JumpStart Guide
Irish Dance Shoes
- Beginners’ Shoes
- Ghillies: Softshoes for Girls
- Reel Shoes: Softshoes for Boys
- Hardshoes
- Socks & Tights
- Where Do I Find Them?
Beginners’ Shoes
Beginners may often start with black ballet slippers (girls or boys) or black jazz shoes (boys). While they don’t shout "I’m an Irish dancer!" like ghillies may, these shoes are more inexpensive than regular Irish dancing shoes and are most appropriate for new and quickly-growing dancers.
Ghillies: Softshoes for Girls
Ghillies are of Scottish origin, and were adopted by Irish dancers for their "authentic" Gaelic feel. Lore says that the low-cut design was originally intended for Scottish boots while walking in bogs; the design allowed water to leave the shoe, instead of being caught in a boot and freezing the feet!
Only girls (or the occasional beginner boy, rare in America) wear ghillies. These bear resemblance to a lyrical ghillie or a Highland/Scottish Country dance ghillie, but are slightly different. Usually the lace loops are squared off instead of rounded, and they are cut in a way that the sock is shown as far as comfort would allow, called a low-toe ghillie.
For dancers, this design - especially with a white sock against the black shoe - helps to draw as much attention to the feet as possible.
Many dancers tie the laces around their arch -- though it may be done, let me stress to you that doing so will cause problems if they're too tight! Your blood vessels will not be happy little campers. Tie them, then tuck them into the shoe itself. Neatness is key -- you don’t want the laces flapping around.
The average ghillie runs anywhere from US$30 for a nice basic pair to $80 for an expensive Hullachan shoe, which is good for dancers with foot, ankle, and leg problems. I have used it, and attribute part of my recovery from Achillies Tendonitis to it.
Your average ghillie (by average I mean usually seen, not average quality) will have a tanned leather bottom with one solid sole, though black suede soles are fast becoming as popular.
Do not go to a regular dance shop that doesn’t actually sell specifically Irish ghillies -- they'll end up selling you Lyrical ghillies, which have long toes and look slightly floppy on an Irish dancer.
Reel Shoes: Softshoes for Boys
Reel shoes are boys' softshoes, which look like jazz oxfords with a noisy, hardshoe-like heel. Girls never wear these shoes.
Beginners usually get a soft jazz-like shoe with a rubber heel, but in CLRG and other organizations often quickly progress to the fiberglass heels. CRN discourages the use of reel shoes because boys and girls compete together.
I like the fiberglass heels because it encourages the boys to stay on their toes instead of dragging their heels!
Hardshoes
Hardshoes, also called jig, heavy, or hornpipe shoes, are the second type of shoe. Many people will ask you if they're like clogging or tap shoes -- and they may make noise, but they are most certainly NOT the same!
Hardshoes have straps and laces like your usual leather dance shoes -- but check out those "taps"! The tips and heels of hardshoes (not commonly referred to as taps) were made out of fiberglass or wood, and are now made out of various stronger composite materials.
Imagine a side view of this shoe. Starting at the heel, which is often around 1 inch (3 cm), your foot is flat. Then it will curve downwards, and then curve back up to the tips of your toes. The 'valley' between these two curves will settle at about the ball of your foot.
Now imagine it straight on, staring at the toe; it is pretty even from your heel to the ball of your foot, but then pulls up a bit around your big toe. This is important, as it encourages turnout. In fact, until you get completely used to the shoes, you'll want to walk around like a duck! (And that’s not a bad thing, either; it helps your turnout!) Once you try on a shoe, you will realize what I’m talking about.
Dance Sneakers
Dance sneakers are becoming increasingly popular in Irish dancing. Antonio Pacelli seems to be at the forefront of offering dance sneakers, and Discount Dance Supply is a great company for inexpensive (as you can get them) sneakers.
A really cool innovation is Corr’s Evolution (shown), which combines a dance sneaker with hardshoe tips and heels. I’m really keen to try those out. Corr’s also carries regular dance sneakers.
Socks & Tights
The socks aren’t even your usual bought-at-Walmart brand. These are often called poodle socks, and have a special weave of fibers and elastic so that they'll stay up easier.
These are the type of socks you with see on girls. The boys will get various colors and styles according to their school, what’s available, and/or what their solo costume looks like. More often than not, the boys simply wear knee-high dress socks. I stress knee-high. There’s nothing more distracting that seeing the skin of male dancer’s ankle between his pant hem and his socks!
The most popular brands that you'll see are from Antonio Pacelli. I heartily recommend Pacelli and Dans-Ez socks, as they are soft and made with CoolMax materials which help sweaty feet stay dry. While cheaper than the others, FeisMates socks are scratchy; it’s best to spend a little extra on better socks.
However, with how much I dance and use my socks (even though I have 4 or 5 pairs!), I can’t help them falling down. I like to use a body glue, commonly spoken of in terms of "sock glue".
Opaque black dance tights are often worn by older dancers in competition, and performing dancers. CLRG requests that dance tights be opaque - i.e. not see-through.
Having pasty-white chicken legs and bumpy knees myself, I prefer the long, elegant line that tights give me! My favorites are made by Capezio. They are heavier than nylons, but they're supposed to be! They're far more durable. Look for tights with a large percentage of natural fibers (like cotton) as possible for breathability.
If you like the smooth line that tights give your legs but don’t want to give up your socks, or like the look of a tan but don’t want to deal with the mess, try wearing sheer nude-colored nylons that compliment your overall skin tone under your socks. These also help do the duty of sock glue, though many dancers still use sock glue on their cheap nylons for extra security.
Where do I find them?
You can find shoes, socks and sock glue at many places, including:
- Ballinvilla (Chicago, IL, USA)
- Faery Reel (Quebec, Canada)
- The Irish Butterfly (Denver, CO, USA)
- The Red Ox (St. Louis, MO, USA)
The most popular shoe brands are:
- Antonio Pacelli My favorite softshoes are their super-comfy Eclipses, and my second-favorite hardshoes their Golds.
- Boyne Walk — Pretty good softshoes; friends have tried the Reel Comfort, and they're held up relatively well.
- Corr’s Irish Shoes Source of shoe photos. My "I have to try those soon!" shoes.
- Hullachan Pro
- Innisfree/Inisfree/Inishfree - No one seems to be able to spell this one! No search turned up the official site.
- Fay
- Rutherford Source of poodle socks photo. Their instantly broken-in, roomy-in-the-toes, super-flexi black suede-soles are my favorite hardshoes.
Ballet slippers, jazz shoes, regular dance sneakers and tights can be found at my favorite place to shop for such things, Discount Dance Supply.
A Google, Yahoo!, or other searches can find you more variety.