Jazz Shoes Buying Guide

It’s sensible that you’re checking out some key questions and answers about jazz shoes before making your purchase (we can tell you’re a really smart dancer!). Have a scroll through the below questions to gain some more knowledge about the types of jazz shoes we sell and what exactly they’re for before starting your online shopping trip with us. This guide will inform you on the difference between full sole and split sole jazz shoes, the benefits of the different fabrics we offer, how to ensure the best fit and lots of other key facts about jazz shoes.

What are Full Sole Jazz Shoes?

A full sole jazz shoe has a continuous rubber sole. The full sole helps to build up strength and muscle in your foot. This style is more structured and doesn’t allow for much flexibility, giving more of a heavier look than a split sole jazz shoe.

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What are Split Sole Jazz Shoes?

A split sole jazz shoe only has rubber under the ball of the foot and on the heel. The gap between the rubber makes the shoe more flexible and emphasises your arch, point and line of foot.

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How Should My Jazz Shoes Fit?

Jazz shoes should fit snugly to your feet like a sock. They will naturally stretch and mould a little over the time, the extent of stretching in the shoe will be determined by which material of upper you choose.

‘What’s an upper?’ We hear you ask! An upper is the fabric portion of the shoe which wraps around your toes, top and side of your feet.

You need to make sure your jazz shoes aren’t too tight on your feet but that they also aren’t too loose. If the jazz shoe hurts around the sides of your feet, then it’s probably too narrow so we’d recommend you choose wider fitting jazz shoes.

What Size Jazz Shoes Should I Buy?

As explained previously jazz shoes should be fairly tight fitting. Although the snugness of the shoe is important, you need to make sure that they aren’t too tight and could hurt or damage your feet. With time, jazz shoes will give a little and shape to your feet but not dramatically, so if your usual size is a snug fit already it’s best to stick with that size. However, if your shoes are normally fairly loose, if you feel you can go a size down we would recommend it. If the size of shoes feel right but it feels a little bit too tight on the side of your foot choose a wider fitting pair of jazz shoes.

What are Jazz Shoes Made of?

Most commonly, jazz shoes are made from leather with a rubber sole, however, suede soles can also be used. Suede soles enable your spins to be smoother and reduce sticking and friction. The material used to make jazz shoes is light and breathable and it’s important to choose jazz shoes that are comfortable due to the snug fit. An alternative to the leather jazz shoes are jazz shoes with synthetic material on the upper of the shoe. Synthetic jazz shoes are also breathable which allows your foot to keep cool and have stretch in them compared to leather jazz shoes. The majority of jazz shoes have an upper fabric of leather and are soft and breathable however they are slightly more expensive than synthetic jazz shoes. Leather jazz shoes also have a little more stretch in them.

What are Jazz Shoes Used for?

Jazz shoes are a must-have shoe for jazz dancing but they’re also worn for a lot of other dance styles. That’s because they’re so comfortable and let you feel the floor through each move, offering greater flexibility in the sole. We have a range of tan, white and black jazz shoes to shop on Move Dance.

Why do Jazz Shoes have Different Heel Heights?

Some types of jazz shoes that we offer come with a slight 1” rubber heel. The slight heel is to relieve pressure from the balls of the feet, this makes it popular for teaching. A thicker rubber heel has more shock absorption meaning it’s popular among many dancers.

Why Choose Jazz Dance Sneakers?

Jazz dance sneakers are a perfect choice of jazz dance shoes for class. They are also a great choice for beginners and younger dancers as they provide really good ankle support and the rubber sole allows you to stand on pointe for brief amounts of time. The split shoe style of the sneakers gives flexibility for pointing your foot which gives an elegant fit and the sturdiness of the sneaker also means it can be worn outside. Due to the heavier design of the sneakers they are often worn for dances other than jazz such as street, funk and hip-hop thanks to the cushioned insole.

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What’s it Like to Dance in Jazz Shoes?

Lots of our customers tell us that Move Dance shoes in particular are like slippers. We second that! Every member of Move HQ has tried a pair of Move Dance black jazz shoes and some of us are even lucky enough to have a pair under our desks to slip on when we’re in need of a little comfort.

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