I’ve been meaning to write a quick review on these for a while. I have cranky knees due to joint hypermobility, and when I began to increase my teaching hours I started to look for something to decrease the friction between my feet and the floor, hoping to save my joints from some wear-and-tear. I tried a few less-expensive half-sole products, both with and without ankle straps; most of these have a hole for your big toe, and then another one for all your other toes. I found those without ankle straps tended to slip forward off my foot starting from the little toe side. Not exactly secure. Those with ankle straps would ride up my foot from the little toe side, exposing enough of my sole to defeat the purpose of wearing them. It didn’t take me long to realize that this one-hole-for-4-toes design was not going to work for me.

Dance Paws are a bit more expensive than other footies of their type, but in my opinion are worth every penny. I went for the “Adjustable” model, with a velcro strap that goes around your midfoot, but the big difference with Dance Paws is the fact that you get an opening for every toe. Once these are on, they stay in place, no matter how much you spin, kick, or sweat. I throw them in the wash with the rest of my dance wear (admittedly the Dance Paws site says to handwash), and they airdry overnight. I bought a second pair so I always have some ready to go.

I still prefer to perform completely barefoot – while Dance Paws aren’t especially noticeable while on, they aren’t pretty enough to satisfy my aesthetic sense. But for workshops, classes, and day-to-day practice these guys have made me very happy.

Dance Paws