Tango Shoes

Tango Shoes are a very important topic for all tango dancers, especially for the women. Dancing for long hours on high heels often causes significant pain and we need to take measures to address this problem.

I have been dancing Tango for 10+ years and have been in search of the perfect pain-free shoe ever since the start. As a result I have MANY different shoe models in my VERY LARGE tango shoes collection and I have had custom shoes made and even special orthotics made for my dance shoes - none of these custom measures have worked very well for me! My experience is that there are significant individual differences and individual's shoe preferences change over time.

My strategy for festivals and marathons is to have several shoes of different heights to change into during the event. I find wearing the same shoes for too long will cause blisters and pain. I now have 4 pairs of favorite shoes I bring to festivals and start dancing with highest heels and work my way down. All my favorite shoes are from different manufacturers - 2 pairs 8.5cm heels ( NeoTango's Salsera's size 8 & www.NoSoloTango.de Size 7), one pair of 6.5 cm heels from VidaMia size 7 and practice Sansha Dansandal size 8, BTW I wear size 36 Comme-Il-Fault's have 3 pairs and can't wear any of them :( ). My feet are very fragile so I must have soft pads under the ball of the foot to reduce pain. I put pads in all my shoes except www.vidamiazapatos.com which have built in padding.

When buying shoes I now know to look for ones that support the arch of the foot. Some shoes leave a gap between the heel and ball of the foot which may seem insignificant but quickly causes foot pain. Having the arch supported by the shoes' frame ads significant comfort and many hours of pain free dancing!

Another important tip for reducing foot pain at Marathons & Festivals is to use Advil or Ibuprofen at the end of the night which greatly reduces inflammation and allows me to dance happily the next day! Another positive news is that when I'm dancing more, like daily & all day on visits to BA, I find the foot pain reduces - I think the nerves stop complaining because the extensive pain is ignored or because the feet get stronger?

I hope this information helps some ladies to reduce pain caused by Tango dancing and helps increase the pleasure of the dance!

UPDATE: Now after 21 years of Tango dancing I have finally found a shoe model that is my perfect tango shoe: Dita, by SUR. This Florence based Tango shoe manufacturer is gaining popularity and may be found on sale at events worldwide including in North America. I often encounter other ladies wearing the same model. This picture was taken at an Encuentro in Brzeg, Poland in September 2022. I now own several pairs of this same model and recommend it highly. My first pair was bought 7 years ago from No Solo Tango in Berlin and I am still wearing the same pair. Thank you Suzanne Stuckenberg for introducing me to these Amazing shoes!