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There are different kinds of dancing shoes, each designed for ease in performing a particular dance. Some of the more familiar ones include:
1. Ballet: These are shoes made of soft flexible leather and held onto the foot by either a strap across the top of the foot or by ribbons or strings which can be tied around the ankles or legs. The toes may be have slight reinforcement or may be designed in such a way that the dancer can balance on the very tips of the shoes (as in point shoes). The bottoms are reinforced to retard wear, but still remain flexible.
2. Tap: Tap shoes are hard-soled shoes with metal plates affixed to the toes and heels. The uppers can either be shiny, like patent leather ones are, or have a flat finish. They can resemble either dress shoes or casual shoes, such as sneakers. It doesn’t really matter how they look, because it’s the metal taps that make them tap shoes.
3. Jazz shoes: These shoes have harder soles than ballet shoes; but they are still made of a soft flexible material such as leather. In addition, the soles may be split in the middle to allow for better movement. Jazz shoes can fit like an ordinary lace-up shoe or may be designed to come up slightly above the ankle.
4. Clogs: These are very hard shoes, with no flexibility. Wooden shoes such as those worn by the Dutch and some early American settlers are an example of clogs. They can be used in certain types of dances, especially when the dance depends on some noise or resonance from the shoes to help with the rhythm.
5. Ballroom dance shoes: These actually resemble the dress heels worn by women, but they will have a non-marking sole, such as suede, which will provide traction on wooden floors but will not harm the finish.