My search for good Zumba shoes started over two years ago after I experienced knee pain after Zumba. During Zumba class, I was having so much fun that I didn’t even notice that my usual gym shoes stuck to the studio floor. My knees were taking all kinds of the abuse while my foot was planted on the studio floor and my body twisted and turned and made lateral movements. After Zumba class, my knees ached.

In the beginning, I looked at everything from cross country “waffle” running shoes to wrestling shoes to indoor turf soccer shoes. I even got out my old Capezio athletic dance shoes from dance team performances in college.

Finally, I found Nike Musique IV. They were perfect – from the mesh upper to the sole to the price. Now, Nike Musique are cheerleading shoes with all leather uppers – not to mention, they are too ugly to wear to Zumba class.

I moved on to Nike Huarache. Cool, hip-hop style dance sneakers with a sock like upper and great soles and again, great price. Now, Nike discontinued them. A search for Nike Huarache will bring up hits for men’s soccer shoes.

I am currently using Reebok Zigs for Zumba. They are working… for now. My feet often go numb during class, but at least the ridiculous looking soles can turn on the studio floor, which saves me from knee and hip pain. They are expensive, but I found mine on a clearance rack at TJ Maxx.

I’ve seen everything from Sketchers to Puma to Ryka to Vibram FiveFinger barefoot running shoes to bare feet in my Zumba classes and no one seems really pleased with their Zumba footware. Men seem to have an even bigger struggle than women in finding good Zumba shoes.

Zumba currently sells Z-Kickz and Z Tops are coming out in November 2011. Buying shoes for Zumba from Zumba will cost you $75 to $95 USD.

Finding the right shoes for Zumba has been a struggle for me since I started teaching Zumba classes to years ago. What shoes are you wearing for Zumba right now? Would you (do you) recommend them to others?

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