Hi all!

So basically, I've been in quite a frustrating position for a while and wanting to do something about it: I'm not allowed to practise my tap dancing on any of the wood or linoleum floors in my house (to be fair, I have ripped a few fairly sizeable holes in the floor before :S ) I have therefore considered buying or making one of those portable dance floors that I've seen around this site, but that's not really feasible for my circumstances either unfortunately.

I just came up with an idea though (and I can't believe it took me this long to think of it either!) What if I were to get some thin, fairly tight (so that they won't slip) socks to wear over my tap shoes and dance on the lino floor that we have here? I was just wondering whether or not anybody has any experience with this? I know that it'll probablyweear the socks out quite quickly, and that's alright, but does anyone know if it is likely to do any damage to the floor at all? I would just try it and find out, but if it does mark it, I'll be in huge in trouble, so I just thought I'd ask for opinions first

Alternatively, if anyone has any other suggestions of how to dance without ruining the floor, I'd love to hear them!

Thanks

I wouldn't recommend it. I wear socks over my shoes when I get new ones while I am wearing them in and the metal quickly wears through the sock. This is with just walking around in them, not actually tap dancing.

Just practice without tap shoes until you get somewhere where you can wear them.

I tap in my bare feet all the time. But if you feel like you have to use your shoes get a 6x6 piece of plywood or scrap from a flooring store. Socks over your shoes are going to be slippery and the taps themselves may rip through the socks.

Yeah, I thought they might rip. I don't mind ruining my cheap socks (I go through them pretty quickly anyway) but I guess it would probably mark the floor when it does rip through.

Last time I danced without shoes I nearly broke my toe But what bothers me is moreso is that I find that whether dancing on carpet, or dancing barefoot on a harder floor, there's just too much friction, that you wouldn't normally have and you can't dance as well.

Thanks for your suggestion J1ll, it's probably about the best solution really, so I'll look into it again.

Go to Home Depot or Lowes and get a section of shower pan liner. Its like a thin marley and can be easily rolled out or up to be put away. Then you can wear your shoes, protect your floors and have something portable that doesnt take up space. Its cheap.

hi, I have the same problem about not being allowed to use my tap shoes on the laminate floor so I bought a foam sort of mat, it is easy to get out and fold up to put away. The mat still lets your shoes make the tapping sound but dosen't mark the floors. This is the best solution that I could think of so i hope this will help you!!