Maria-

Friday, August 10, 2007

Why cheap dance shoes?

Ball room dance shoes are special shoes built with flexible uppers and lowers, a metal tang in the arch for support and chrome leather (suede) soles. They come in different styles suited for smooth or Latin dancing, and typically cost in excess of $90. The soles are quickly ruined if worn outdoors. While men can dance in well-fitting dance shoes with a smooth leather sole, you're still shelling out $75 or more, and many of them are overly stiff and heavy. The stiffness makes it hard to flex your foot, and will eventually cause the leather to crack and split at the points where all the flexing becomes concentrated. This will, of course, ruin your dress shoes. So what are your options? Here are a few for us penny-pinchers: Jazz shoes canvas are relatively inexpensive ($25 and up) and can be purchased with rubber soles, chrome leather (suede) soles, chrome leather soles with rubber heel, and in "split soles" for the ultimate in flexibility. However, jazz shoes are not ideal for a long night of dancing. They're flimsy (no tang for arch support), flat (heel heights are about 1/4"), have little to no cushioning and the thin uppers offer almost no lateral support. To give them more support, you can buy dance shoes that are slightly bigger than your foot and then insert "athletic" insoles which have a molded heel cup and arch support. You can even add a cushioned insole under the athletic insole. This adds a lot to the comfort of the shoes without detracting from the flexibility. You would not believe the difference they can make in comfort over an evening of continuous dancing or spending the whole day on your feet for that matter. When using this approach with any shoe, it's best to buy the insoles first and take them with you while getting fitted.ballet shoesAlarm%20systems
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Character shoes

Character shoes are canvas with sole-leather soles. They are named for their use in theatre by actors/actresses performing "in character". They are also used by tap-dancers who attach metal taps to them. Women's versions don't look quite as classy as ballroom shoes, but they're far sturdier. I like the stronger heel, the weight and durability of the sole, the toe room. They take a lot of scuffing and abuse, but I just polish them and keep dancing. My ballroom shoes feel so dainty and fragile, and when they get scuffed or nicked it's painful because they cost so damn much. Although conventional wisdom holds that one should never wear one's dance shoes on the street, I find that leather soles perform BETTER if they've been "seasoned" by a bit of regular street wear. That's the only way they really become like an extension of my feet. Then I make sure to wipe the dance shoes soles well to remove pebbles & dust before setting foot on a nice wooden dance floor. The more you wear a pair of character shoes, the softer they become until they finally feel as comfortable as a pair of slippers! Capezio makes a number of styles of character shoes for men (K-370 is a very comfortable man's shoe) and women, with the women's shoes available in different heel heights and with or w/o straps. Men's character shoes I recently ordered a pair of men's character (or tap) dance shoes which I am _REALLY_ pleased with and I thought I'd share the info. They are: made in USA black, lace-up oxford style thin, soft leather uppers thin, sole-leather soles very flexible, very comfortable available in half sizes available in medium and wide widths built with a metal tang for arch support and best of all, ONLY 36.50 !!!!! (that is not a misprint - $36.50!) These dance shoes are a generic but otherwise identical copy of Capezio #441 shoes which normally sell for $60. They are perfect for night club dancing in those clubs where you wouldn't want to wear "suede" soled dance shoes. In addition, they are fine for street use too, so you can wear them to and from the club, without having to lug around a shoe bag. Best of all they are only $36.50. (And even if you don't dance, these are probably the most comfortable dress shoes you'll find!) Order them from Kinney Dancewear in Indianapolis. Their phone number is 1-800-93-DANCE. The stock number of the shoe described above is K-401. You may bond chrome leather (suede) soles to them, as described in a following section. Women's character shoes My favorite jazz shoes is one that I order out of a catalog. It's called a "flexible character shoe" and has a low heel (tapered, not a clunky-looking "Cuban-style" heel), ankle strap, and a suede sole. They're quite soft, pliable, and comfortable (fit like the proverbial glove). Here's the info: Flexible Character Shoe: All leather, 1 1/2" heel Soft flexible suede sole Ankle strap Medium width only Sizes: Women's 4-10 Colors: 506B Black 506T Tan Price: $37.00 (U.S.) Manufacturer: Danstar Dance Shoes [This manufacture is apparently long gone. See our dance shoes page for a Jazz shoe listing.] The company recommends ordering these dance shoes one size below your street shoe size (the representative on the phone can help to size you correctly). When I slip a pair of Dr. Schole's cushioned insoles inside, I can literally dance all night in these shoes.Car%20alarms
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I build a MH hood

starting from a kit (ballast, socket, bulb, aluminum
sheet) which has been running a couple of months quite happily. The bulb
is about 3.5" in diameter and 8" long, but the socket is another 1.5" or
so. I originally was going to use a small fan, but it's too noisy for my
living room. The hood itself is mahogony which obviously can't take the
heat of the lamp (they get HOT). My solution was to line the interior
of the hood with aluminum sheet, both the polished sheet from the kit and
somewhat dull aluminum flashing from a hardware store. I spaced it about
1/4" off the wood using metal spacers and screws, leaving a complete air
gap all the way around. I left two holes 2"x3" in the back top, and a
3/4"x12" slot at the front bottom to get convectional cooling across the
bulb. This all seems fine, the exterior of the wood (3/8" thick) is warm to
the touch, not at all hot.

The Coralife bulb I got has a glass envelope that sheilds UV, however I
didn't like the idea of a very hot piece of glass 8" above sea water, so I
covered the bottom except for the cooling slot with 1/4" plexi, also spaced
1/4" down so there's an air opening around the bottom. The plexi overlaps the
sides, so there's no direct path for a splash to hit the bulb. I haven't
blown up any yet :^)

If you build such a system be sure to stick around for several hours
when you first use it, these bulbs really are hot. I could easily
imagine them causing a fire if the cooling and/or insulation weren't
adequate, burning down your house would ruin your whole day. Perhaps
people should make sure that even if one fan went out in a hood that
the resulting heat wouldn't be excessive. http://danceshoes.hyperphp.com/ http://bariatric.atwebpages.com/Car%20alarms
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Character shoes

Character shoes are canvas with sole-leather soles. They are named for their use in theatre by actors/actresses performing "in character". They are also used by tap-dancers who attach metal taps to them. Women's versions don't look quite as classy as ballroom shoes, but they're far sturdier. I like the stronger heel, the weight and durability of the sole, the toe room. They take a lot of scuffing and abuse, but I just polish them and keep dancing. My ballroom shoes feel so dainty and fragile, and when they get scuffed or nicked it's painful because they cost so damn much. Although conventional wisdom holds that one should never wear one's dance shoes on the street, I find that leather soles perform BETTER if they've been "seasoned" by a bit of regular street wear. That's the only way they really become like an extension of my feet. Then I make sure to wipe the dance shoes soles well to remove pebbles & dust before setting foot on a nice wooden dance floor. The more you wear a pair of character shoes, the softer they become until they finally feel as comfortable as a pair of slippers! Capezio makes a number of styles of character shoes for men (K-370 is a very comfortable man's shoe) and women, with the women's shoes available in different heel heights and with or w/o straps. Men's character shoes I recently ordered a pair of men's character (or tap) dance shoes which I am _REALLY_ pleased with and I thought I'd share the info. They are: made in USA black, lace-up oxford style thin, soft leather uppers thin, sole-leather soles very flexible, very comfortable available in half sizes available in medium and wide widths built with a metal tang for arch support and best of all, ONLY 36.50 !!!!! (that is not a misprint - $36.50!) These dance shoes are a generic but otherwise identical copy of Capezio #441 shoes which normally sell for $60. They are perfect for night club dancing in those clubs where you wouldn't want to wear "suede" soled dance shoes. In addition, they are fine for street use too, so you can wear them to and from the club, without having to lug around a shoe bag. Best of all they are only $36.50. (And even if you don't dance, these are probably the most comfortable dress shoes you'll find!) Order them from Kinney Dancewear in Indianapolis. Their phone number is 1-800-93-DANCE. The stock number of the shoe described above is K-401. You may bond chrome leather (suede) soles to them, as described in a following section. Women's character shoes My favorite jazz shoes is one that I order out of a catalog. It's called a "flexible character shoe" and has a low heel (tapered, not a clunky-looking "Cuban-style" heel), ankle strap, and a suede sole. They're quite soft, pliable, and comfortable (fit like the proverbial glove). Here's the info: Flexible Character Shoe: All leather, 1 1/2" heel Soft flexible suede sole Ankle strap Medium width only Sizes: Women's 4-10 Colors: 506B Black 506T Tan Price: $37.00 (U.S.) Manufacturer: Danstar Dance Shoes [This manufacture is apparently long gone. See our dance shoes page for a Jazz shoe listing.] The company recommends ordering these dance shoes one size below your street shoe size (the representative on the phone can help to size you correctly). When I slip a pair of Dr. Schole's cushioned insoles inside, I can literally dance all night in these shoes.Home%20security
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