What shoes should I wear for tango?

If you're a beginner, starting to learn Argentine tango, you don't need any special shoes to dance tango. Proper tango dance shoes would be overkill at this stage. Right now, all you need is to be able to turn easily on the ball of your foot. There's a lot of pivoting in tango, especially for followers, and if your shoes stick to the floor you'll hurt your knees.

So the best thing, if you've got them, is shoes which have a leather sole, or a suede sole (called cromo in Argentina). Failing that, a hard plastic sole may do to begin with. In the long run women usually prefer heels, but to begin with just wear whatever kind of heel you're comfortable in.

When you've been dancing a little while and are sure you want to keep dancing tango, dance shoes are a worthwhile investment. Ordinary shoes just aren't built to take the punishment that tango shoes take.

Sometimes people go out and buy some latin or ballroom dance shoes. They're easy to find, fairly cheap, have suede soles and heels. But Argentine tango is a whole different world from ballroom tango, and you won't find anyone very experienced wearing those shoes.

In the long run, it's definitely well worth investing in proper Argentine tango dance shoes. They're carefully shaped and balanced to support you, and make it easier to dance tango. Shoes really can make all the difference to your dance.

Besides, tango shoes are so gorgeous! Tango has the best shoes. Really! A lot of us girls develop serious shoe habits! I have about 30 pairs of tango shoes.