IDS Heel Types
Please note that all heel heights are measured from the middle of the heel when viewed from the side, and not from the back of the heel.
Elite
The IDS Elite heel has been developed with many of the world's leading competitive dancers. It is a slim heel with the heel centered further down the arch for a really sleek and stylish look. We have a 2.5" Elite and 3" Elite heel available, and this is available on all Ladies Latin shoes. Pictured above you can see the 3" Elite heel on the left and the 2.5" Elite heel.
IDS
The IDS heel is our classic heel and the most traditional. It is a flared heel and offers the very best in stability and balance. It is very popular on the Ladies Latin and Ballroom shoes, and it has 2" IDS, 2.5" IDS, 3" IDS and 3.5" IDS versions available. From left to right can see the 2" IDS heel, 2.5" IDS heel, 3.5" IDS heel and furthest right is the 3" IDS heel.
Vogue
Our stylish Vogue heel is best described as a slightly flared version of our 'Ultra Slim' heel (further below) or a slimmer and more sleek version of our 'IDS' flared heel (seen above). It's available on heights of 2" (5.2cm), 2.5" (6.5cm), 3" (7.8cm) and 3.5" (9cm) on Latin shoes and 2" & 2.5" on Ballroom shoes. This elegant heel blends the ultimate in style with exceptional balance and comfort, taking inspiration from heels often worn for Argentinian Tango dancing. The slight flaring out at the bottom enhances that crucial feeling of stability of the dander, giving you even more confidence when you step out onto the floor.
Slim
While our Elite heel is our sleek and stylish slimmer heel for Latin shoes, our Slim heel is our slim option for Ballroom. Much like our Elite heel, this is a tapered heel which a stylish look. It's one of our original designs and the difference between this and the Elite heel is that the tip of the heel is further back toward the heel which is better for Ballroom and we have a 2" Slim (pictured on the right), 2.5" Slim (middle) and 3" Slim (left) heel available.
Ultra Slim
The Ultra Slim heel is the slimmest of the heels we offer and is available on Ladies Latin shoes. It's one for the confident ladies and is very similar to the kind of heel found on Argentinian Tango shoes. It is available as a 2.5" Ultra Slim (pictured left), 3" Ultra Slim (middle) and 3.5" Ultra Slim (right) heel.
Other Ladies and Girls Heels
1.5" HEATHER (left) - A padded heel with a curved lip on the back for our 'Heather' and 'Heather Split' practice and teaching shoes. This is perfectly comfortable and supportive for the long days in practice and teaching shoes.
1.25" CUBAN (2nd from left) - This is mainly used on our Girls shoes as a heel for Juvenile dancers, however it is often chosen on adults shoes too for an extra supportive lower heel.
1.5" JUNIOR (2nd from right) - Not just a shoe for younger dancers, many find this heel particularly comfortable and supportive as it is lower and has a greater surface area for better balance.
1.5" CK (right) - This heel is for our 'CK Line Shoe' and is a lower heel which is thicker with a wider surface area. The sole of the heel is flat.
Men's Ballroom Heels
1" Tango (left) - Like the 1" Contra heel, this heel features padding and a lip that comes over the back of the heel for smoother movements on heel turns, it's simply slightly narrower in the shape. This is used for our 'Tango' design.
1" Contra (middle) - This heel features comfortable padding with the lip design where the sole material comes over the back of the heel for smoother movements on heel turns. It is used on our Contra, Contra Pro and Brogue.
1" Gibson (right) - A slightly wider heel with a larger surface area which is flatter than the above heels and doesn't feature that lip design on the back. Used on our Pino, Pino Flex, Gibson & Oxford.
Men's Latin Shoes
1.5" (right) - This Latin heel features the lip on the back of the heel for smoother movements on the heel. It's the most popular requested heel for Men's Latin.
2" (left) - A slightly higher version to the 1.5" heel for dancers looking for that extra height.
*This content was created and provided by the team at International Dance Shoes.