Shoes

One of the most defining features of Irish dance is that there are two unique types of shoes: soft shoes and hard shoes. Brand new students may wear soft-soled (black ballet flat) style shoes. Dancers are not permitted to be in socks or barefoot during class, nor are street shoes permitted on our Marley floor surface.

Ready to enroll? Explore District Irish Dance classes here!

Soft Shoes

New dancers should order SOFT SHOES within the first month of starting classes at District Irish Dance.

For female students, please order “ghillies” (Irish soft shoes) at this link to our recommended shoemaker.

Here is an additional style considered most ideal for advanced level dancers, however beginners are welcome to order them as well.

For help with sizing, we recommend that you reach out to the Fay's Shoes team and they may be able to assist by having you send a diagram of your foot.

For beginner male students, please order black Jazz shoes of any style (with laces). Male dancers will eventually wear male-specific soft shoes with heels at this link. Your teacher will advise as to when these should be ordered.

Hard Shoes

Once the basics have been mastered, the instructor will advise as to when to order HARD SHOES. At District Irish Dance we typically start hard shoe in Shamrock II.

Here are the links to the most popular Irish dance hard shoe brands, all of which are suitable for beginner hard shoe dancers:

Fay's Shoes New York

Rutherford's "Super Flexi"

“Inishfree” - This is an alternative style of hard shoe geared for beginners.

Socks

All female dancers should wear “Poodle Socks” which are a special type of sock worn with all Irish dance shoes (and can be worn with beginners who are wearing ballet slippers). We sell Poodle Socks in a variety of sizes and styles at the DIDA studio. You can pre-order and pick them up at the studio here.

Studio Shoe Exchange 🔄

Our Studio Shoe Exchange enables District Irish Dance clients to purchase gently pre-owned shoes. We also have a selection of new shoes available. While we can't promise we will have your size available, this is a great place to start your shoe search! We also accept donations of gently pre-owned shoes in exchange for a tuition credit. E-mail us to learn more.

Available SOFT SHOE SIZES

9.5

13.5

1.5

2.5

7.5

Available HARD SHOE SIZES

3.5

5.5

Available BOYS REEL SHOES