Help! The heels of my dance shoes keep slipping off!

Slipping heels can be a common problem in the dance world.  Fixing it is usually simple enough, but the best methods to keep heels on vary depending on the kind of shoe you are wearing.  In this post, I will outline the most efficient methods for keeping your heels on for a variety of different dance shoes.

--Pointe shoes, flat ballet shoes, and jazz shoes: First, make sure your shoe is not too big or too small (either will cause heel slippage).  If your shoe is the wrong size, get re-fit.  It it’s ok, try pulling the drawstring if your shoe has one.  If your shoe has no drawstring or the slippage doesn’t improve, you will need to do something to increase the friction between your shoe and your foot or tights. 

Try putting rosin on the heel of your foot, heel of your tights, and inside the heel of your shoe.  You only need a little bit, so just take a little on your fingers and rub it on the area you want to rosin up.  If your studio or theater does not allow rosin, you can spray hairspray on the heels of your tights (or feet) before putting on your pointe shoes. 

Another good method is sticking waterproof Nexcare medical tape to the heels of your tights and the heels of your shoes.  The tape is foamy in texture, so when two pieces of it touch (regardless of whether or not the adhesive side is up), they want to stick together rather than rub past each other.

--Hard enclosed shoes like tap shoes, character shoes, and men’s oxford ballroom shoes: Again, make sure your shoe is the right size.  Many dancers become uncomfortable when they can feel the end of the shoe with their toes, so they go a size up.  Remember that gently feeling the end of a dance shoe shoe with your toes is a GOOD thing; it means that the shoe is snug and supportive.  The shoe is only too small if your toes feel crunched up or painful.  Wearing a shoe that is too big will cause the foot to slide forward so your toes will crunch up even more, and the heel will slip. 

If you have a very narrow foot, see if the shoe you are wearing comes in a narrow width.  Sometimes narrows can be ordered even if the dancewear store doesn’t usually carry them.  Certain brands also tend to run narrow or wide.  Bloch and Capezio run more narrow, while Sansha and So Danca run more wide.

If the shoe fits properly and the heel still slips, consider what you are wearing inside the shoe.  If you are wearing tights or trouser socks, the thin nylon material may be taking away any friction that would help keep the heel in place.  Try wearing the shoes with nothing on your feet or with cotton or wool socks. 

If this still doesn’t fix the problem, try attaching a heel grip to the inside of the shoe.  This device is a small fabric or gel pad that is adhered to the inside of the heel of a shoe to minimize heel slip.  You can usually buy heel grips at shoe, dancewear, or department stores for about $5-$10.  Because heel grips are adhered to the inside of shoes (with either pre-applied adhesive or fabric glue), they can ruin the lining of a shoe if they are applied then removed.  Try other methods of reducing slip before resorting to heel grips.

--Open toe and/or strappy Latin/ballroom shoes:  First thing’s first: make sure the shoes fit.  Your heel should be all the way against the back of the shoe, and your toes should be at the end of the front of the shoe with ¼ inch or less extra space.  If the shoe is too big, it will probably slip at the heel, and it will be unstable to dance on (which increases the risk of injury).  If your foot is very narrow, try to find a shoe that comes in narrow widths or is from a brand that runs narrower.

If the shoe fits and the heel still slips, try using a shoe strap (available at most dancewear stores for $2-$6).  This clear plastic adjustable strap is meant to wrap around the arch of the shoe and fasten on top.  It holds the shoe tightly on your foot so it moves around less. 

            If you don’t want to use a shoe strap or can’t find one, try using the waterproof Nexcare     medical tape method.  This is especially effective if your shoes are very lightweight and you wear them with tights or fishnets.