Argentine tango London | tango feet close up men spacer_small

You’ve come to a few classes, and tried all of your best socks, whether odd or not. And now you feel ready to move on to the real stuff: proper tango shoes. We can’t blame you, to get the full experience, you need to get the right gear and shoes are a big part of the tango experience.

While you’re at it, time to get a new shoe polish to make you irresistible when you enter your next milonga…

 

What makes good tango shoes

First, here’s what’s important to consider:

  • Flexible leather or upper material so that you don’t get blisters while dancing in class or in milongas until the small hours! Shoes need to be very comfortable.
  • Rounded toes – you don’t want pointy shoes as they’ll get in the way.
  • Leather or suede sole that will let you slide and pivot (no more excuse during the dissociation exercise!).
  • Rather low heels – salsa shoes seem to have quite high heels so you might want to go for ballroom shoes if the store doesn’t stock up Argentine tango shoes.

 

Shops in London

There are a couple of stores in London. Please note that we are only providing this list for your convenience.

DANCIA INTERNATIONAL
168 Drury lane
LONDON WC2B 5QA
Dancia International Web site
FREED OF LONDON
94 St Martins Lane
London WC2N 4AT
Tel: +44 (0)20 7240 0432
Fax: +44 (0)20 7240 3061

You can try this classic pair. As far as we know, Freed has the largest selection of men’s social dancing shoes.

SANSHA COVENT GARDEN
175 Drury Lane, Covent Garden
London WC2B 5QF
Tel: +44 (0) 207 242 2659

Sansha seems to have a nice selection (potentially bigger than the other shops), including cheaper canvass models. They also sell a pair of standard ballroom shoes for £30, which a couple of students have bought and are very happy with.

The shops are all fairly central so the best way might be to browse around and try different pairs on until you find one that fits!

We’re looking forward to see you shine even stronger on the dance floor and wish you many happy dancing years in your new shoes!