or "solid comfort" when speaking of shoes--women's shoes especially--it suggests something sloppy and unattractive, and some young women will have none of it.

There is no intention to advocate the wearing of such shoes, nor any others that are not attractive and good looking.

Get becoming shoes for every occasion, by all means, but see to it that they do not have the fatal, high French heels.

Before you take a single lesson in the dancing art, dress your feet with proper shoes properly fitted, and thank me for starting you right.

Most large cities have shoe stores with dancing shoe departments, but if you are not able to supply your needs locally, write to the Ned Wayburn Studios for information and it will be forthcoming.

But please bear in mind that no shoes are dealt in at the studios and no direct orders for shoes will be considered.

THE QUEST OF BEAUTY