Tap shoe

Tap shoes

In the earliest years of tap dancing, tap shoes often had wooden soles. The soles of modern tap shoes are either full-sole or split-sole. A full-sole tap shoe has a continuous base material along the underside of the shoes; a split-sole tap shoe has a gap in the base material under the arch of the foot, making them more flexible. Modern tap shoes have soles with heels of varying height (one inch or more) and are commonly made of wood or stacked leather. Some beginner tap shoes have heels made of plastic. The toe box of the tap shoe is located on the front of the shoe for the purpose of reinforcing the shoe; however there are tap shoes that use a soft leather instead. A single tap shoe has two taps: one under the heel, and another under the toes.