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When you dancer first starts wearing soft shoes they may be too young to figure out how to get their shoes on and it is often left to mom or dad to tie them. Even more importantly, to make sure their shoes are looking fantastic on stage for a performance or competition. I have definitely re-tied many a beginners shoes before they hit the stage - but if no one ever showed you what to do - how would you know!?
I'm going to teach you not only to tie the shoes neatly - but also to lace them from scratch! That's right - I'm going to ask you to take the laces out completely! We would all love to get away with never having to take the laces out of the shoes but it happens from time to time for sure. The laces may be an odd length and getting hard to tie, you need to put in white laces, or maybe you purchased the shoes from a friend or the buy and sell - but they needed new laces... whatever the case - it is an inevitability. With some practice you will be a pro in no time!
Okay - (breathe...) pull those laces out and let's begin!
Lacing Soft Shoes
1. With the shoe facing away from you (toe farthest away and the heel towards you) take your lace and run through the first loop. (This is found at the top of the shoe in the middle.) Pull to about halfway along the lace - so you have an equal length on both sides.
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2. Next, the left section of lace will be fed though the next side loop on the left and the right section of lace through the loop on the right.
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3. Cross the laces over and feed through the side loops.
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4. Continue in this manner until you have reached the top of the shoe, remembering to cross the laces before feeding them through the side loops. Most beginner mistakes occur at the top of the shoe. Once you know what to do you will not be able to un see shoes that have forgotten this step - but it's a VERY simple fix.
Before continuing on - YOU MUST cross the laces over each other one last time!
5. Phew - we crossed our laces at the top and it's looking great! Now feed the laces though the corresponding side loop. (often elastic), and then trough the back heel loop. Amazing! We are now ready to tie the shoes on our dancer!
Tying Soft Shoes
The look you are going for is "Neat and Tidy." No loose laces flopping all over the place or tied half way up the dancers leg. The shoe should also be sung to the foot. You will have to tighten the laces before you begin to tie them.
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1. Tighten the laces by pulling from the bottom to top. Grab the lace where it "crosses" and give a gentle tug. We want snug - not cutting off circulation.
2. When you get to the top, give the laces a pull on other side to tighten up.
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3. Following the shape of the lace, wrap the lace around the ankle and front crossed section, lining up the laces as best you can.
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4. Tie the lace in a double knot.
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5. Tuck the laces in and wrap a few times to tidy them up. (If you are taping the shoes you can wrap more to the front laces. For class you can just tuck and wrap to the sides.) There should be no big bunny ears bouncing around.
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6. Voila! You have tied an amazing looking shoe! The goal here is keep the laces tucked away for practice. These laces can otherwise loosen up and become a tripping hazard. Not to mention your dancer will have to stop to re-tie every few mins. Teacher LOVE that.
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And there you have it. A little daunting at first but its actually pretty simple once you know how. If your teacher requires you tape your dancers shoes: check out this post (COMING SOON) on how to tape shoes for competition.
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