Tonight, I participated in a Zumba Master Class with Tony Witt, nationally acclaimed Zumba instructor. For the occasion, I pulled out my old pair of Nike Zoom Waffle running shoes. I think I may be on to something…

I was originally introduced to Nike Zoom Waffles in high school cross country. I trained in standard Nike runners, but raced in Waffles. Cross country shoes are like track and field shoes, without the spikes.

I loved my Nike Zoom Waffle running shoes so much, I also wore them as dance shoes during high school pom and dance team practice. They were attractive, light, flexible, and low profile – perfect for dancing.

When my first pair of Nike Zoom Waffle running (and dancing) shoes broke down, I bought a new pair. I quickly found out that new Nike Zoom Waffle running shoes had far too much traction for dance. I had worn my previous pair enough to wear down some of the traction on the ball of the foot – all this new shoe-traction made turns very difficult. I wore the new shoes daily to get rid of traction for practice for my university dance team. Practice was held on a rubber gym floor, which made turns difficult enough.

The pair of Nike Zoom Waffle cross country running shoes I wore tonight as dance shoes are the same shoes I wore to dance practice in college several years ago. The ball of the sole is worn nice and smooth.

My conclusion is that Nike Zoom Waffle cross country running shoes work well as a aerobic dance shoe – AFTER you break them in and wear down some of the traction on the sole. Cross country shoes are a relatively inexpensive athletic shoe – especially if you can buy youth or boys’ sizes. Avoid track and field shoes, which are very similar, but have spikes.

Of course, there are athletic shoes designed especially for dance. Look for a circle or concentric circles on the ball of the foot of the sole of the shoe to identify atheltic dance shoes. Also see my “Best Zumba Shoes” and “Sticky Shoes During Zumba” and “Where to Buy Dance Shoes” posts at Rencsi.com for more information.