Fix Slippery Shoes, Stop Slippery Shoes – Advice For Dancers

Here are some ideas to fix slippery shoes and stop slippery shoes for dancers. Did you know that there is also a way to slip-proof your pointe shoes?

Often as dancers, you will find that the stage or even your studio floor is way too slippery, and there is nothing worse than trying to dance carefully all the time in order not to have a fall.

How To Fix Slippery Shoes

A slip-resistant outer sole is softer and made of rubber that is more slip resistant when exposed to water and oil than other outsole compounds. This softer rubber outsole means that a slip resistant shoe can more effectively grip a slick floor.

In ballet, it is not always so easy to put a rubber at the bottom of your shoes but to glue to circles of rubber to the heel and the upper sole may make the shoes grip the floor a bit better, thus making a better dance experience for you all around.

Other ways to fix slippery shoes could work short term such as:

  1. Scuff the soles on abrasive surfaces. If your slippery shoes are a new pair, there’s a good chance that they’re slippery simply because their soles are perfectly smooth and unworn.
  2. Sandpaper the underneath of the shoes to rough them up a bit.
  3. You could also try a nail file in the same way.
  4. The slower method is to wear your shoes and wait for the soles to naturally wear down.
  5. A metal brush is great for ballroom shoes, and it can be used to brush off the polish and debris collected off of the floor and rough up the leather a bit.

The shoe brushes below can be purchased online.

  • Brush Material: Copper Wire
  • Handle Material: Wood
  • Ideal to clean ballroom shoes, dance shoes, Latin dance shoes etc.
  • Come with a black bristle cover, you can keep it in the shoe bag without harming the shoe.
  • Dimension: Approx. 17*3*3cm

Below are some anti-slip nonskid shoe pads you could also try to fix slippery shoes.

  • Self-adhesive, strong and durable and can provide extra grip on the sole of shoes to prevent slips and falls.
  • Fits any size shoe, male or female (unisex).
  • Ideal for ladies shoes, high heels, boots and sandals and gents shoes.
  • Made from a hard wearing and durable material giving extra gripS on slippy and icy surfaces.
  • Easy to use, just peel off and place the adhesive pad on the sole and press firmly.
  • If you apply to old shoes, please clean the sole first, and then place the anti-slip pad. Leave it for a few hours to dry before first use.

fix slippery shoesHow To Fix Slippery Pointe Shoes

If you know well in advance that the stage or floor you will be dancing on will be very slippery, you can take your pointe shoes to your local shoe repair shop.  Ask them to put rubber on the platform and sole of your shoes.  Be sure to specify tan as the color, or they will automatically use black if you don’t.

Ask them to extend the rubber to the place on the sole where the shank bends.  In this way, the rubber will cover the platform of your pointe shoe and about three-quarters of the sole.  They will be able to use the leather on your soles as a guide. Ask them to put a circle of beveled rubber on the heel side of the shoe about the size of a large coin.

This tactic will work wonders for you when you need to dance on a slippery floor.  You will also be pleasantly surprised at how normal the shoes still feel to dance in.

If all else fails, we have also poured coke all over a stage to sticky it up.  This method, although it works well, may not abide well with the owners of the floor space you are renting.

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