Swing dances were born in the 1920s in the United States.
At the time, Segregation cut the population in two, prohibiting people of color from accessing many places reserved for whites, among which were the rooms in which the dance balls took place. Faced with this situation, African-Americans in the Harlem district have created their own dance halls, open to everyone, regardless of your skin color.
Among them is the now famous “ Savoy ” room. It is in this mythical place located in the heart of Harlem that Swing dances were born. At the time, dancers dressed in their 31s and danced there in leather dress shoes.
These dances, almost completely disappeared then gradually returned to fashion in recent years, are now all the rage in France, but also in Sweden, the United States, Korea, etc. As before in Harlem, the dancers like to dance in beautiful dress shoes. However, they do not choose their shoes purely on visual grounds, at the risk of injuring their feet, knees and back.
The comfort criteria of today's dancers are as follows:
1. Soft and thin materials
For the dancers, there is no question of spending 3 weeks “breaking” their shoes. They put their new shoes to the test by wearing them to dance for hours.
For this, the materials composing the shoe must be thin and flexible. This concerns not only the vegan leathers and materials - which can be of different quality ranges - but also the choice of buttresses . These allow the shoe not to collapse on itself. However, too thick they stiffen the shoe. Similarly, when they are mounted too high on the shoe (a choice often made by manufacturers to make their shoes look better on a store shelf) they hit the top of the heel, creating painful blisters.
2. A thick foam insole
The repeated shocks weaken the soles of our feet as well as our joints. A thick foam sole provides shock absorption even in the case of a wild dance.
In addition, sew on this foam a very thin layer of soft leather or corn material with virtues very similar to those of leather to absorb moisture and improve breathing of the foot without losing the comfortable and padded aspect of the foam.
3. A leather or neolite outsole
Finally, a leather or neolite outsole adapts to the shape of the foot with each step. Foot breathes and moves according to its natural curves. Finally, sewing the sole with the “ blake stitching ” technique gives more resistance than simple gluing without thickening the shoe or stiffening the sole.
It is because Swivells shoes have been designed to meet all these criteria that they have caught the attention of Swing dancers.
But what goes for dancing obviously goes for everyday walking! A day at work or stomping around the city requires paying attention to the shoes you wear. By choosing a comfortable shoe, you protect your feet, your knees, your back, and your mood!
