I've gone from owning zero professional dance shoes to now having owned 4 different brands. Here's my review of Very Fine, Erica Maya, Lidmag and Tango Imagen dance shoes.
Very Fine
Very Fine dance shoes were NOT fine with me. Within a month the straps had already broken off. In all fairness, they have many styles on their website that might be better built. But imagine the disappointment and inconvenience when the straps unglued almost immediately. They might be cheaper than other brands, but you get what you pay for. Glueing the straps back in is an additional cost, troublesome, and it unglues again anyway.
I didn't buy professional dance shoes again for years until I was finally inspired by this bootie. They were so great (more details here) that I even bought the same exact model three years later! This style has become a very popular and other brands offer a similar look, but the genius with the Erica Maya shoes is the thin, flat plate of metal that lines the sole of the ball of the foot. So they're gorgeous, modern and also extremely stable! The arch is supple, and the bootie stops at the ankle so you are free to point "en tendu."
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Five stars for:
Beige color, giving the illusion of a longer leg
The gold heel must be made of some futuristic material that doesn't degrade because after 3 years of constant use it looks as perfect as when I first bought it!
Subtle sparkle, attractive
Stable
Flexible arch and ankle
Small lace/tie in the back, it's easy to tuck the laces into the shoe so they don't disturb
These were bought under duress. While in Buenos Aires on my intensive Tango DanceVacay for two weeks, my only pair of professional dance shoes began to fall apart after 3 years of constant wear + 1 week of 5-6 hours of dancing per day + nonstop rain. Training in shoes that could no longer support me was not an option... and neither was not training. So, I went to a few stores and within that limited selection, I chose these.
There is one entirely, consumingly irksome quality, however. Let me hear it! We hate it when our toes pop out of the shoe. It looks weird, feels weird and makes us feel a little unstable. To all shoe designers: for the love of all women, add a mesh to keep the toes in. And do yourself a favor, as the designer and manufacturer! Even the most beautifully-designed heel will look ridiculous with a tiny 🦖 🦖 🦖 dinosaur toe poking out the side 🦖 🦖 🦖 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Five stars for:
Beige color, giving the illusion of a longer leg
Offering a different material, other than the typical satin
Stability
Negatives:
Design: little toe pops out
Lidgmag
This dance heel was by far more stable than the other 5 dance shoes I'd tried on in this store outside of Paris. A nontraditionlist in every sense, I avoid ballroom-style, satin dance shoes. Lidmag has a selection of unique looks.
Immediately I was attracted to this pair, but dance shoes that lace up are a pain. Don't believe the salespeople when they state: "You just have to lace them up once, then you remove them with the zipper in the back. Leave the laces in their place." Even good, textured laces still relax as soon as you take them off. So you end up retightening them anyway. Overall, though, I'm very stable when I'm dancing, and yet the sole and the material around the ankle is flexible so I feel free to point "en tendu."
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Five stars for:
Stability
Daring, modern look
Good laces
Flexible arch and ankle
Negatives:
The eyelets where the laces go through can bother after hours of wear
You do need to lace them up every time, despite salespeople's claim otherwise 🙄
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