Linas´s Tango guesthouse Buenos Aires

If you're a beginner, starting to learn Argentine tango, you don't need any special shoes to dance tango. Proper tango dance shoes would be overkill at this stage. Right now, all you need is to be able to turn easily on the ball of your foot. There's a lot of pivoting in tango, especially for followers, and if your shoes stick to the floor you'll hurt your knees.

So the best thing, if you've got them, is shoes which have a leather sole, or a suede sole (called cromo in Argentina). Failing that, a hard plastic sole may do to begin with. In the long run women usually prefer heels, but to begin with just wear whatever kind of heel you're comfortable in.

When you've been dancing a little while and are sure you want to keep dancing tango, dance shoes are a worthwhile investment. Ordinary shoes just aren't built to take the punishment that tango shoes take.

You can get tango shoes in every material you can think of. Some are harder wearing than others, some are softer than others.

• Leather (cuero)
   It's hard-wearing and will last a long time, but it also softens well and stretches so that it molds itself to the shape of your foot.
• Suede (gamuza)
  Suede is the stretchiest of all tango shoe materials. For this reason, suede is a lot of people's favorite, because it becomes so comfy. It doesn't last as long as leather, and needs a little more looking after.
• Fabric (terciopelo is velvet)
  You can get tango shoes in plain silks and satins, velvets, or all kinds of patterned fabrics. They're more easily damaged or dirtied than leather shoes, of course, but they are very pretty.

There are lots of tango shoe stores in Buenos Aires. Finding the wright shor may be difficunt considering you have that many options. Plus you can always be said that your shoes are going to be ready for a certain day and they are actually done a week later. Don't believe in shoe makers deadlines. 

Thinking of all this common problems that argentinian know and can help preventing, BA:Dt (Buenos Aires Design Tour) has designed a specail Tango Tour for all those tango lovers who want to find a great Tango Shoe: comfortable, functional and .. gorgeous!