I love swing dancing and I love wearing high heels, but finding shoes that look the part and hold up to hours of dancing has been tricky to say the least! Then I found Swingz. They are the newest branch of Begoña Cervera, a Spanish company who have been hand-crafting flamenco shoes for 16 years. Swingz are designed specifically for lindy hoppers and they are an absolute joy to dance in.
I met two of the ladies behind Swingz, Ana and Carla, at the European Swing Dance Championships last year, and these women know their stuff! They’ve seen hundreds of these shoes get made from design to delivery and so they have excellent advice to offer on how to make your perfect dancing shoes. One thing Ana pointed out to me was the heel shapes in different eras. In the 20s-40s shoe heels were most often curved, whereas from the 50s onwards most manufacturers favoured straight cut heels.
Swingz have so many different shoe styles, and each pair is handmade to order, so you can choose the colour and finish of the leather, as well as the height and shape of the heel. All Swingz feature a rubber padded interior so your feet are completely cushioned. I have rather wide feet, which means that authentic vintage shoes never seem to fit, and I’ve found that traditional character/jazz shoes cut into my feet at awkward angles. This is why I love wearing Swingz, the cushioning adapts to my foot shape so I can dance for hours in heels without limping home. The shoes also feel really sturdy so I can jump and swivel without worrying.
Swingz have just given their website a makeover so go check out their amazing range of shoes at swingzbegonacervera.com.
