New Shoes or Am I Crazy?

I finally got my new Capezio K360 Pros from http://www.dancingfair.com/ all set up with taps and rubber.  They are apparently better made than the standard K360's as they are double soled and made in America.

Up until about 2001-2002 I used K360's exclusively, but I developed tendonitis in my ankles and frankly they just weren't that comfortable for tapping 5 or 6 hours in a row.  So I switched to the Capezio Tap Sneaker.  The taps on those were horrible.  They were so curved that only a tiny part of the tap (especially the heels) touched the floor at any given time which resulted in really quiet heel sounds.  But they were comfortable.  Mostly.  You see, they actually had NO arch support at all.  After many years in those I developed a toe problem on my left foot.  I though it might be the shoe so I made my own tap sneakers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HEzaQYcw9g - the shoes are shown at about a minute into it).  They worked okay but the toe problem remained so I turned a pair of dress shoes into tap shoes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA1q5p4UX84) but they developed their own problems such as the bolts holding the taps on breaking and the head of the bolts popping out.  So I decided to go back to the tried and true Capezio K360's.

Now lately I've been having some issues with my back so I kind of feel like I must be crazy to be going back to a shoe that has almost no cushion at all.  Granted I did stick some Dr. Scholls cushions inside and they do help.  I only taught an hour today so I decided to try out the new shoes.

Bottom line:  I like them!  They felt good, and light, and perfectly suited for tapping.  That may sound silly but after having several shoes that weren't really made for tapping it's nice to have a pair that are.  Time will tell how well they hold up and how well my back holds up using them, but I will keep you posted from time to time as to how they're doing.

What tap shoes are you using and how do they hold up to extended use?

Rod

Comments

  1. Hi Rod,

    So I am in Canada, and can't try their shoes on for size....is it the same as your street shoes size or half a size up for you? Also, did you get them with shank, or no shank?

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  2. I got them a half size larger than my street shoe and without the shank because I do a fair amount of toe stands. They are holding up okay. The leather is just slightly pulling away from the sole on the inside of each foot from doing toe stands. We'll see how they hold up over the long haul.

    Rod

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