dance shoes
Our Brands of Distiction
We demand a lot from the brands we stock, and only dance footwear from British and European companies that meet the high standards set by founders T. Ronald & Barbara Wilson make it to our shelves. Besides a commitment to quality, technical innovation, and foot health & safety, the companies that we work with must be ethical and listen to feedback from the dancers they serve.
Dance Plus has been the Canadian Agent for International Dance Shoes for almost 40 years.
Known as the professional’s choice for Ballroom and Latin American dance footwear, International Dance Shoes, are world renowned manufacturers of carefully hand-crafted dance shoes and are one of the last remaining British dance shoe manufacturers which still manufacture all of their shoes in England.
As the Canadian agents for over 40 years, we can attest to their commitment to producing dance shoes that ensure a perfect freedom of movement in order to maximise the individual’s performance. Performance is combined with exceptional comfort, and the health and safety of the dancers feet are preserved.
Established in 1980, International Dance Shoes adheres to their tradition of hand-crafted excellence, whist still evolving by developing new products with new technologies and design innovations – all in the latest eye catching fashion!
Worn by today’s leading amateur and professional dancers, they are regarded as the one of the finest in the field of dance footwear manufacture. International’s dance shoes have appeared on many television series, movies, and theatrical productions including the BBC’s popular ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ (Britain’s version of ‘Dancing with the Stars’), and are favoured by competitors everywhere including many of the world’s best dancers.
As Dance Plus grew and as we served more dancers and more feet, we looked for a complementary line of shoes that would cater to social dancers whose needs were not being met, like dancers who needed low heels, more padding, and space for bunions or orthotics. We wanted to make sure we could serve all Canadian dancers – not just competitors, and DanceSteps fit the bill.
The line was from another well-established and renowned British footwear company called Equity Shoes, which was established in 1890. The line became popular with our customers, and the Men’s line became especially popular with social dancers (as opposed to competitors), as it offers incredible construction, support, and comfort, in a style that many men feel more closely resembles a man’s dress shoe, than the most men’s competition styles which are more flexible.
Unfortunately, several decades later and despite a one hundred year legacy, Equity Dance Shoes ceased operations in the mid-2000’s. We were crushed – everyone deserves to dance in comfort! Thankfully Freed of London stepped in and purchased the rights and the lasts to continue the production of these shoes. They also recognized the need for this superior line of shoes, and have maintained the construction, and commitment to quality, as well as most of the original designs. DanceSteps, now by Freed of London continue to be made by hand in the UK, and remain popular with our customers today.
Freed of London have been handcrafting Ballroom Shoes for nearly 50 years. Years of experience and expertise go into making exceptional handcrafted shoes. Designed with great attention to detail and made in England from the finest components, Freed of London Ballroom Shoes bring the utmost comfort when you dance whilst being incredibly durable.
Freed of London has always been well known and highly regarded in the ballet world since Frederick Freed, started to handcraft and customise pointe shoes for professional dancers in the heart of London’s theatre district, today nearly 250,000 pairs of Classic Pointe Shoes are manufactured in the traditional ‘turn-shoe’ method by Freed of London every single year, each and every one painstakingly hand crafted by a highly skilled maker. Two thirds of all Classic Pointe Shoes are made to Dancer’s individual specifications which require accuracy to within 3 mm.
This is a company with a commitment to quality that fully understands that dance shoes are piece of sports equipment that must be strong enough to handle the physical demands incurred by the dancer, while still supporting the dancer’s commitment to artistry.
Not many brands pass our extremely high standards, but when introduced to Merlet of France, we found a footwear company with decades of dance shoe experience and a commitment to traditional shoemaking and hand-crafted production. Their ballroom shoes provide many of the same benefits and features of competitive shoes but cater to the budget conscious social dancer without compromising our high standards of construction, comfort, materials, or design.
The history of Merlet started in 1974 in Limoges, France, when shoemaker Roger James Merlet made his first pair of pointe shoes for the wife of a friend, who was a principal ballet dancer. From this meeting, the passion for ballet was born. Slowly, the reputation of Merlet grew and spread over the region and they made ballet slippers for many French premiere dancers. In 1978, Merlet hired a young apprentice named Pierre Lassenne, who runs the company.
In 1997, Merlet added ballroom shoes to it’s product lines. The successful introduction led to an expansion of the range in 2011, and has led to a deserved reputation as a dance shoe crafter throughout Europe.
Merlet’s line of Ballroom and Latin shoes for the social dancer includes core styles plus seasonal lines in different fabrics that are only available for that season.
When you want to bring the glamour to the dance floor consider the sexy unique styles of Port Dance of Portugal. Portdance is a leading European dance shoes brand that designs and manufacture dance shoes for Ballroom, Salsa, Kizomba, and Tango. All of their shoes are made in Portugal and they are committed to creating beautiful ballroom dance shoes, with the highest quality and comfort.
These are not your mothers dance shoes — their innovative designs will appeal to the most discriminating dancing fashionistas. Raw materials are chosen with special care, and their manufacturing techniques exceeds quality standards.
PortDance shoes guarantee the essential features in the ballroom dance world: Quality, Sensuality, Glamour, and Flexibility.
Rumpf Dance Shoes is based in Germany and our customers love their Sparrow dance sneaker for practice and training making it one of our top sellers. This sneaker provides the right amount of ‘grip’ during training, and has been designed to be easy on the joints, light as a feather, and flexible. Rumpf prioritizes comfort and quality and has been making dance shoes for many different styles of dance for over 50 years.
