The Very Fine Dancesport men’s smooth and standard ballroom shoe collection are five of many designs offered by Very Fine. These shoes range from classic to stylish, tailored from beginner to advanced dancers. Each offers their features to best suit your needs on the dance floor.

Very Fine claims three features in their shoes for the discerning dancer: style, comfort, and quality. In this roundup, you will learn which of the shoes are stylish and which are comfortable. Our full reviews dive into the quality of each shoe.

Common Characteristics

All styles of this Very Fine Dancesport collection share common characteristics. Each features a suede sole, the perfect material for traction while gliding across the dance floor. A wide one-inch heel is the ideal height for smooth and standard styles, allowing for powerful heel leads and pivots without sacrificing stability. Further, each shoe offers a shank, providing arch support for both the long hours of the competition floor, and the extended evenings of social dances. The lining of each shoe is leather, which can help mold the shoe to the foot, regardless of the exterior material.

Dante: the Comfort Pick

Pair of Very Fine Dante men's ballroom dance shoes

The Dante is the first to deviate from the common characteristics of this collection. These shoes are the comfort pick of the collection. Featuring a memory foam insole and double layer outer sole, there is significantly more cushioning in this shoe than the others. In contrast, every other shoe in this collection features less padding on the insole, and only a single layer of suede on the bottom of the shoe. While the extra padding is great for dancers who need a little extra cushion, competitive dancers may find that the cushioning is too many many layers between them and the floor. Because of this, beginners and social dancers may find this a more attractive shoe than intermediate or advanced dancers.

The cushioning isn’t the only feature of the Dante that lends itself to comfort. The upper is made from leather, meaning the shoe will mold and stretch to the shape of your foot without any issues. Further, the wingtip toe box design places the seams between panels of the outer leather along the sides of the foot, meaning the seam won’t be pressing uncomfortably into the ball of your foot.

While the Dante is comfortable and a classic design, their closure is a closed lace design. This means the edges of the closure are flush with each other, leading to little room to cinch the shoe tight once the leather stretches. Stretched leather leads to loose shoes, and loose shoes run the risk of rolling an ankle, falling, or other injuries on the dance floor. If you size your shoe correctly, the Dante will last you a while, but not as long as other designs in this collection.

Read our full review of the Dante to learn about their quality, sizing, and longevity.

Adrian: the Wide Fit

A pair of Very Fine Adrian men's ballroom dance shoes

The Adrian is similar to the Dante. Both the Adrian and the Dante feature similar design. The exterior is leather, the closure is closed lace, and the toe box is a wingtip design. Where the Adrian deviates from the Dante is the cushioning and the fit.

While extra cushioning can be a good feature for many dancers, competitive dancers prefer to have a better connection to the floor. The Adrian offers this connection by having less padding in the insole than the Dante and only a single layer of suede on the bottom. However, there is still plenty of padding for a moderately comfortable evening of dance, and a single layer of suede offers the same traction and glide as two layers.

Intermediate and advanced dancers will appreciate the connection to the floor provided by this shoe. Advanced dancers will find the multiple panels of material a slight hinderence for more advanced technique and patterns. Intermediate dancers who aren’t focused on these advanced techniques will find these shoes will suit their needs.

The Adrian runs wider than the Dante, as well. The wingtip design lends itself to wide feet because the seam doesn’t prevent stretching in the toe box. Because of these two design features, dancers with wide feet will love these shoes.

Read our full review of the Adrian to learn about their quality, sizing, and longevity.

Zephyr: the Stylish Pick

Pair of Very Fine Dancesport Zephy men's ballroom shoes

The Zephyr takes a sharp turn from the designs of the Dante and Adrian. The Zephyr is a two-tone design, offering a stylish pair of shoes that stand out on both the competition and social dance floors.

Like the Adrian, the Zephyr offers better connection to the floor than the Dante through moderate insole padding and a single layer of suede on the bottom. Unlike the leather upper of the Dante and Adrian, the Zephyr uses a microfiber exterior. While the the inner shoe is still a soft leather that can mold to the foot, the microfiber resists the excessive stretching of leather. The microfiber is what makes these shoes stylish when new, but is prone to scuffing and the white material will become dirty after a moderate amount of dance.

The closure is an open lace design, allowing for cinching the shoe tight, even after the exterior begins to stretch. Cinching the tight is a feature for dancers with narrow feet. Because a closed lace design has little room for error with sizing, dancers with narrow feet have difficulty finding closed lace design shoes that are forgiving enough to accomodate the shape of their foot. An open lace design is much more forgiving, and so can be tightened sufficiently. Another benefit of the forgiving closure is the possibility of inserting an off-the-shelf insole. Whether this is for orthopedic or comfort reasons, these shoes can accomodate the dancers needs on the dancefloor.

Like the Adrian, the Zephyr are well-suited for intermediate and social dancers. Because the microfiber exterior will scuff, these shoes have a short life when it comes to looking their best. The Zephyr will look good on the competition floor during this short period, but may be better suited as a practice or social dance shoe in the medium to long term. The good news is that the wingtip design, microfiber exterior, and open lace design all lend themselves to a long-lasting shoe.

Read our full review of the Zephyr to learn about their quality, sizing, and longevity.

Leon: the Stand-Out Pick

Pair of Very Fine Dancesport Leon men's patent leather ballroom shoes

Continuing with the stylish shoes from the Very Fine men’s smooth and standard ballroom dance collection, the Leon is a patent leather, wholecut design. Wholecut shoes feature an upper shoe design crafted from a single panel of material, with only a single seam on the back of the heel.

Unlike wingtip designs, wholecut shoes do not have any seams to prevent or control stretching of the shoe. The patent leather of the Leon and the wingtip stitching resists the stretching. Both the closed lace design and the patent leather provide for the least amount of room for error with sizing. When the patent leather does stretch after many hours of use, the gloss can become scuffed and cracked. While Very Fine uses a resistant coating for their patent leather designs, it is not immune to the long term reality of wear and tear.

One design consideration of the Leon is the rum cushioning. Because patent leather is stiff, it is prone to rubbing and causing blisters if the edges are bare against the skin. The Leon prevents this by providing rim cushing along the edge of the patent.

Intermediate to advanced dancers will be drawn to the Leon. The wholecut design provides little support for the dancer, but the patent leather’s stiffness compensates for this somewhat. These shoes look great, catching the light on the competition floor. When they have been worn past their prime, they will elegantly transition to practice shoes that will last for a long time.

Read our full review of the Leon to learn about their quality, sizing, and longevity.

Perseus: the Classic Pick

A pair of a Very Fine Perseus men's ballroom dance shoes

In a return to classic styles, the Perseus features the traditional look of ballroom dance shoes. These shoes will mold and stretch to the shape of your foot quickly and effectively, resulting in what may be the most comfortable fit for dance shoes in this roundup. The Perseus does have stitching in the general shape of a wingtip toe box, but because there is no seam, the resistance to stretching offered by the stitching will be dimished when compared to true wingtip design shoes. The Perseus is also a closed lace design, which introduces the same sizing considerations of the other shoes with closed laces.

The connection to the floor, the unrestricted movement of the wholecut upper, and the stylish design of the Perseus will be the most appealing to advanced and competitive dancers. Wholecut shoes offer little to no support or stability for dancers. Beginner and intermediate dancers may struggle with these shoes because the absence of support requires well-developed foot muscles. Advanced dancers will find these shoes to be more than adequate for their technique and patterns, especially on the competition floor.

Read our full review of the Persues to learn about their quality, sizing, and longevity.

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