Desperately Seeking Tiny Tap Shoes . . .

I just enrolled my daughter who is 4 into dance and the shoe thing was hard for me too, they needed white buckled tap shoes and thank goodness the studio can order them. I only paid $19 for them. But my daughter wears a 9 and i got her a 10.5 and they are still a little tight I would go for the 6 she can grow into them. I am gonna have to order another pair i think. Also check thrift stores they might have some...most young girls shoes are in great condition. But good luck

C.,
I have a son--so no real experience with dance shoes but I wanted to suggest listing the item you want in the Items Wanted section of www.pittsburgh.craigslist.org it's free and you might luck out!
Denise

HI C.! Welcome to the wonderful world of dance. Try calling the Dancer's Closet (www.dancers-closet.com) at ###-###-####. That is the number to their Murrysville (on Rt 22) location I know they have other locations in and around Pittsburgh, but that's the store I have used. If they don't have what you need on hand, they can usually order it or transfer it from one of their other stores! It is not impossiable to find tap's in size 4...the hard part is the color. Most studio's use black or tan taps and don't start children below the age of 3. You can also try Performer's Corner in White Oak. Keep in mind that dance shops are open limited kinda weird hours! There are a lot of good web sites that you can find leo's and tights at great prices as well, so keep serfing the net! Have fun! Best wishes.

t.

I was going to recommend Tightspot. My daughter started dance when she was young and that's where we found her small shoes. We usually end up with tap shoes one size larger than regular shoes. The KidStuff coupon book has a coupon for 15% off Tightspot.

C.,
My daughter was/is tiny as well, and I went to Tightspot on Brownsville Rd in Carrick. They were realy nice and helpful and they ordered what we needed, as my daughters dance school required tap, ballet AND jazz shoes and although we could get the ballet shoes in the right size at the store, she needed something smaller in both tap and jazz...(kind of silly for a 4 year old in a beginner class to need $150 of shoes when you aren't even sure she will stick with it)....anyway, good luck!

I don't have a solution for you so much as a thought... Usually the schools have shows in the spring/early summer. While she'll need shoes for class, it's not that big of a deal if they aren't perfect right now. Also, chances are that her feet will grow at least a little before the show and you will need to get a new pair of shoes. You'll have more time to check around and may have better luck finding the "perfect" ones in the next larger size.

One more thing - you might want to check out places like "Once Upon a Child" that has resale children's clothes. Sometimes you can get unusual items and get good deals - especially nice when it's something they aren't likely to wear for long.