5 Must Read Benefits of a Custom-Made Dance Shoe
Have you ever bought a new pair of shoes and proudly walked them up to your room in anticipation of your next dance rehearsal? These shoes look so good you would swear that they were custom-made. As you lay on your bed waiting to nod off, excitement builds as visions of you walking down the street and into dance rehearsal fill your mind. As you walk into class, everyone compliments the amazing high heels.
Once dance rehearsal begins, a small yet concentrated pain originates the arch of your foot. With the dance instructor yelling at you to keep up with the group, a plastered smile shines through as you push through the pain. After an excruciating three hours, (that felt like 10), you labor over to the sidelines and pack your bags as quickly as possible. When no is looking, you try to make a dramatic exit. However, you’re caught by one of your fellow dancers, who asks if you want to have drinks with the girls.
Wanting to say yes but having feet that feel like they are on fire, you decline the offer and make up an excuse about having to do something with your mom. With each subsequent step, you look down at the shoes that brought you so much pleasure earlier in the day. The beautiful black straps that curve around your ankles now look like contraptions created to halt blood circulation and torture people.
When you finally get home, the first order of business is to fling those shoes across the room. To your despair, an alarming blister is situated at the bottom of your heel. While looking for a serum or ointment to suppress the pain, you wonder if these shoes are the only option out there.
Ladies, if this story rings a little too close to home, realize that you are not alone. There are several other women making the same mistake.
Regular Shoes vs. Dance Shoes
While the use of dance shoes is not mandatory for dancers, as you progress, technique becomes the most important aspect of dance, and without proper footwear it’s hard to achieve good technique. For all styles of dance, one of the most basic yet important technical milestones is the ability to move through your feet properly. Maintaining constant contact and press against the floor and transitioning from one movement into another is virtually impossible to do with standard shoes that are hard and stiff.
When compared to dance shoes, regular shoes have thick soles that are created with the intent to grip the floor. Due to the thickness of the soles, these shoes are also inflexible which makes it difficult for any dancer to feel the floor.
Dance shoes are built for the act of dance. While the poor girl from the previous example made the mistake of buying regular heels, dance shoes can endure constant and prolonged movements. They also possess thin suede soles which makes turning a breeze. Dance studios usually have a smooth floor which makes suede a great material for the sole of a shoe. Suede perfectly balances the amount of grip a dancer has which allows for smooth slides without slipping.
The Benefits of Custom-Made Shoes
But what if there was a better way to find shoes that were stylish, created for dance or leisure and were comfortable? Custom shoes are becoming a must for women everywhere.
1. Pain-Free
If you’re in need of shoes that will not cause pain, Burju is not only a great place to buy custom shoes but also to learn about the foot. It’s shocking how little people know about their own bodies and when it comes to neglect, the foot is at the top of the list.
2. Stay Injury-Free
Often callused and hardly pampered, the foot is one of the vehicles which allow us to walk, run and dance. Wearing shoes that constantly damage your feet will not only make dancing harder but could lead to long standing injuries like plantar fasciitis.
3. Made Specifically For Your Dance
Through their blogs, Burju has made it part of their mission to educate their customers. Education about the style of dance and the best shoes to use is helpful when making a final decision concerning which shoe to buy. For certain styles of dance (salsa, swing or rumba) which require sharp shapes of the feet and pointy toes, open toe shoes are the best option. For dances such as the waltz, (which require smoother footwork) a close-toed shoe is beneficial.
The internet can be a helpful place, but with so much information out there, it can also feel daunting. With Burju, the process of finding the shoe you want becomes simple as shoppers can custom order exactly what they want. Whether shopping for a dance competition or a prom, you can customize color, size, heel, material and sole. Instead of scrolling through hundreds of web pages or dealing with pushy salespeople at malls, save time and money.
4. You Know Your Feet Are Properly Supported
One incredible benefit of having a dance shoe is knowing your feet are always supported. Imagine going to a tire store in the search of new tires. When the mechanic asks for the size of the wheels needed, you accidentally state the wrong information. After the job is completed, you drive away, with everything appearing normal. Though your car is still running, having the incorrect wheel size means that your car will work that much harder to accelerate or stop.
The same logic comes into play with dance shoes. When wearing a shoe that is not designed for dancing or is a size too big or small, the effort you exert is not only greater but also misaligned. Instead of dancing to your full potential, you will spend unwanted energy working twice as hard to get half as far. By wearing the wrong shoe, it may not affect you at first, but it will eventually become a losing battle.
5. The Appearance You Desire
As they say, the right equipment can be the difference between winning a losing. And even if you're not a dancer, do you want to suffer for your fashion when you could order a comfortable shoe that you can customize to your specifications and that looks just as good?