Need help choosing the right shoes to complement your dance costume? We’ve got the tips you need to match shoes to light, dark, or colored costumes.

First, Consider the Color of Your Costume

If your costume is mostly light colors (like pinks, whites, and light blues), your dancers are likely going to wear skin-colored tights or no tights at all. In that case, you’ll want to buy shoes that either match the color of your dancers’ tights or match their skin tone.

If your troupe includes dancers with a variety of skin tones, and you don’t want to buy a ton of different colored dance shoes, we recommend you buy a bunch of matching leather or canvas dance shoes. Then, you can dye those shoes to match your dancers’ skin tones. You can buy leather dye to spray or brush on to your dancers’ shoes at a number of places (such as Amazon or your local shoe supply store). And the process of re-coloring these shoes is incredibly easy.

What to Do If Your Costume Is Dark

For dark or mostly black costumes (which usually require black tights), you’ll want to have your dancers wear simple black jazz shoes. With a dark costume, black tights, and black shoes, your dancers’ lines will look cohesive and beautiful – the way they’re meant to be!

When in doubt, just remember that you want your dancer to be the star of the show, not their shoes.

GetTing Creative For Different Colored Costumes

If your costume includes bright colors, you might want to get creative and search for unique shoes that complement your costume. For tap performances, in particular, we find it’s easy to track down shoes that match colorful costumes. You can also spray paint your dancers’ shoes to match the color(s) of their costume, or look for block shoes, which are canvas shoes that come in a variety of colors.

But most importantly, remember to take a look at how your dancers’ shoes look before they perform. You don’t want to ruin your dancer’s lines or their performance by sending them out in the wrong shoes! If you’ve chosen incorrectly, you’ll be able to tell – and you can review the advice above to find the right shoe for you

Want more solid dance costume advice? Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel or contact us. We’d love to help your dancers look great at their next performance!