Tap dancing is a special form of dancing that has a rhythmic way. It was invented in the 1800s and in the last few decades, it became quite popular among all ages of people. Even though tap dancing requires high energy and magical movements to catch the attention of an audience but still it has evolved in recent times.
The right sound, magical movement, perfect choreography, and extremely accurate expression make the tap-dancing special. People of all ages enjoying and taking part in this magical dancing. But while dancing many dancers found it difficult to produce the perfect sound that was required to make the performance a magical performance. The reason behind this is not wearing shoes that are specially made for tap dancing.
If you have decided to become a professional in tap dance, then having the perfect pair of shoes that are made for tap dancing is a must. We have done some research about tap dancing shoes and today we brought here seven pairs of extremely beautiful shoes that are the best professional tap shoes. To make those perfect tap dancing moves these tap-dancing shoes provide great support and comfort. Stay tuned with us and we’ll help you to find the best and perfect one for you on this post.
8 Best Professional Tap Shoes : Comparison Table
Let’s have a quick review of the features of each pair of shoes. Each feature and specification of these shoes are given in detail on the full review of the individual pair.
| Image | Main Features | Our Score | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capezio Toddler/Little Kid Jr.Tyette N625C Tap Shoe
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| Capezio Women’s N625 Jr. Tyette Tap Shoe
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Theatricals Adult Lace Up Tap Shoes T9500- Unisex
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Bloch Jason Samuels Smith Professional Tap Shoe- women
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  | Theatricals Tap Shoes T9100- Women’s
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  | Bloch Tap-Flex Leather Tap Shoe- Women’s
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  | Capezio Women’s Mary Jane Tap Shoe
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  | Joocare Men’s Oxford Lace up Jazz Tap Dance Shoes
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Full Review Of Best Professional Tap Shoes
Now it’s time for the full review of these shoes. We have reviewed these shoes in detail below with their negative sides as well.
Top Choices For Children
1. Capezio Toddler/Little Kid Jr.Tyette N625C- Tap Shoe
Only a few tap dancing shoe manufacturers come with professional tags and Capezio is one of the finest. For tap dancing having the right pair of tap dancing shoes is essential for enhancing your fitness and providing support and comfort while performing the dance. Capezio stands with the top models of shoes providing support, comfort, and great melodious sound on the dance floor. That makes the tap dance performance great and magical.
N625C is specially designed for little tap dancers. This is a perfect pair of best professional tap shoes for beginner tap dancers as it features a padded footbed for comfort, an Achilles notch to provide stability, and heels for balance and security. The tele tone tap feature of the shoe produces a great melodious sound and makes this rhythmic dance even more attractive to the viewers. The inside of the shoe contains micropoly lining that absorbs sweat and moisture providing high breathability.
The ribbon tie design makes the pair a very unique and attractive look, it looks quite nice on the feet. It is available in three different attractive and shiny colors. N625C shoes do not lack behind in the department of durability and longevity. Its synthetic material build makes it ideal for use for a long time. Wearing this nice pair of shoes your children will surely feel comfortable and confident for her next tap dance performance.
2. Capezio Women’s N625 Jr. Tyette Tap Shoe
To perform great tap dancing hard work, practice, excellent moves, and a perfect pair of tap dancing shoes are extremely essential. By providing support, comfort, stability, and balance tap dancing shoes play an important role on the dance floor. The footbed and flexible sole of this tap shoe are always there on the dance floor with you to give you support and make you confident.
The ribbon tie and shiny color of the shoes give it a very vivid, stunning, and attractive look. Its Achilles notch is great for providing security. It makes sure it won’t get slipped while dancing. The microfiber lining of the works like magic and won’t let your feet sweat during your dance session.
The high-quality fiberglass soundboards give a great rounded sound. Its sound technology is an impressive piece of engineering. Comfort, secure fit, breathability, and flexibility perfect it the perfect companion for tap dancing on the dance floor.
Top Choices For Women’s
3. Theatricals Tap Shoes T9500- Unisex
Theatricals tap dancing shoes are around for a long time and they are famous for manufacturing supportive and unisex professional tap shoes. All their shoes are quality made and provide great support during dance sessions. Soft cushioning and flexible sole provides comfort and support. Its shock-absorbing midsole doesn’t hurt your feelings while you have to make a choreographed jump during your tap dance performance.
If the heel is too high of the shoes that you are wearing for your dance performance, then you can accidentally hurt your ankle or sometimes you can also lose balance. To prevent such a situation, the T9500 has a medium 1inch heel. The heel is perfect in size and great for supporting the ankle.
The soles and materials of the T9500 are of top-notch quality. At this price point, these shoe pairs from theatricals are some of the best beginner tap dancing shoes. The lace-up style closure provides a secure fit. Also, it gives the shoes a very traditional and classy look. This shiny pair of shoes comes in black color. If you want to buy an affordable pair, try this one out.
4. Bloch Jason Samuels Smith Professional Tap Shoe- Women
Jason Samuels smith by Bloch is an extremely high-quality product in its professional segment. Durable construction, great support, balance, and melodious sound-producing ability make this pair of shoes one of the best professional tap shoes on the market right now. Specially designed for the professionals to make every dance session perfect. It will hold on and provide a great tap no matter how hard you press.
For providing extreme durability it has a triple stack heel. The hard leather build outsole also gives great support and comfort. To make the tapping sound better than anyone it features a plate of steel resonance in between the floor and the outsole.
The upper portion of the shoe is made using soft grain leather that provides comfort and flexibility with support. the high-quality lining makes sure breathability and helps to reduce moisture inside the shoes. It has a price tag that is quite reasonable as the best professional tap shoes but it is quite a lot for beginners.
5. Theatricals Tap Shoes T9100- Women’s
The neoprene shoes are well known for their comfort and great fitting among the tap dancers. The pair of shoes is constructed using elastic material for that reason it can adopt any foot size and provides a great fit. So if you have wide feet and it becomes difficult for you to find the perfect fitting shoe for tap dancing you can try this pair you won’t be disappointed.
The shoe is designed for women but it is wearable by men and adult children as well. It will provide a great fit, support, stability to every one. Neoprene’s slip-on design makes it easy to wear the shoes and take off. This is designed without lace so you do not have to face shoelaces tying difficulties anymore.
This highly durable and comfortable pair of shoes come at a very reasonable price. Most professional tap dancing shoes take time to break but due to these elastic materials, it takes very little time to break in compared to other shoes. Right now T9100 is one of the best tap sound-producing shoes available in the market. These shoes come with guaranteed safety, comfort, and fit.
6. Bloch Tap-Flex Leather Tap Shoe- Women’s
For performing an excellent tap dance having shoes that can provide freedom of flexibility and support is extremely needed while making those difficult yet beautiful moves on the dance floor. This tap-flex does that job perfectly. Its rubber full sole provides you flexibility, support, and grip that ensure you won’t slip or fall during the dance and can perform a magical dance.
Even if you have wide feet no worries it will fit you perfectly as the materials of the shoes are stretchy. So narrow or wide feet it can accommodate both feet type. The non-slip pad of the shoe is designed for giving you support and balance to prevent accidental slip.
While dancing moisture build-up in our shoes quite easily. To ensure breathability and reduce this buildup of moisture the shoe has Kashmir lining. Specially designed shockwave taps soundboard provides a great sound that makes the performance even more beautiful. The notched collar of the shoes is always there to make sure there is reduced pressure on the tendons.
7. Capezio Women’s Mary Jane Tap Shoe
For a great tap dancing performance, you need fabulous support with extreme flexibility while you are on the dance floor performing. Capezio shoes are well-known for all these. This mane jane tap shoe from Capezio has a velcro closure that makes it more secure to dance for the beginner. There is no fear of wearing off in the middle of the dance due to the secure fit.
The flexible and comforting rubber sole gives you the freedom to make those magical moves. You can perform your best dance wearing these without any discomfort. The padded insoles of the shoe provide extreme comfort during the sessions. As the shoe is constructed using leather so it fits well for every type of foot.
It comes in five different shiny-looking attractive colors. Due to advanced shock absorption features, it won’t hurt your feet and make you feel comfortable during the whole lesson. The fiberglass-made soundboard produces improved rounded tap sounds that are melodious to hear.
Top Choices For Men’s
8. Joocare Men’s Oxford Lace up Jazz Tap Dance Shoes
If you are taking atp dancing seriously and searching for professional tap shoes then Joocare has a great option for you. The shoes are oxford style that is preferred by most professionals. As it has lace closure so no matter you have narrow or wide feet it will fit you perfectly. High-quality material makes it durable and you can use it for a long timeframe.
The synthetic materials that are used in making the shoes make them highly comfortable and lightweight. Even if you wear it for a long time you won’t feel any discomfort in it. The upper of the shoes has lined mesh that helps to reduce moisture inside the shoe. So during your dance sessions, your feet will not sweat and you can dance more freely and comfortably.
The rubber outsole provides a secure grip and is well balanced. If the heel of the shoe is too long then it can cause you to lose balance and get injured. To prevent something like that it has 1.5inch medium hell that is great for support and balance. For improved tap sound, it features a soundboard on both heel and toe. Joocare oxford shoes are well balanced, lightweight, and produce melodious tap sounds while dancing.
Brand Wise Professional Tap Shoes Cost Chart
| Serial | Brand Name | Our Score | Average Cost | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Linodes (Best Price) | 9.9 | $20-$30 | |
2 | Capezio (Best for Performance) | 9.9 | $23-$80 | |
3 | Bloch ( Best Value) | 9.8 | $26-$178 | |
4 | Dance Class | 9.7 | $35-$60 | |
5 | Theatricals | 9.8 | $20-$31 | |
6 | Leo | 9.6 | $30-$84 | |
7 | STELLE (Best For Kid’s) | 9.8 | $10-$30 | |
8 | MSMAX | 9.5 | $10-$30 | |
9 | Danshuz | 9.6 | $23-$40 | |
10 | Sansha | 9.4 | $25-$65 |
Considerations of Buying Right Professional Tap Shoes
While buying the best professional tap shoes many things should be considered. Extreme comfort and support are required for a perfect dance performance.
Size:
When you are in your dance session wearing the right size shoes is a very important factor. If you wear snag-fit shoes, then that can wear off during dance and make your performance bad. Also, the wrong size shoe can cause pain to the leg, does not provide support while dancing, and can cause soreness of your feet as well. With the right fit, you can dance comfortably and produce the right tap sound.
Style:
Choosing the tap dancing shoe style is itself as important as choosing to practice tap dancing. Several styles of tap dancing shoes are present and they represent whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or a professional tap dancer. All tap dancing shoes have similar types of features but the purpose of every different style of shoe has is different.
You should also choose the shoe material depending on what level you are practicing. These shoes’ constructed materials include wood, leather, plastic, and canvas. If you are a beginner, then make sure your shoe has security features like a strap or buckles. These will provide safety while dancing. whereas professionals can dance wearing slip-on tap shoes that have heels and points.
Materials:
Leather- probably leather is the most used material to build tap shoes. Leather is quite good at this job as this is resistant to water and provides great comfort. But leather took time to break in and some find it irritating. As the look is considered they gave a great appeal.
Synthetic- Sometimes synthetics materials are used to build the upper portion of the tap shoe. These are affordable than leather and give quite a similar feeling to leather. But if the shoe is not a great fit then it can cause sore feet. Generally, beginner’s shoes are designed using synthetic materials.
Fabric- Some shoes are designed using fabric. These cannot provide the stiffness that is required to tap dancing. Those who just want to try tap dancing can use these shoes as they are very cost-efficient.
Hard sole:
Professional tap shoes are designed with hard soles as they have to produce the right sound. But when you perform a choreographed jump and land this can hurt your feet so be safe from that make sure the shoes are cushioned, has a shock-absorbing midsole. These features are essential for being comfortable. And for support, the shoes should have heels and arches.
As hard soles are not flexible but thick and hard so these are good for producing the right tap sound. Also, these provide great grip, balance, and support while performing tap dance.
Soundboard & screws:
To make the tapping sound for the dancing soundboard is used on the sole of the shoes. Some have permanent and other adjustable screws. As the screws are adjustable, on those types of shoe chances of producing the right sound is more likely. Nowadays professional tap shoes come with soundboards that are made of fiberglass.
Fit:
If you are wearing ill-fitted shoes that can have a bad impact on your performance as well as causing you pain. A good fit is essential for good balance and great support.
Durability:
The durability and lasting period of any shoes depend on the quality of the constructed materials of the shoes. Also how frequently you use the shoes determines how long they will last.
Comfort:
Feeling comfortable while dancing is very essential. If you are not comfortable in your tap dancing shoe and then that can cause your feet pain even sore feet. Having a breathable lining and right-toe shape box is very important. If you wear a wrong shape toe box shoe that could hurt your toe while performing the toe standing part.
For comfort, you should purchase shoe builds of leather. As the material is stretchable and provides a great fit and that will ensure your comfort during your dance session.
Keep the above-mentioned things in mind and it will help a lot in choosing the best professional tap dancing shoes.
FAQs
Are tap shoes essential for tap dancing?
Tap dancing is not like other dancing, it is rhythmic. While moving your body you also have to make tap sounds with your feet. Wearing ordinary shoes, you cannot make these sounds no matter how hard you press your shoe on the ground. Produces the melodious sound, having a tap-dancing shoe is a must. To make the perfect tap sound the shoes must contain soundboards glued or screwed to the shoe soles.
How to take care of tap shoes?
The longevity of your tap shoes will depend on how you use them and how you take care of them. Here are some tips to take care of your professional tap-dancing shoes-
- If you have leather tap shoes, then use a dry microfiber cloth to wipe it after every use. To prevent it from dampness, air dry it.
- To make the odor go you can use some baking powder. Before using baking powder make sure you are using protective soles.
- Check the screws of the soundboard after every use. Make sure those are not loosen.
By taking proper care of these shoes you can make them long-lasting.
What type of shoes does professional wear?
For professionals, there is no special design present. But some brands claim that they make the shoes for professionals. They have shoes with professional tags on them. Some of these brands are- Bloch, Miller & Ben, Capezio, etc. if you want to be confident wearing professional shoes then you should try a pair from any of these brands.
How can I deal with pains while wearing tap shoes?
Most of the tap shoes come cushioned to deal with pain. But if that’s not enough for you then you can always do some extra custom cushion interesting in the shoes. Various types of insoles are available to give you extra support and comfort.
Final verdict
As tap dancing is a rhythmic form of dance and rounded tap sound is required so perfect tap shoes and appropriate sound is main here. To get support, balance, stability, and flexibility having the right pair of professional tap shoes is vital.